Does a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary include the longevity pay a district judge in the county receives?

Plain-English summary

This is a nuts-and-bolts payroll question about how much a county has to pay one of its judges. In Texas, the minimum salary of a statutory county court at law judge is pegged by Government Code section 25.0005(a) to what a district judge with comparable years of service makes. Montgomery County's auditor, Rakesh Pandey, noticed a wrinkle: the minimum-salary subsection (a) ties the county court at law judge's pay to a district judge's salary plus "any state or county contributions and supplements," but it does not specifically mention longevity pay, while the separate maximum-salary subsection (a-2) does spell out longevity pay. So he asked the Attorney General whether the minimum salary under subsection (a) includes an amount based on a district judge's longevity pay.

The AG walked through the formula. First, you determine the district judge's salary. Section 659.012 sets a district judge's base salary (at least $140,000, as fixed by the General Appropriations Act) and then bumps it up by years of service: 110 percent of base for more than four but fewer than eight years, and 120 percent for eight or more years. For a judge with twelve or more years of accrued service, the comparable district judge's salary is 120 percent of the base. Second, to that figure you add "any state or county contributions and supplements paid to a district judge in the county." The AG explained that the state longevity-pay supplement under section 659.0445 is exactly that kind of supplement. A judge qualifies for longevity pay by being a current judicial officeholder paid by the State, a member of the Judicial Retirement System, with twelve years of credited service.

Putting it together, the AG concluded that if a district judge in the same county actually receives longevity pay under section 659.0445, that longevity pay is included in the sum of the district judge's salary, contributions, and supplements that forms the basis of the county court at law judge's minimum salary. The key word is "paid": the supplement counts only if a district judge in the county is in fact receiving it. The AG noted this reading was consistent with its earlier Opinion GA-0694, which had held that "total annual salary" in section 25.0005 is broad enough to encompass a district judge's longevity pay. Finally, in a footnote aimed at Montgomery County, the AG pointed to section 25.1722(d), a county-specific salary provision, and explained that under section 25.0005(d)'s own conflict rule, the Montgomery County formula would control only if it yielded a minimum equal to or greater than the section 25.0005(a) amount.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Judicial base salaries and longevity rules are set by the Legislature and the appropriations act and change over time, so verify the current figures and statutes before relying on any number mentioned here.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

The opinion was written for a county auditor who had to compute a judge's mandatory minimum pay correctly. For the county auditor and the commissioners court (which sets the actual salary), the takeaway was a clear method: build the minimum from the comparable district judge's service-adjusted salary, then add the contributions and supplements paid to a district judge in the county, including longevity pay if a district judge there receives it, and set the county court at law judge at no less than $1,000 below that sum. For the county court at law judge, it meant the floor on their salary moved with the district judge's longevity supplement when that supplement was actually being paid in the county. For Montgomery County officials in particular, the opinion flagged that they also had to check the county-specific provision in section 25.1722(d) and apply whichever minimum was higher under the conflict rule in section 25.0005(d).

Common questions

Q: How is a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary set?
A: Under section 25.0005(a), it is at least $1,000 below the sum of a comparable district judge's salary (adjusted for years of service under section 659.012) plus any state or county contributions and supplements paid to a district judge in the county.

Q: Does that minimum include the district judge's longevity pay?
A: Yes, if a district judge in the county actually receives it. The AG concluded that longevity pay under section 659.0445 is one of the supplements included in the formula, consistent with its earlier Opinion GA-0694.

Q: What does "comparable years of service" translate to for a judge with twelve years?
A: A district judge with eight or more years of service earns 120 percent of the state base salary under section 659.012(b)(2), so that 120-percent figure is the comparable salary used in the formula.

Q: Is there anything special about Montgomery County?
A: Yes. The AG noted section 25.1722(d) sets a Montgomery County formula, but under section 25.0005(d)'s conflict rule it controls only if it produces a minimum equal to or greater than the section 25.0005(a) amount.

