HSB 180 (LSB 1374XD (4) 91)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED JUDICIAL BRANCH BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to judicial officer salaries, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 602.1501, Code 2025, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   602.1501  Judicial officer salaries.
   1.  A salary rate specified in subsection 2 takes effect at the start of the pay period in which the applicable fiscal year begins. The salaries provided for in this section shall be paid from moneys appropriated to the judicial branch.
   2.  a.  (1)  Each district judge except the chief judge of a judicial district shall receive an annual salary equal to a specified percentage of the annual rate of compensation for a district judge of the United States in effect at the beginning of the applicable state fiscal year, as follows:
   (a)  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, seventy-one percent.
   (b)  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, seventy-two and thirty-three hundredths percent.
   (c)  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027, seventy-three and sixty-six hundredths percent.
   (2)  This paragraph is repealed July 1, 2028.
   b.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2028, and adjusted for each fiscal year thereafter, each district judge except the chief judge of a judicial district shall receive an annual salary equal to seventy-five percent of the annual rate of compensation for a district judge of the United States in effect at the beginning of the applicable state fiscal year.
   c.  The following judicial officer salaries shall be calculated as a percentage of the state district judge salary for a given fiscal year as specified in this subsection, as follows:
   (1)  For the chief justice of the supreme court, one hundred twenty-four percent.
   (2)  For each justice of the supreme court except the chief justice, one hundred nineteen percent.
   (3)  For the chief judge of the court of appeals, one hundred eleven percent.
   (4)  For each judge of the court of appeals except the chief judge of the court of appeals, one hundred seven percent.
   (5)  For each chief judge of a judicial district, one hundred four percent.
   (6)  For each district associate judge, associate juvenile judge, and associate probate judge, eighty-nine percent.
   (7)  For each magistrate, twenty-seven percent, subject to section 602.6402.
   (8)  For each senior judge, six percent.
   3.  Notwithstanding subsection 2, if the supreme court determines that appropriations to the judicial branch for a given fiscal year are insufficient to provide the full allowable judicial officer salaries set forth in subsection 2 or other good cause exists, the supreme court may provide judicial officers a lower annual salary.
    Sec. 2.  Section 602.9104, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  A judge to whom this article applies shall be paid an amount equal to the basic salary of the judge as set by the general assembly section 602.1501, reduced by an amount designated as the judge’s required contribution to the judicial retirement fund. The amount designated as the judge’s required contribution shall be paid by the state in the manner provided in subsection 2.
    Sec. 3.  Section 602.9204, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  A judge who retires on or after July 1, 1994, and who is appointed a senior judge under section 602.9203 shall be paid a salary as determined by the general assembly section 602.1501.
    Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect June 20, 2025.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to judicial officer salaries. Under current law, the general assembly determines the salaries of judicial officers by enacting the salaries in annual appropriations bills.
   The bill instead creates a formula to calculate judicial officer salaries. The bill requires the judicial officer salaries to be paid from the moneys appropriated to the judicial branch in a given fiscal year. The bill provides an increase over four fiscal years for a state district judge’s salary from 71 to 75 percent of the salary of a federal district judge, and sets the salary of other judicial officers based on a percentage of the salary of a state district judge as follows: the chief justice of the supreme court, 124 percent; other justices of the supreme court, 119 percent; the chief judge of the court of appeals, 111 percent; a judge of the court of appeals except the chief judge, 107 percent; a chief judge of a judicial district, 104 percent; a district associate judge, associate juvenile judge, or associate probate judge, 89 percent; a magistrate, 27 percent, subject to Code section 602.6402 (additional magistrate allowed); and a senior judge, 6 percent.
   The bill allows the supreme court to provide lower salaries for judicial officers if the supreme court decides that the moneys appropriated in a given fiscal year are not sufficient to provide the full allowable salaries for judicial officers, or if other good cause exists.
   The bill makes conforming changes to Code sections 602.9104 and 602.9204. By operation of law, the bill affects the salaries of county attorneys of counties with a population of 200,000 or less (Code section 331.752(5)).
   The bill takes effect June 20, 2025.