H. B. 2341


(By Delegates Boggs
and C. White)
[Introduced January 22, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article one, chapter fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to equalizing magistrate salaries with the salary of the clerk of the circuit court in that respective county.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article one, chapter fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-3. Salaries of magistrates.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) The West Virginia supreme court of appeals has held that a salary system for magistrates which is based upon the population that each magistrate serves does not violate the equal protection clause of the constitution of the United States;
(2) The West Virginia supreme court of appeals has held that a salary system for magistrates which is based upon the population that each magistrate serves does not violate article VI, section 39 of the constitution of West Virginia;
(3) The utilization of a two-tiered salary schedule for magistrates is an equitable and rational manner by which magistrates should be compensated for work performed;
(4) Organizing the two tiers of the salary schedule into one tier for magistrates serving less than eight thousand five hundred in population and the second tier for magistrates serving eight thousand five hundred or more in population is rational and equitable given current statistical information relating to population and caseload; and
(5) That all magistrates who fall under the same tier should be compensated equally.
(b) The salary of each magistrate shall be paid by the state. Magistrates who serve less than ten thousand in population shall be paid annual salaries of twenty thousand six hundred twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve ten thousand or more in population shall be paid annual salaries of twenty-seven thousand dollars: Provided, That on and after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two, magistrates who serve less than ten thousand in population shall be paid annual salaries of twenty-one thousand six hundred twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve ten thousand or more in population shall be paid annual salaries of twenty-eight thousand dollars: Provided, however, That on and after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, magistrates who serve less than eight thousand five hundred in population shall be paid annual salaries of twenty-three thousand six hundred twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve eight thousand five hundred or more in population shall be paid annual salaries of thirty thousand dollars: Provided further, That on and after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, magistrates who serve less than eight thousand five hundred in population shall be paid annual salaries of twenty-six thousand six hundred twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve eight thousand five hundred or more in population shall be paid annual salaries of thirty-three thousand dollars.
(c) On and after the first day of January, two thousand, each magistrate shall be paid an annual salary in an amount equal to the annual salary of the clerk of the circuit court of that respective county in which the magistrate holds office.
(c) (d) For the purpose of determining the population served by each magistrate, the number of magistrates authorized for each county shall be divided into the population of each county. For the purpose of this article, the population of each county is the population as determined by the last preceding decennial census taken under the authority of the United States government.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to equalize magistrate salaries with the salary of the clerk of the circuit court in that respective county.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.