Does a Mississippi justice court judge get an automatic raise when the county's population grows past a salary-tier threshold?

Plain-English summary

A Harrison County Justice Court Judge asked the AG two questions about how Section 25-3-36 sets justice court judge salaries:

Question 1: If the county's population grew from 190,000 to 204,000 according to the 2020 census, does that automatically increase the judge's salary from $51,005 to $55,559 (the next salary tier)?

The AG said no. Section 25-3-36(2)(b) sets the judge's salary at "[o]ne hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county." The frozen reference point is the 2008 salary scale, not the current population. Even if the county's population has crossed a higher tier under the 2008 scale, that does not automatically increase the judge's salary, because the 2008 scale is a snapshot.

Question 2: If the county supervisors approved a raise for themselves, is the justice court judge entitled to the same raise?

Yes, but only if supervisors actually received the raise. Section 25-3-36(2) provides: "If supervisors of a county receive a salary increase, justice court judges whose salary is determined under this paragraph shall be paid an amount reflecting a commensurate increase." This applies to judges paid under both Section 25-3-36(2)(a) (which ties their salary to actual supervisor pay) and Section 25-3-36(2)(b) (the 103%-of-2008 floor).

Critical nuance: the trigger is supervisors receiving the raise, not the legislature authorizing one. In 2019, the legislature authorized supervisor raises but made them optional. A county where supervisors did not actually take the raise would not trigger judge raises. A county where supervisors did take the raise must give judges a commensurate increase.

What this means for you

If you're a Mississippi justice court judge

Under this opinion, your salary under § 25-3-36(2) is the greater of (a) the amount actually paid to a member of the county board of supervisors, or (b) 103% of the salary authorized for a justice court judge in your county as of September 30, 2008. The AG holds that population growth alone does not raise your salary, because subsection (2)(b) is fixed at that 2008 point in time. If your county's supervisors actually receive a salary increase, however, you are entitled to a commensurate increase, effective on the same date as the supervisors' (per the Barbour opinion).

If you're a county supervisor

Under the AG's reading, if the members of the board of supervisors actually receive a salary increase, the county's justice court judges are entitled to a commensurate increase. The trigger is the supervisors actually receiving the raise, not merely the legislature authorizing one.

If you're a county payroll clerk

The opinion draws three lines that matter for payroll:

• Population growth alone does not change a justice court judge's salary.
• The legislature authorizing a supervisor raise does not, by itself, change judge pay.
• Supervisors actually receiving a raise does entitle the judges to a commensurate increase, effective on the same date as the supervisors'.

If you're a Mississippi legislator

The opinion reads § 25-3-36(2) as fixing the subsection (2)(b) figure at 103% of the salary authorized as of September 30, 2008, while tying increases to whether supervisors actually receive a raise under § 25-3-13. It applies the statute as written and does not recommend any change.

Common questions

Q: What if my county's population just crossed a tier line in the 2020 census?
A: Population alone does not increase your salary. The salary tier is locked to what § 25-3-36 said on September 30, 2008. Population is just one input to the 2008 formula; it does not refresh.

Q: Does the supervisor-trigger apply to all justice court judges?
A: Yes, to all whose salary is determined under § 25-3-36(2). The "commensurate increase" applies regardless of whether the judge's salary is set under (2)(a) (matched to actual supervisor pay) or (2)(b) (103% of 2008 baseline).

Q: When do supervisor raises take effect for judges?
A: The same date as for supervisors. MS AG Op., Barbour (Nov. 18, 2016).

Q: Supervisors in my county actually took a raise. Are the judges owed a commensurate increase?
A: Under this opinion, yes. The AG reads § 25-3-36(2) to entitle justice court judges to a commensurate increase when the supervisors actually receive a salary increase, effective on the same date as the supervisors'. The opinion does not address how to recover any past underpayment.

Q: What was the 2008 salary scale?
A: Subsection (1) of § 25-3-36 sets a salary scale based on county population "according to the latest federal decennial census" as of September 30, 2008. Subsection (2)(b) freezes the reference to that point in time, so later population changes do not move the scale.

Q: Where does the 103% figure come from?
A: It is the statute's own language: subsection (2)(b) sets the salary at "[o]ne hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county."

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi judicial compensation is statutory, not constitutional. The legislature sets pay levels and formulas. Section 25-3-36 is the justice court judges' compensation statute.

Subsection (1) sets a population-based scale, last refreshed in 2008. Subsection (2) makes that scale the floor (at 103%) and provides that if supervisor pay exceeds the floor, judges get supervisor pay instead.

Section 25-3-13 sets supervisor pay based on assessed county valuation. Recent legislation has authorized increases:

• Laws 2019, Ch. 485 (SB 2827) § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2020: increased supervisor salaries.
• Laws 2022, Ch. 304 (SB 2719) § 1, eff. July 1, 2022: further increased supervisor salaries.

