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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR

Park

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/26/07

HB

490

SHORT TITLE

Judge and Hearing Officer Salaries

SB

ANALYST

Sanchez

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$3,038.8

Recurring General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 489, Chief Judge Salary Formula Change, and HB 488, Metro and Magistrate

Judge Salary Formula.

Relates to HB 489, Chief Judge Salary Formula Change, and HB 488, Metro and Magistrate

Judge Salary Formula.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

Personnel Board

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 490 appropriates $3,038,839 from the general fund to the department of finance and

administration for expenditure in FY 08. This bill will increase the salary of the justices of the

Supreme Court to $131,394. Salary increases will also be provided, pursuant to the provisions of

Section 34-1-9 NMSA 1978 and the judicial compensation plan, to judges serving on the court of

appeals, district courts, metropolitan court, magistrate courts; child support hearing officers; and

special commissioners. The salary increases will be effective the first full pay period after July

1, 2007. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 07 shall revert

to the general fund.

House Bill 490 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

This bill appropriates recurring funds in the amount of $3,038.839 for increasing salaries to the

department of finance and administration. This amount will increase in any year the Legislature

raises judicial salaries.

The following chart sets forth the proposed salaries for New Mexico judges:

No. Curr. Rate New Rate Diff Benefits Total

Chief Justi ce

1

117, 040

$

133, 394

$

16,354

$

3,426

$

19,780

$

Justic e

4

115, 040

$

131, 394

$

16,354

$

3,426

$

79,121

$

Chief Judge COA

1

111, 188

$

126, 724

$

15, 536

$

3,255

$

18,791

$

COA Judge

9

109, 288

$

124, 824

$

15, 536

$

3,255

$

169, 120

$

Chief District Judge 13

105,629

$

120, 388

$

14, 759

$

3,092

$

232, 071

$

District Judge

71

103,824

$

118, 583

$

14, 759

$

3,092

$

1, 267, 463

$

Chief Metro Judge

1

95, 066

$

108,349

$

13, 284

$

2,783

$

16,066

$

M etro Judge

18

93, 441

$

106,725

$

13, 284

$

2,783

$

289, 196

$

P residing Magistrate 2

71, 299

$

81,262

$

9, 963

$

1,988

$

23,900

$

M agis trate Judge

63

70,081

$

80,044

$

9, 963

$

1,988

$

752, 863

$

Hear Off/S pec Com m 11.5

83,059

$

94,866

$

11, 808

$

3,016

$

170, 467

$

To t al

195

3, 038, 839

$

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Legislature created the Judicial Compensation Commission, an independent six-member

Commission charged with recommending to the Legislative Finance Committee and the

Department of Finance and Administration a compensation and benefits plan for New Mexico

judges.

In 2006, the Judicial Compensation Commission set a standard formula for use in future years to

determine appropriate judicial salaries. The Commission reviewed judge salary data for the 13-

state region it used in 2005 to compare judicial salaries. Because of concerns that the 13-state

region included states on the Pacific Coast (e.g., California, Alaska and Hawaii) that are not

comparable to New Mexico, the Commission concluded that the 13-state region is not the most

accurate comparison market for New Mexico judges. To address this concern, the Commission

adopted the 9-state region (excluding New Mexico) currently being used by the Hay Group to

compare New Mexico state employee salaries as the comparison market as illustrated below:

House Bill 490 – Page

3

2006 Supreme Court

Justice Salary

150,000

$

142,341

$

140,000

$

131,100

$

125,850

$

123,590

$

122,972

$

115,300

$

115,040

$

131,394

$

Average of States

Excluding NM

Utah

Wyoming

Texas

Oklahoma

HAY Comparison States

Nevada

New Mexico

Arizona

Colorado

Kansas

On November 9, 2006, the Commission submitted its recommendation to DFA and LFC to raise

the salary of an associate Supreme Court justice to $131,394. This bill is consistent with the

Judicial Compensation Commission’s Recommendation No. 1.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The courts are participating in performance-based budgeting. It is unknown if enactment of this

bill would impact performance measures as they relate to judicial budgeting.

COMPANIONSHIP

HB 489, Chief Judge Salary Formula Changes, and HB 488, Metro and Magistrate Judge Salary

Formula.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Status quo.

CS/mt