HB 786-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
09/10
HOUSE BILL 786-FN
AN ACT relative to compensation for retired full-time justices for service after retirement.
SPONSORS: Rep. D. Cote, Hills 23; Rep. Dokmo, Hills 6; Sen. Foster, Dist 13
This bill allows certain limited compensation for retired full-time justices for service after retirement.
This bill was requested by the supreme court.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0711
09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to compensation for retired full-time justices for service after retirement.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Compensation for Retired Full-Time Justices for Service after Retirement. Amend RSA 493-A by inserting after section 1-a the following new section:
493-A:1-b Compensation. Any retired full-time justice of the supreme, superior, district, or probate court who serves after retirement as a senior active status justice or a judicial referee shall be allowed their expenses and a per diem compensation determined by the supreme court upon recommendation by the judicial branch administrative council and based on the daily equivalent of the annual salary the retired justice would then be earning pursuant to RSA 491-A:1; provided however, that in any calendar year the total of the service retirement benefits that the retired justice receives pursuant to RSA 100-C:5 plus the compensation provided by this section shall not exceed the annual salary the retired justice would then be earning pursuant to RSA 491-A:1.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
LBAO
07-0711
Revised 02/13/07
HB 786 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to compensation for retired full-time justices for service after retirement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch states this bill may increase expenditures by an indeterminable amount in fiscal year 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill provides for compensation for retired full time justices of all courts who serve after retirement. For such services they would receive their expenses plus a per diem based on the daily equivalent of the annual salary of the position from which they retired. In any calendar year, retired judge’s compensation, including retirement plus per diems, would be capped at the annual salary from which they retired. Currently retired judges are not compensated for their services but they do receive expenses. Thus, the fiscal impact of this bill would be the per diem compensation.
In the district and probate courts and in the judicial branch family division there would be no fiscal impact because any work performed by retired judges would mean less work available to the existing part time judges who are paid on a per diem basis. The per diem is the same and therefore the fiscal impact is zero.
In the superior court, where all judges are full-time, the addition of retired judges would have a fiscal impact. In 2005 and 2006 retired superior court judges served an average of 50 days per year. If the same rate of service applies in the future and there is no change in the current per diem of $454, the cost for retired judges to the superior court is $22,700 (50 days x $454 per day).
In the supreme court, retired judges sit on cases as temporary justices pursuant to RSA 490:3 when a current justice cannot sit, and to act as referees to determine issues such as attorney’s fees. Over the past three years the supreme court has averaged 10 retired judges assignments per year with an average length of 3 days per assignment for 30 days of service by retired judges. The per diem would vary depending on whether the retired judge was a superior court or supreme court judge. The per diem for superior court judges would be $454. The per diem for supreme court associate justices would be $484. Using a blended rate of $469 per day and an average rate of service at 30 days per year, the cost of using retired judges in the supreme court would be $14,070. The total fiscal impact of providing compensation for retired judges would be $36,770 ($22,700 in the superior courts and $14,070 in the supreme court).