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                                                        1346
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION IN THE JUDICIARY.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds that the citizens of
 
 2 Hawaii as well as Hawaii's national jurisprudential reputation
 
 3 benefit from highly qualified experienced jurists.  The ability
 
 4 to attract and retain qualified jurists is directly linked to
 
 5 judicial compensation.  Therefore, an appropriate level of
 
 6 compensation must take into account the level of compensation
 
 7 that the jurist could earn elsewhere.  The Legislature further
 
 8 finds that the Judicial Salary Commission (commission), whose
 
 9 purpose is to review and recommend salaries of state justices,
 
10 judges, and administrative officers, published its report in
 
11 October 1998.  One of the commission's recommendations is to
 
12 increase judicial and appointed administrative officers' salaries
 
13 by twenty-seven per cent, distributed in equal increments over
 
14 three fiscal years, retroactive to July 1, 1997.  Another study
 
15 of judicial salaries was conducted by the Legislative Reference
 
16 Bureau (Bureau) in response to Senate Concurrent Resolution No.
 
17 2, Senate Draft 1, which was passed in 1997.  The Bureau noted
 
18 that judicial salaries have not increased since 1990 and have not
 
19 kept pace with inflation.  Among other things, the Bureau
 

 
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 1 recommended that one of four mechanisms be adopted that would
 
 2 provide regular reasonable judicial salary increases.  One
 
 3 proposed mechanism would tie judicial pay increases to the
 
 4 Consumer Price Index.
 
 5      The purpose of this act is to:
 
 6      1)   Increase judicial salaries as proposed by the 1998
 
 7           Judicial Salary Commission; and
 
 8      2)   Link future judicial salary annual increases to the
 
 9           Honolulu Consumer Price Index (All Items
 
10           Combined)-Urban.
 
11      SECTION 2.  Section 602-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended to read as follows:
 
13      "§602-2 Salary, supreme court justices.  Effective
 
14 [January 1, 1989,] July 1, 1997, the salary of the chief justice
 
15 of the supreme court shall be [$90,699] $103,310 a year and the
 
16 salary of each associate justice of the supreme court shall be
 
17 [$89,699] $102,220 a year.  Effective [January 1, 1990,] July 1,
 
18 1998, the salary of the chief justice of the supreme court shall
 
19 be [$94,780] $112,608 a year and the salary of each associate
 
20 justice of the supreme court shall be [$93,780] $111,420 a year.
 
21 Effective July 1, 1999, the salary of the chief justice of the
 
22 supreme court shall be $122,743 a year and the salary of each
 

 
 
 
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 1 associate justice of the supreme court shall be $121,448 a year.
 
 2 Effective July 1, 2002, the annual salary of the chief justice of
 
 3 the supreme court and of each associate justice of the supreme
 
 4 court shall be adjusted by the average of the Honolulu Consumer
 
 5 Price Index (All Items Combined)-Urban increases for the previous
 
 6 three years."
 
 7      SECTION 3.  Section 602-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "§602-52  Salary.  Effective [January 1, 1989,] July 1,
 
10 1997, the salary of the chief judge of the intermediate appellate
 
11 court shall be [$87,199] $99,495 a year and the salary of each
 
12 associate judge shall be [$85,699] $97,860 a year.  Effective
 
13 [January 1, 1990,] July 1, 1998, the salary of the chief judge of
 
14 the intermediate appellate court shall be [$91,280] $108,450 a
 
15 year and the salary of each associate judge shall be [$89,780]
 
16 $106,667 a year.  Effective July 1, 1999, the salary of the chief
 
17 judge of the intermediate appellate court shall be $118,211 a
 
18 year and the salary of each associate judge shall be $116,267 a
 
19 year.  Effective July 1, 2002, the annual salary of the chief
 
20 judge of the intermediate appellate court and each associate
 
21 judge of the intermediate appellate court shall be adjusted by
 
22 the average of the Honolulu Consumer Price Index (All Items
 

 
 
 
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 1 Combined)-Urban increases for the previous three years."
 
 2      SECTION 4.  Section 603-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 3 amended to read as follows:
 
 4      "§603-5 Salary of circuit court judges.  Effective
 
 5 [January 1, 1989,] July 1, 1997, the salary of each circuit court
 
 6 judge of the various circuit courts of the State shall be
 
 7 [$82,699] $94,590 a year.  Effective [January 1, 1990,] July 1,
 
 8 1998, the salary of each circuit court judge of the various
 
 9 circuit courts of the State shall be [$86,780] $103,103 a year.
 
10 Effective July 1, 1999, the salary of each circuit court judge of
 
11 the various circuit courts of the State shall be $112,382 a year.
 
