Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 2001

Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 2001 - Repeals a Federal provision limiting salary increases for Federal judges or Supreme Court Justices to those specifically authorized by Act of Congress.

Amends the Federal judicial code to make the cost of living adjustments in judicial salaries effective in the first pay period beginning on or after January 1 each year (currently, such adjustments are triggered by General Schedule adjustments). Prohibits the percentage adjustment taking effect in a calendar year, in any salary rate, from exceeding that adjustment taking effect in such year under General Schedule pay rate provisions.

Increases the rate of basic pay for: (1) the Chief Justice of the United States; (2) an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; (3) a judge of a U.S. circuit court, a district court, and the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) a bankruptcy judge; and (5) a full-time magistrate judge.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1162 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1162

To repeal the requirement relating to specific statutory authorization 
  for increases in judicial salaries, to provide for automatic annual 
increases for judicial salaries, to provide for a 9.6 percent increase 
             in judicial salaries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 11, 2001

Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Mr. Thompson) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To repeal the requirement relating to specific statutory authorization 
  for increases in judicial salaries, to provide for automatic annual 
increases for judicial salaries, to provide for a 9.6 percent increase 
             in judicial salaries, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Judicial Fairness Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. JUDICIAL COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES.

    (a) Repeal of Statutory Requirement Relating to Judicial 
Salaries.--Section 140 of the resolution entitled ``A Joint Resolution 
making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1982, and 
for other purposes.'', approved December 15, 1981 (Public Law 97-92; 95 
Stat. 1200; 28 U.S.C. 461 note), is repealed.
    (b) Automatic Annual Increases.--Section 461(a) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), effective on the first day of 
the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1 of each 
calendar year, each salary rate which is subject to adjustment under 
this section shall be adjusted by an amount, rounded to the nearest 
multiple of $100 (or if midway between multiples of $100, to the next 
higher multiple of $100) equal to the percentage of such salary rate 
which corresponds to the most recent percentage change in the ECI 
(relative to the date described in the next sentence), as determined 
under section 704(a)(1) of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. The 
appropriate date under this sentence is the first day of the fiscal 
year that begins in the preceding calendar year.
    ``(2) In no event shall the percentage adjustment taking effect 
under paragraph (1) in any calendar year (before rounding), in any 
salary rate, exceed the percentage adjustment taking effect in such 
calendar year under section 5303 of title 5 in the rates of pay under 
the General Schedule.''.
    (c) Judicial Salary Increases.--Effective on the first day of the 
first applicable pay period that begins on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the rate of basic pay for the Chief Justice of 
the United States, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, a judge of a United States circuit court, a judge of a 
district court of the United States, a judge of the United States Court 
of International Trade, a bankruptcy judge, and a full-time magistrate 
judge shall be increased in the amount of 9.6 percent of their 
respective rates (as last in effect before the increase), rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $100 (or, if midway between multiples of $100, 
to the next higher multiple of $100).

SEC. 3. COORDINATION RULE.

    If a pay adjustment under section 2 is to be made for an office or 
position as of the same date as any other pay adjustment affecting such 
office or position, the adjustment under section 2 shall be made first.
                                 <all>