NY Lawmakers Approve Commission to Set Judicial Salaries
Twelve years have passed since state judges in New York have gotten a pay raise, but the impasse is ending with the passage of new legislation setting up a commission to set judicial salaries.
Gov. David Patterson backed the measure and is expected to sign the legislation, the New York Times reports.
Under the legislation, three members of the commission would be appointed by the governor, two by the state’s chief judge, and one each by the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly. Their salary recommendations would take effect the next year unless blocked by the legislature.
Currently judges in the state’s highest trial-level court earn $136,700 a year.
New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, who currently earns $156,000, applauded the legislation, the story reports. “This takes judicial salaries out of the political arena so we will be able to have, like other professions, the ability to attract and retain the highest quality judges to the bench,” he said.
