Bill > SB782

This bill enacts several changes to judicial salaries and retirement benefits in West Virginia, primarily by increasing the annual salaries for magistrates, justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals, circuit court judges, family court judges, and judges of the Intermediate Court of Appeals, with these increases scheduled to take effect in stages starting July 1, 2026, and continuing through July 1, 2027. Additionally, the bill modifies provisions related to the Judges' Retirement Fund, including a stipulation that the responsibility of courts to pay contributions into the fund will be placed on a "contribution holiday" until the fund's overfunded nature falls below 150 percent, and it also adjusts the percentage of salary paid to surviving spouses of judges from 40% to 50%.