Bill Text: TX HCR142 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Requesting the creation of a joint interim committee to study state judicial salaries.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-29 - Received from the House [HCR142 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HCR142-Comm_Sub.html
| 85R31293 KSM-D | |||
| By: Hunter | H.C.R. No. 142 | ||
| Substitute the following for H.C.R. No. 142: | |||
| By: Schofield | C.S.H.C.R. No. 142 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Judicial salaries in Texas are consistently lower | ||
| than those of other states with similar populations, and the state | ||
| judiciary has received only two pay raises since 2000; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Judicial Compensation Commission was created in | ||
| 2007 to recommend appropriate salaries for judges of the Texas | ||
| Supreme Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the courts of | ||
| appeals, and the district courts; since its inception, the JCC has | ||
| issued a report during each state legislative session; the only | ||
| upgrade in compensation came after the commission's 2012 | ||
| endorsement of a 21.5 percent raise in judicial salaries; the | ||
| legislature voted to increase wages by 12 percent; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Texas judiciary plays a fundamental role in | ||
| upholding the rule of law and safeguarding the rights and | ||
| protections guaranteed to citizens by the state and federal | ||
| constitutions, and competitive wages help to attract and retain the | ||
| most qualified and capable judges for courts across the Lone Star | ||
| State; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house | ||
| of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study | ||
| state judicial salaries; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the study include the creation of a formula to | ||
| calculate state judicial salaries, examining the salaries of the | ||
| highest appellate courts of the nine most populous states other | ||
| than Texas, the salaries of judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals, | ||
| and the average starting base salaries of first-year associate | ||
| attorneys at the five largest law firms in Texas; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be | ||
| governed by such general rules and policies for joint interim | ||
| committees as the 85th Legislature may adopt. | ||
