Council backs automatic cost‑of‑living pay adjustments and JRS annuity fix for judges

The Judicial Council voted to adopt recommendations from its Judicial Compensation and Benefits Committee to establish a regular cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) for judicial pay and to enact a one‑time annuity adjustment for judges in certain JRS classifications. Justice Ken Wise presented the proposal, telling the council the committee “picked the consumer price index” as a transparent index for automatic upward adjustments.

Wise said the approach would set a default rule similar to federal and many state practices so judicial pay keeps pace with inflation while leaving final budget authority with the Legislature. After discussion, a council member moved to adopt the committee’s recommendations; the motion passed and the council recorded the recommendation for legislative consideration.

Why it matters: Committee members said automatic adjustments could reduce recurring legislative fights over pay schedules and keep judicial compensation from falling behind inflation. The council also recommended a discrete correction for certain JRS annuities, describing it as a one‑time adjustment to “bring it up to speed.”