Phil Bryant signs bill raising judge and prosecutor pay

Phil Bryant signs bill raising judge and prosecutor pay

Gov. Phil Bryant has signed legislation giving Mississippi judges their first pay raise since 2003.

Circuit and chancery judges now make $104,000 a year. House Bill 484 was signed Friday and takes effect July 1. It increases pay in four annual steps to $146,000 a year by 2016. Pay also increases for district attorneys, appellate judges and county court judges.

Court filing fees will rise $40 to cover the raises. Fines for crimes and traffic tickets will increase $10 to cover prosecutors’ raises.

A 2011 survey showed Mississippi’s judges were the nation’s lowest-paid.

AP
4/16/12