12 Effective July 1, 2002, the annual salary of each circuit court
 
13 judge shall be adjusted by the average of the Honolulu Consumer
 
14 Price Index (All Items Combined)-Urban increases for the previous
 
15 three years."
 
16      SECTION 5.  Section 604-2.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended to read as follows:
 
18      "§604-2.5  Salary of district judges.  Effective [January 1,
 
19 1989,] July 1, 1997, the salary of each district court judge of
 
20 the various district courts of the State shall be [$77,699]
 
21 $89,140 a year.  Effective [January 1, 1990,] July 1, 1998, the
 
22 salary of each district court judge of the various district
 

 
 
 
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 1 courts of the State shall be [$81,780] $97,163 a year.  Effective
 
 2 July 1, 1999, the salary of each district court judge shall be
 
 3 $105,908 year.  Effective July 1, 2002, the annual salary of each
 
 4 district court judge shall be adjusted by the average of the
 
 5 Honolulu Consumer Price Index (All Items Combined)-Urban
 
 6 increases for the previous three years.
 
 7      Whenever the chief justice appoints a district court judge
 
 8 of any of the various district courts of the State to serve
 
 9 temporarily as a circuit court judge of any of the various
 
10 circuit courts of the State, the judge shall receive per diem
 
11 compensation for the days on which actual service is rendered
 
12 based on the monthly rate of compensation paid to a circuit court
 
13 judge.  For the purpose of determining per diem compensation in
 
14 this section, a month shall be deemed to consist of twenty-one
 
15 days."
 
16      SECTION 6.  Section 608-1.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended to read as follows:
 
18      "§608-1.5  Judicial salary commission.  (a)  There [shall
 
19 be] is established a judicial salary commission [to review and
 
20 recommend salaries of] which shall be attached to the judicial
 
21 council for administrative purposes only.  The commission shall
 
22 determine the annual and periodic adjustments to salaries for
 

 
 
 
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 1 justices and judges of all state courts and appointed judiciary
 
 2 administrative officers.  The commission shall be composed of
 
 3 five members, two to be appointed by the governor, one by the
 
 4 president of the senate, one by the speaker of the house, and one
 
 5 by the chief justice.  Members shall be appointed for terms of
 
 6 four years each.  Members shall not receive compensation for
 
 7 their services, but shall be reimbursed for traveling and other
 
 8 expenses incidental to the performance of commission duties.
 
 9 [For administrative purposes only, the commission shall be
 
10 attached to the judicial council.]
 
11      (b)  The salary of the chief justice of the supreme court,
 
12 each associate justice of the supreme court, the chief judge of
 
13 the intermediate appellate court, each associate judge of the
 
14 intermediate appellate court, each circuit court judge, and each
 
15 district court judge shall be adjusted annually by the average
 
16 increase from the previous three years of the Honolulu Consumer
 
17 Price Index (All Items Combined)-Urban.  The commission annually
 
18 shall compute the three year Honolulu Consumer Price Index (All
 
19 Items Combined)-Urban average and establish the annual salary
 
20 increase for each justice and judge not later than September 15,
 
21 of each year.
 
22      (c)  [By] Notwithstanding the Honolulu Consumer Price Index
 

 
 
 
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 1 (All Items Combined)-Urban average annual salary adjustment, the
 
 2 commission may recommend period salary increases.  Not later than
 
 3 October 15 of each year preceding a fiscal biennium, the
 
 4 commission shall submit its recommendations in a report to the
 
 5 legislature, with copies to be submitted to the governor and
 
 6 chief justice.
 
 7      (d)  At the next regular legislative session, [the amounts
 
 8 recommended] all increased salary amounts of each justice and
 
 9 judge computed and adjusted by the commission pursuant to
 
10 subsection (b), shall be submitted by the chief justice as part
 
11 of the judiciary's proposed budget pursuant to the budgetary
 
12 procedures specified in chapter 37 and section 601-2(c).  The
 
13 increased salary amounts computed and adjusted pursuant to this
 
14 section shall become law unless rejected in their entirety by a
 
15 majority vote of the legislature.  Salary amounts in the budget
 
16 as enacted shall take precedence over any inconsistent statutes."
 
17      SECTION 7.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
18 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $4,027,501, or so much
 
19 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000 and the sum
 
20 of $2,073,245, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
 
21 year 2000-2001 for salaries in the judiciary.  The sums
 
22 appropriated shall be expended by the judiciary for the purposes
 

 
 
 
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 1 of this Act.
 
 2      SECTION 8.  If any provision of this Act, or the application
 
 3 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 
 4 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
 
 5 the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
 
 6 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are
 
 7 severable.
 
 8      SECTION 9.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 9 New statutory material is underscored.
 
10      SECTION 10.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
11 provided that section 6 shall take effect on July 1, 2002.
 
12