Notably, the 2019 increases were optional. AG Op., Slover (Aug. 9, 2019), confirmed that whether supervisors actually take the authorized increase is up to them. The "commensurate increase" trigger for judges follows actual supervisor receipt, not legislative authorization.

The structural effect over time: as supervisor pay rises, justice court judge pay rises in lockstep. As supervisor pay stagnates (because supervisors decline raises), judge pay stagnates. Population shifts do not move the needle; they're locked into the 2008 floor.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-13 (supervisor salaries)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36 (justice court judge salaries)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(1) (population-based scale, frozen at 2008)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(2) (current salary formula)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(2)(a) (link to actual supervisor pay)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(2)(b) (103% of 2008 floor)

Legislation:

• Laws 2019, Ch. 485 (SB 2827) § 4 (supervisor salary increase, effective Jan. 1, 2020)
• Laws 2022, Ch. 304 (SB 2719) § 1 (supervisor salary increase, effective July 1, 2022)

Prior AG opinions referenced:

• MS AG Op., Slover (Aug. 9, 2019), 2019 supervisor raise was optional
• MS AG Op., Barbour (Nov. 18, 2016), commensurate increase effective same date as supervisors

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/B.Ladner-May-18-2023-Mississippi-Code-Annotated-Section-25-3-36.pdf

Original opinion text

May 18, 2023

The Honorable Brandon Ladner
Harrison County Justice Court Judge
Post Office Box 1754
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502

Re: Mississippi Code Annotated Section 25-3-36

Dear Judge Ladner:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Questions Presented

1. If a justice court judge lives in a county with a population of 190,000 people, and according to the latest federal decennial census of 2020, the population is now 204,000, would that increase the judge's salary from $51,005 to $55,559?

2. If the Board of Supervisors approved a raise for themselves, is a justice court judge entitled to the same amount of raise?

Brief Response

1. No. A justice court judge's salary that is based upon county population pursuant to Section 25-3-36(2)(b) would not increase based upon an increase in population. Rather, it is based upon the salary authorized for a justice court judge in that county as of September 30, 2008.

2. If the supervisors receive a salary increase, the justice court judges whose salaries are determined pursuant to Section 25-3-36(2) shall receive a "commensurate increase."

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 25-3-36 provides, in relevant part:

(2) From and after October 1, 2008, every justice court judge shall receive as full compensation for his or her services, and in lieu of any and all other fees, costs or compensation heretofore authorized for such justice court judge, an annual salary in an amount that is the greater of the following:

(a) The amount paid to a member of the board of supervisors in the same county in which the justice court judge presides; or

(b) One hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county.

If supervisors of a county receive a salary increase, justice court judges whose salary is determined under this paragraph shall be paid an amount reflecting a commensurate increase.

(Emphasis added). Subsection (2)(b) references the salary scale for justice court judges outlined in Subsection (1), which is based on the population of the county "according to the latest federal decennial census" as of September 30, 2008. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-36(1).

The provision granting an increase in justice court judges' salaries based upon the supervisors' salary increase applies to all justice court judges whose salaries are determined "under this paragraph," which refers to all of Subsection (2).

In response to your first question, it is the opinion of this office that based upon the plain language of the statute, justice court judges are not entitled to a raise due to an increase in county population because the salary authorized under Section (2)(b) is set as of September 30, 2008, a specific point in time.

Salaries for members of the boards of supervisors are provided in Section 25-3-13 and are based upon the total assessed valuation of the county. In 2019, the Legislature amended Section 25-3-13 to increase the salaries for supervisors. Laws 2019, Ch. 485 (S.B. 2827) § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2020. Supervisors' salaries were again increased in 2022. Laws 2022, Ch. 304 (S.B. 2719) § 1, eff. July 1, 2022. In 2019, this office opined that the increase in salaries for the county boards of supervisors authorized under S.B. 2827 was optional but not mandatory. MS AG Op., Slover at 2 (Aug. 9, 2019). "[J]ustice court judges are not entitled to a salary increase unless the board of supervisors increased their salaries as well." Id. at 1. This office has also opined that "it is clear that in subsection (2)(a), the amount paid to a member of the board of supervisors means the amount the supervisors are actually receiving and not the amount of salary that is fixed pursuant to Section 25-3-13." MS AG Op., Barbour at *3 (Nov. 18, 2016) (citation omitted).

Thus, in response to your second question, regardless of whether a justice court judge's salary is set in accordance with Subsection (2)(a) ("[t]he amount paid to a member of the board of supervisors in the same county in which the justice court judge presides") or Subsections (1) and (2)(b) ("[o]ne hundred three percent (103%) of the salary authorized under this section as of September 30, 2008, for a justice court judge in that county"), if the members of the county board of supervisors actually receive a salary increase, the justice court judges are entitled to a commensurate increase. (Emphasis added). Such salary increase would be effective on the same date as that of the board of supervisors. Barbour at *2.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General