Although it was a big part of the last-minute budget deal between the governor and Republican leaders in the Oklahoma Legislature, a planned pay increase for some members of the judiciary is not going over well with those who would get the raise.
This week, Gov. Kevin Stitt backed away from his attempt to tie the FY 2025 budget to a cut in state income taxes. Instead, the governor — returning to the budget summit after several absences — told lawmakers he would sign the budget if lawmakers agreed to allocate $20 million to the governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund, pass a judicial pay raise approval – but limit this to 7%. and limit it to district judges – continue to fund tribal lawsuits and create a task force to create a state court for cases.
Stitt’s change of heart surprised some lawmakers.
“We didn’t expect the governor to do that,” said Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat. “But I thought it was a very fair deal for us.”
The governor’s decision ended the debate over a second tax cut and appeared to solve a second problem: concerns that he would veto the budget deal and that those vetoes could not be overridden.
Why the Oklahoma Judges Association asked members to oppose Governor Stitt’s budget proposal
But not everyone was happy with the proposal.
This week, the president of the Oklahoma Judges Association, a legal advocacy group, sent an email to its members asking them to contact their state legislators and oppose the governor’s proposal. A copy of the email, obtained by The Oklahoman, shows that the jury group was not happy with Stitt’s wage idea.
“The time is now at hand for judges to contact their representatives and senators and urge them to oppose any resolution disapproving the recommended 17% wage increase,” Judge Thad Balkman wrote in an email to members of the Union.
“Our district and appellate courts have sufficient resources to cover the $8.6 million cost of this year’s increases, and we will need to request additional funding next session and an annual appropriation next session if the Legislature does not is inclined to appropriate the money. But the message for now is simple: oppose any resolution that disapproves and reduces the 17% increase in judicial compensation. Contact your legislators now and not with a blanket email sent to multiple legislators at once,” the email urged.
More: House and Senate GOP leaders reach agreement on budget – without income tax cuts
Balkman, a district judge in Cleveland County, is president of the association. He said the 17% wage increase would have taken effect automatically if it had not been included in the budget proposal.
“As a reminder, the 17 percent wage increase recommended by the Judicial Compensation Council will go into effect unless a resolution reducing it is passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed by the Governor,” Balkman wrote. “Such a resolution has not yet been introduced by the House of Representatives or the Senate, but it appears that it will be very likely as the session winds down and pressure mounts to pass a budget before Sine Die’s adjournment.”
Gov. Stitt wants to focus only on district courts
However, Stitt said a 17% or 18% pay increase “seemed like a big bump from the start.”
“Our judges are doing a great job,” the governor said. “We have to make sure we’re paying at competitive rates. The only caveat is, let’s just focus on district courts.”
Stitt said he chose to focus on district courts because the courts in eastern Oklahoma are “federal court-selected.”
“I have been in favor of tax cuts all along,” the governor said. “And giving people raises is a noble cause, but at the same time, if we have all this money to give public employees raises, we should be giving Oklahomans a tax cut.”
According to the governor, the appellate courts have no problems recruiting people.
“An 18 percent raise in one year? I didn’t get an 18 percent raise,” the governor said. “The average Oklahoman salary is $55,000 a year, and we thought giving that much across the board was probably a bit much this session.”
Balkman said his group has continued to monitor budget discussions and has been in contact with lawmakers nearly every day of this session.
“So far, lawmakers have been unclear and noncommittal about their support for the recommended 17% wage increase,” Balkman wrote. “Since Monday, budget discussions have revealed that the governor is making his approval of a budget conditional on a maximum of 7% of salary increases, and only for trial-level judges. The governor’s position is that pay increases should only target trial judges because “of the potential for judges to be recruited to federal court.”
Lawmakers expect to have a final version of the budget ready on Tuesday. The second session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature adjourns on May 31 at 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma judges group opposes Governor Stitt’s pay raise plan