Background and statutory framework

This opinion is an exercise in reading several pay statutes together. Section 25.0005 of the Government Code governs statutory county court judge salaries: subsection (a) sets the minimum by reference to a comparable district judge's pay, subsection (a-2) sets the maximum and expressly names longevity pay, and subsection (d) contains a conflict rule favoring section 25.0005(a) over other laws that would set a lower minimum. The district judge's salary itself comes from section 659.012, which fixes a base (at least $140,000, per the General Appropriations Act and section 659.011) and scales it by years of service (110 percent for four-to-eight years, 120 percent for eight or more). The supplement at issue, judicial longevity pay, is governed by section 659.0445, with eligibility conditions tied to current judicial office, state-paid salary, membership in the Judicial Retirement System, and twelve years of credited service (see also section 74.041(4)). The AG harmonized these by treating longevity pay as a "supplement paid to a district judge in the county" that feeds into the section 25.0005(a) minimum, relying on the construction adopted in its prior Opinion GA-0694. The footnote on section 25.1722(d) and section 25.0001(a) addresses how a county-specific salary statute interacts with the general formula: ordinarily the county-specific statute prevails, but section 25.0005(d) overrides that to guarantee at least the section 25.0005(a) minimum.

Citations and references

Statutory provisions:

• Tex. Gov't Code § 25.0005 (statutory county court judge salary); § 25.1722 (Montgomery County); § 25.0001 (conflict rule)
• Tex. Gov't Code § 659.012 (district judge salary and service tiers); § 659.0445 (judicial longevity pay); § 659.011

Related opinion:

• Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0694 (2009) ("total annual salary" in section 25.0005 encompasses a district judge's longevity pay)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/ken-paxton/kp-0339
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2020/kp-0339.pdf

Original opinion text

KEN PAXTON
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

October 23, 2020

Mr. Rakesh Pandey
Montgomery County Auditor
501 North Thompson, Suite 205
Conroe, Texas 77301

Opinion No. KP-0339

Re: Calculation of the minimum salary of a county court at law judge with twelve or more years of accrued service under subsection 25.0005(a) of the Government Code (RQ-0353-KP)

Dear Mr. Pandey:

You ask about the calculation of the minimum salary of a county court at law judge with twelve or more years of accrued service under subsection 25.0005(a) of the Government Code.¹ Subsection 25.0005(a) generally governs a statutory county court judge's minimum total annual salary while subsection 25.0005(a-2) sets forth the maximum. TEX. GOV'T CODE § 25.0005(a), (a-2). You observe that while subsection (a) bases a county court at law judge's minimum salary in part on salary payments "to a district judge with comparable years of service," it does not specifically address the inclusion of longevity pay. Request Letter at 1. You note that in contrast, subsection 25.0005(a-2) specifically includes a district judge's longevity pay in calculating a county court at law judge's maximum salary. Id. You ask us to clarify whether the county court at law judge's minimum salary under subsection 25.0005(a) includes an amount based on a district judge's longevity pay. Id. at 2.

In broad strokes, subsection 25.0005(a) provides that a county court at law judge's minimum total annual salary is an amount not less than $1,000 less than the sum of a district judge's salary, contributions, and supplements as specified in other statutes. See TEX. GOV'T CODE § 25.0005(a). Subsection 25.0005(a) provides in part:

(a) A statutory county court judge . . . shall be paid a total annual salary set by the commissioners court at an amount that is not less than $1,000 less than the sum of the annual salary as set by the General Appropriations Act in accordance with Section 659.012 paid to a district judge with comparable years of service as the statutory county court judge and any state or county contributions and supplements paid to a district judge in the county . . . . A statutory county court judge's total annual salary includes any state or county contributions and supplements paid to the judge.

Id. Thus, the formula for calculating the minimum total annual salary for a county court at law judge first requires determining "the annual salary . . . paid to a district judge with comparable years of service as the statutory county court judge." Id. The General Appropriations Act and section 659.012 of the Government Code specify the annual base salary for district judges. See General Appropriations Act, 86th Leg., R.S., S.B. 1, art. IV-37 (2019);² TEX. GOV'T CODE § 659.012(a)(1). Subsection 659.012(a)(1) of the Government Code provides that "a judge of a district court is entitled to an annual base salary from the state as set by the General Appropriations Act in an amount equal to at least $140,000." TEX. GOV'T CODE § 659.012(a)(1); see also id. § 659.011 (stating that "salaries of all state officers and employees are in the amounts provided by the biennial appropriations act").

