Salaries for judges could go up substantially under a bill being debated by the state Senate.
Senator Phil Nicholas says judicial salaries have lagged behind those in state government and higher education… and is proposing a nearly 34-thousand dollar increase for those on the Supreme Court, a 25 thousand dollar increase for District Court Judges, and Circuit court judges would see a pay hike of roughly 7-thousand dollars.
However,Senator Charles Scott of Casper fears such increases could take away much needed dollars from important programs like Medicaid.
“I have difficulty voting for this bill without knowing whether it’s taking money, Mr. Chairman that ought to be spent on those people who have very real needs.”
Scott also stated that he believes that the judicial branch could do a better job. Fellow Casper Senator Kit Jennings added that the state learned with teacher salaries that throwing money at people does not guarantee a better performance. The bill will be debated two more times.