SB 589 — Providing pay increases to members of judiciary

CS for SB 589 WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 589 By Senators Woodrum, Woelfel, Taylor, and Takubo [Reported March 4,24, 2025, from the Committee on theFinance] Judiciary]CS for CS for SB 589 A BILL to amend and reenact §50-1-3, §51-1-10a, §51-2-13, §51-2A-6, §51-9-4, §51-9-6a, §51-9- 6b, §51-9-6c, and §51-11-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;

providing salary for secretary-clerks of family court judges and family case coordinators determined by a pay scale established by court;

Provided, That beginning July 1, 2005, the salary of each of the justices of the Supreme 1 CS for SB 589 Court shall be $121,000:

Provided further, That beginning July 1, 2021, the 1 CS for CS for SB 589 annual salary of a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be $142,800, and beginning July 1, 2022, the annual salary of a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be $149,600.:

And provided further, That beginning July 1, 2025, the annual salary of a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be $167,552.$157,600.

And provided further, That beginning July 1, 2025, the annual salary of a circuit judge shall be $155,232.$146,600.

Provided further, That beginning July 1, 2020, the annual salary of a family court judge shall be 2 CS for SB 589 $103,950.:

And provided further, That beginning July 1, 2025, the annual salary of a family court judge shall be $125,416.$111,950.

(b) The secretary-clerk of the family court judge is appointed by the family court judge and 2 CS for CS for SB 589 serves at his or her will and pleasure.

shall be determined by a pay scale established by the Administrative Director of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

shall be determined by a pay scale established by the Administrative Director of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The sheriff of each county shall serve or designate persons to serve so as to assure that a 3 CS for SB 589 bailiff is available when a family court judge determines the same is necessary for the orderly and efficient conduct of the business of the family court.

(f) Family court judges and members of their staffs staff are allowed their actual and 3 CS for CS for SB 589 necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(a) Every person who is now serving or shall hereafter serve as a judge of any court of record of this state shall pay into the Judges' Retirement Fund six percent of the salary received by 4 CS for SB 589 such person out of the State Treasury:

Provided further, That consistent with the salary increase 4 CS for CS for SB 589 granted to judges of courts of record during the 2005 regular legislative session and to changes effectuated in judicial retirement by provisions enacted during the third extraordinary legislative session of 2005, on and after July 1, 2005, every person who is then serving or shall thereafter serve as a judge of any court of record in this state shall pay into the Judges' Retirement Fund ten and one-half percent of the salary received by that person:

Provided, That the contribution will be no less than seven percent or no more than ten and one-half percent of the participant's annual 5 CS for SB 589 compensation.

(c) On or after July 1, 2013, and each year thereafter, the annual actuarial valuation prepared by the State Actuary for determination of all participants' contributions and the annual actuarially required contribution prepared by the State Actuary for use by the courts of this state for legislative appropriation shall be provided to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Joint Committee on Pensions and Retirement:Retirement :

Provided, That the responsibility of the courts to pay, deposit, or transfer the calculated contribution into the plan shall 5 CS for CS for SB 589 be suspendedplaced on a contribution holiday until such time that the actual overfunded nature of the pension fund has fallen below a rate of 150 percent, or until July 1, 2029, whichever comes sooner in time.

6 CS for SB 589 (f) Any judge seeking to qualify military service to be claimed as credited service, in allowable aggregate maximum amount up to five years, shall be entitled to be awarded the same without any required payment in respect thereof to the Judges' Retirement Fund.

The Retirement Board is 6 CS for CS for SB 589 authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this section and may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service credit pursuant to the authority granted to the retirement board in section one, article ten-d, chapter five §5-10D-1 of this code to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(a) Any judge of a court of record of this state who shall have served for a period of not less than eight full years after attaining the age of sixty-five 65 years and who shall have made 7 CS for SB 589 payments into the Judges' Retirement Fund as provided in this article for each month during which he or she served as such judge following the effective date of this section, shall be subject to all the applicable terms and provisions of this article, not inconsistent with the provisions hereof, and shall receive retirement benefits in an amount equal to seventy-five percent of the annual salary of the office from which he or she has retired based upon such salary of such office as such salary may be changed from time to time during the period of his or her retirement and the amount of his or her retirement benefits shall be based upon and be equal to seventy-five percent of the highest annual 7 CS for CS for SB 589 salary of such office for any one calendar year during the period of his or her retirement and shall be payable in monthly installments.

(b) Any individual who is appointed or elected for the first time as a family court judge, a judge of a court of record, judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals, or as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, of this State after July 1, 2005, who having attained the age of 65 years, and who shall have served as a sitting judge of said court or courts for a period of not less than 12 full years, and who shall have made payments into the Judges’ Retirement Fund as provided in this article for each month during which he or she served as a judge or justice, isshall be eligible to receive the pension to which he or she would otherwise have been entitled to receive as if at 16 years of credited service, but with an actuarial reduction of pension benefit to be established as a reduced annuity receivable throughout retirement, and shall be paid as an annual retirement benefit as herein provided asso long as he or she lives.shall live.

8 CS for SB 589 §51-9-6b.

(a) There shall be paid, from the fund created or continued by section two of this article, or from such funds as may be appropriated by the Legislature for such purpose, an annuity to the surviving spouse of a judge, if such judge at the time of his or her death is eligible for the retirement benefits provided by any of the provisions of this article, or who has, at death, actually served five 8 CS for CS for SB 589 years or more as a sitting judge of any court of record of this state, exclusive of any other service credit to which such judge may otherwise be entitled, and who dies either while in office or after resignation or retirement from office pursuant to the provisions of this article.

Said annuity shall amount to forty fifty50 percent of the annual salary of the office which said judge held at his or her death or from which he or she resigned or retired.

In the event said salary is increased or decreased while an annuitant is receiving the benefits hereunder, his or her annuity shall amount to forty 50 percent of the new salary:

(b) If there be no surviving spouse at the time of death of a judge who dies after serving five years or more as a sitting judge of any court of record and such judge leaves surviving him or her any dependent child or children, such dependent child or children shall receive an amount equal to 9 CS for SB 589 twenty percent of the annual salary of the office which said judge held at the time of his or her death:

In the event there are surviving any such judge three or 9 CS for CS for SB 589 more dependent children, then each such child's annuity shall be proratably reduced in order that the aggregate annuity received by all such dependent children does not exceed forty percent of such salary and the amount to be so received by any such child shall continue throughout the entire period during which each such child is eligible to receive such annuity.

Such annuities shall commence on the first day of the month in which any such dependent child becomes eligible for benefits hereunder and shall terminate on 10 CS for SB 589 the last day of the month during which such eligibility ceases.

(a) The state shall not increase any existing benefits or create any new benefits for any retirees or beneficiaries currently receiving monthly benefit payments from the system, other than an increase in benefits or new benefits effected by operation of law in effect on the effective date of this article, in an amount that would exceed more than one percent of the accrued actuarial liability of the system as of the last day of the preceding fiscal year as determined in the annual actuarial 10 CS for CS for SB 589 valuation for the plan completed for the Consolidated Public Retirement Board as of the first day of the following fiscal year as of the date the improvement is adopted by the Legislature.

Provided, That if bonds are issued pursuant to article eight, chapter twelve of this code, the provisions of this 11 CS for SB 589 section shall not terminate while any of the bonds are outstanding.

Provided, That beginning July 1, 2025 the annual salary of a Judge of the Intermediate Court of 11 CS for CS for SB 589 Appeals shall be $159,600.$150,500.