This legislative session had room for one more bit of fireworks before sine die, when the Texas Senate voted for a bill to raise judicial pay but stripped House language that untied their own pensions from the salary increase.
The issue of a judicial pay raise — which judges haven’t been since 2013 — has become contentious in sessions past, though not because of the judges themselves. Pension funds for elected officials are a factor of 2.3 percent of the base judicial pay, which is currently $140,000. When legislators tried to give a base salary increase for state judges last session, they were assailed for wanting to goose their own pensions. Ultimately, no judicial pay raise passed because of it.
