ASSEMBLY, No. 1311
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman CHARLES
An Act establishing a Judicial Compensation Commission and supplementing Title 2B of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that providing adequate compensation to the judges of this State is a critical factor in preserving the standards of judicial excellence that New Jersey has long maintained. The Legislature further finds that inadequate compensation, which results in unreasonable economic hardship, prevents many highly qualified individuals from serving as judges or prevents them from serving on the bench for a sufficient period of time. This economic reality severely undermines the essential goal of maintaining the highest level of public confidence in the State judiciary. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to establish an independent commission to investigate and make recommendations concerning judicial salaries, in order to determine the amount of compensation necessary to create the most qualified applicant pool and to retain an experienced judiciary.
2. There is hereby created a "Judicial Compensation Commission." The commission shall consist of seven members, appointed as follows: two shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall not be of the same political party, two shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, who shall not be of same political party, and three shall be appointed by the Governor, not more than two of whom shall be of the same political party. The commission shall at all times remain bipartisan in its membership, comprised of no more than four members of any one political party. The members shall serve for six-year terms commencing on January 1 following the year of the appointment, except that of those first appointed, two shall be appointed for a term of two years, two for four years, and three for six years. Members shall be eligible for reappointment to the commission but shall be limited to two consecutive terms. The commission shall elect a chairman from among its members.
Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but they shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated for this purpose.
3. No member of the commission shall hold any other public office, nor shall any member be an employee or member of any State department, agency, board, or other State commission during such member's tenure on the Judicial Compensation Commission. A violation of this section by any member of the commission shall result in immediate constructive resignation, and the resulting vacancy shall be filled according to section 2 of this act.
4. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Treasury, but, notwithstanding that allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the Department of Treasury or any officer or employee thereof.
5. The commission shall establish, subject to the veto power of the individual houses of the Legislature and of the Governor pursuant to section 9 of this act, the salary and benefits, including retirement benefits, to be paid from the State treasury and other sources for all justices and judges of this State, including retired justices and judges sitting on assignment.
6. The commission is authorized to:
a. Call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for that purpose. All departments, agencies and divisions are authorized and directed, to the extent not inconsistent with law, to cooperate with the commission; and
b. Meet and hold hearings at the place or places it designates during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature.
7. The commission shall report to the Legislature and the Governor annually concerning its findings, conclusions, and recommendations as to the proper salary and benefits to be paid from the State treasury and other sources for all judges and justices of this State, including retired judges and justices sitting on assignment. The report shall also include such legislative proposals as the commission deems necessary to implement these recommendations.
8. The commission shall conduct its study and make its recommendations with respect to all aspects of judicial compensation in this State to the end that the judicial compensation structure shall be adequate to ensure that the most highly qualified individuals in this State, selected from a diversity of life and professional experiences, will be attracted to the State judiciary and will be able to serve and to continue to serve without unreasonable economic hardship and with a level of judicial independence unaffected by financial concerns.
9. In order to carry out its responsibilities, the commission shall consider the following factors, among others:
a. the skills and experience required of persons qualified to serve as judges in the State;
b. the workload and time required of persons who serve as judges;
c. the value of compensable service performed by judges and justices, as determined by reference to judicial compensation in other states and the federal government;
d. the value of comparable service performed in the private sector, including private judging, arbitration, and mediation, based on the responsibility and discretion required in the particular judgeship at issue and the demand for such services in the private sector;
e. the compensation of attorneys in the private sector;
f. the average consumer prices commonly know as the cost of living, as well as the changes in such measure;
g. the overall compensation presently received by other public officials in this State, including State constitutional office holders and deans, presidents, and chancellors of the public university system, and also including prosecutors, chiefs of police and county counsel; and
h. such other factors, not confined to the foregoing, that are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of such compensation.
10.a. A commission recommendation shall take effect at the end of a period of 90 calendar days after the date on which the recommendation is submitted to the General Assembly, the Senate and the Governor on a day on which both Houses shall be meeting in the course of a regular or special session unless, between the date of transmittal and the end of the 90-day period, any of the following occurs:
(1) A majority of the members of the General Assembly votes to reject any or all such recommendations; or
(2) A majority of the members of the Senate votes to reject any or all such recommendations; or
(3) The Governor rejects any or all such recommendations.
b. A commission recommendation which is not disapproved in the manner provided by subsection a. of this section shall have the force and effect of law and the Secretary of State shall cause the same to be printed and published in the annual edition of the public laws under a heading of "Judicial Compensation."
c. If a majority of the Senate or a majority of the General Assembly votes to reject a commission recommendations, such House shall issue to the governor, the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and the president of the New Jersey Bar Association, a report detailing the reasons for each such rejection.
11. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a Judicial Compensation Commission to investigate and make recommendations concerning judicial salaries.
The bill recognizes that providing adequate compensation to the judges of this State is a critical factor in preserving New Jersey's standards of judicial excellence, and that inadequate compensation prevents many highly qualified individuals from serving as judges or from remaining on the bench for sufficient periods after they have been appointed.
The commission would consist of seven public members, appointed by the Governor, the President of the Senate, and Speaker of the General Assembly, not more than four of whom could be members of any one political party. The commission would meet and hold hearings in the course of its duties.
In making its recommendations concerning judicial compensation, the commission would take into account such factors as:
The skills and experience required of persons qualified to serve as judges;
The workload and time involved;
The compensation received by judges in other states and the federal government;
The value of comparable service performed in the private sector, including the compensation of attorneys;
Increases in the cost of living; and
The compensation received by other public officials in this State.
The commission would report to the Legislature and Governor annually concerning its findings, which would be binding and have the force of law unless a majority of the members of either the Senate or the General Assembly votes to reject any of the recommendations or
the Governor rejects any of the recommendations.
Establishes a Judicial Compensation Commission.