Subsection 659.012(b) adjusts a district judge's state annual base salary according to the judge's years of service as described in the statute. Id. § 659.012(b) (including accrual of judicial retirement service credit and service in certain positions); see also OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION, JUDICIAL SALARIES EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2019, http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1446571/judicial-salaries-september-2019.pdf. District judges with more than four but less than eight years of service are entitled to an annual salary in an amount that is 110 percent of the state base salary. TEX. GOV'T CODE § 659.012(b)(1). District judges with eight or more years of service are entitled to an annual salary in an amount that is 120 percent of the state base salary. Id. § 659.012(b)(2). You ask about a county court at law judge who has twelve or more years of "accrued service." Request Letter at 2. The annual salary of a district judge with "comparable years of service"—twelve years—is 120 percent of the state base salary under subsection 659.012(b)(2). TEX. GOV'T CODE §§ 25.0005(a), 659.012(b)(2).

To the annual salary of a district judge with comparable years of service, the formula in subsection 25.0005(a) adds "any state or county contributions and supplements paid to a district judge in the county." Id. § 25.0005(a). Eligible district judges also receive the state longevity-pay supplement under section 659.0445. Id. § 659.0445(a). To receive longevity pay, a judge must be a current judicial officeholder, receive a salary paid by the State, be a member of the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan One or Plan Two, and have twelve years of credited service in the appropriate retirement system. Id. §§ 74.041(4), 659.0445(a), (b), (d) (also providing that a county may provide longevity pay to district judges who meet other qualifications). The formula in subsection 25.0005(a) includes only those "supplements paid to a district judge in the county." Id. § 25.0005(a) (emphasis added). Thus, under subsection 25.0005(a), if a district judge in the county receives a longevity-pay supplement, it should be included in the formula to calculate the total annual salary of a county court at law judge with comparable years of service. Id.; see also Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0694 (2009) at 1, (determining that "'total annual salary' in section 25.0005 is broad enough to encompass the amount of longevity pay received by a district judge in the county").

In summary, a county court at law judge's minimum total annual salary under subsection 25.0005(a) is an amount not less than $1,000 less than the sum of a district judge's salary, as adjusted by subsection 659.012(b) according to years of service, plus any county or state contributions and supplements paid to the district judge. If a district judge in the same county as the county court at law judge receives longevity pay under section 659.0445, then that amount should be included in the calculation of the sum of the district judge's salary, contributions, and supplements that forms the basis of a county court at law judge's minimum total annual salary.³

¹ See Letter from Mr. Rakesh Pandey, Montgomery Cty. Auditor, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (May 4, 2020), https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/51paxton/rq/2020/pdf/RQ0353KP.pdf ("Request Letter").

² Available at https://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/GAA/General_Appropriations_Act_2020_2021.pdf.

³ Although you ask only about section 25.0005 of the Government Code, because your question concerns the county court at law judges in Montgomery County, you should also consider the potential impact of section 25.1722, which applies only to Montgomery County judges. Subsection 25.1722(d) provides: "The judge of a county court at law [in Montgomery County] shall be paid an annual salary that is not less than $1,000 less than the total annual salary, including supplements, of any district judge in the county." TEX. GOV'T CODE § 25.1722(d). Usually in chapter 25, a statute applicable to courts in a specific county prevails over conflicting statutes that apply generally. Id. § 25.0001(a). But subsection 25.0005(d) has its own provision for resolving conflicts, providing that notwithstanding the general rule, section [25.0005] prevails over any other law that limits a particular statutory county court judge to an annual salary of less than the amount provided by Subsection (a), but does not affect a salary minimum set by other law that equals or exceeds the amount provided by Subsection (a). Id. § 25.0005(d). In other words, the formula in subsection 25.1722(d) would control only if it produced a salary minimum that equals or exceeds the minimum specified in subsection 25.0005(a).

S U M M A R Y

A county court at law judge's minimum total annual salary under subsection 25.0005(a) of the Government Code is an amount not less than $1,000 less than the sum of a district judge's salary, as adjusted by subsection 659.012(b) of the same code according to years of service, plus any county or state contributions and supplements. If such a district judge in the county receives longevity pay under section 659.0445 of the Government Code, then that amount should be included in the calculation of the sum of the district judge's salary, contributions, and supplements that forms the basis of a county court at law judge's minimum total annual salary.

Very truly yours,

KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas

BRENT E. WEBSTER
First Assistant Attorney General

RYAN L. BANGERT
Deputy First Assistant Attorney General

RYAN M. VASSAR
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

LESLEY FRENCH
General Counsel

VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER
Chair, Opinion Committee

WILLIAM A. HILL
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee