HB655: extending senior active status to judges over 70 years of age.

HB 655-FN – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES

25Mar2009… 0768h

05/13/09 1535s

2009 SESSION

09-0672

09/10

HOUSE BILL 655-FN

AN ACT extending senior active status to judges over 70 years of age.

SPONSORS: Rep. Cote, Hills 23; Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill allows judges over 70 years of age to serve as senior active status justices.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

25Mar2009… 0768h

05/13/09 1535s

09-0672

09/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

AN ACT extending senior active status to judges over 70 years of age.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Chapter Heading; Judicial Referees Deleted. Amend the chapter heading of RSA 493-A to read as follows:

CHAPTER 493-A

RETIRED JUDGES[; JUDICIAL REFEREES]

2 Senior Active Status; Retired Status. Amend RSA 493-A:1, I and II to read as follows:

I. Any full-time justice of the supreme, superior, district, or probate court who retires or has retired from regular active service [prior to age 70] pursuant to RSA 100-C or any predecessor judicial retirement plan or system, may elect to take either senior active status or retired status [for the period prior to the time when the justice reaches age 70]. A justice who desires to be designated on senior active status shall make such election by providing written notice to the chief justice or administrative justice of the court from which he or she retired. The first such election shall be made not later than 30 days prior to the date the justice’s retirement becomes effective and shall be valid for one year from the date of the justice’s retirement. Thereafter, a justice who desires to remain in senior active status shall provide a similar notice on an annual basis to the chief or administrative justice of the court from which the justice retired not later than 30 days prior to the anniversary date of the justice’s retirement. Judges retired on the effective date of this section shall make the first such election not later than 30 days after the effective date of this section. Each election shall be valid for a period of one year[, except that an election made for the year in which the justice reaches age 70 shall terminate on the day before the justice turns 70]. A justice who desires to be designated on retired status may do so at any time following his or her retirement from regular active service by providing written notice of this election to the chief or administrative justice of the court from which the justice retired; provided, however, that once a justice elects to be designated on retired status such election shall be final and the justice shall not thereafter be allowed to return to senior active status.

I-a.(a) For senior active status justices who have reached age 70, appointment or reappointment to senior active status under paragraph I shall not be automatic upon election by the justice. The justice shall have an in-person interview with the chief justice or administrative justice of the court from which he or she retired. The decision to appoint or reappoint the justice to senior active status shall be based on an assessment of:

(1) The justice’s current physical and mental abilities.

(2) The number of matters assigned to the justice that remained unresolved for more than 60 days after submission to the justice in the past 12 months.

(b) Information determined by the chief justice or administrative justice of the court from which the senior active status justice retired for purposes of the assessment under subparagraph (a)(2) shall be available to the public.

II. A senior active justice prior to reaching age 70 shall have all the powers of a justice in regular active service [and]. After reaching age 70, a senior active status justice may be appointed to limited temporary assignments, specifically including the power to render judgments and to preside over jury trials. A senior active justice may serve on the court from which he or she retired or on any other court in which he or she is authorized by law to serve.

3 Reference to Judicial Referees; Compensation. Amend RSA 493-A:1-b to read as follows:

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 any retired part-time justice who serves as a judicial referee shall be allowed his or her 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] 100-C 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.

4 Reference Change; State Board of Claims. Amend RSA 541-B:3, II to read as follows:

II. The chief justice of the New Hampshire supreme court shall appoint the chairman of the board. The chairman shall be a [judicial referee, if one is available, but if not, then the chairman shall be] member of the New Hampshire Bar Association.

5 Judicial Referees. Any retired full-time justice of the supreme, superior, district, or probate court who is serving as a judicial referee on the effective date of this act may elect senior active status not later than 30 days after the effective date of this act.

6 Judicial Referees. Amend RSA 493-A:1-a, I to read as follows:

I. Any [full-time justice of the supreme, superior, district, or probate court who is mandatorily retired from either regular active service or senior active service upon reaching age 70, and any] part-time district or probate court justice who is mandatorily retired upon reaching age 70, shall thereafter be eligible to serve as a judicial referee on the court from which he or she retired or on any other court in which his or her service as a referee is authorized by law.

7 Repeal. RSA 493-A:3, relative to findings and rulings of judicial referees, is repealed.

8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

09-0672

Revised 02/11/09

HB 655 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT extending senior active status to judges over 70 years of age.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Branch states this bill may decrease state expenditures in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

The Judicial Branch states this bill would allow judges over the age of 70 to continue to sit as senior active status judges by amending RSA 493-A:1,I and II. Pursuant to RSA 493-A:1-b, judges serving as senior active status judges receive compensation based on the daily equivalent of the annual salary that the judge would be earning. Earnings are capped so the retirement benefits the judge receives from the judicial retirement system plus the per diems received under RSA 493-A:1-b cannot exceed the salary of a sitting judge in the same position. The Branch states to the extent a retired senior active status judge takes the place of a full-time judicial vacancy, the Branch may reduce expenditures associated with health insurance and employer retirement contributions. The per diem of a full-time judge with benefits in FY 2010 and each year thereafter is $729 and the cost of a retired senior active judge for the same period is $556.