Primary Department: District Courts
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Richard Woods
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable):
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval to increase the County supplement portion of all District Court Judge’s base salary from $18,013 to $25,000, effective September 1, 2025, as permitted by Senate Bill 293 enacted on June 22, 2025.
end
Background and Discussion:
Pursuant to the Texas Government Code section 32.001, a Commissioners Court may pay judges of the District Courts supplemental compensation that does not exceed amounts specified in sections 659.012(a)(1), 659.012(b), and 659.0445.
As part of the 89th Texas Legislature, Senate Bill 293 was enacted and consequently increased District Court judges State base salary by 25%, and allows the County supplement amount to be increased up to a maximum of $25,000. Increasing the current County supplement from $18,013 to $25,000 for all 67 District Courts has a total general fund impact of $468,129 (excludes any increase in healthcare rate or commensurate increase in benefits). If the 3 new Civil District Courts are included, the total general fund impact is $489,090.
Prior to SB293, the last State base salary increase for judges with 0 to 4 years of experience was in 2013. District Courts judges with 4 or more years of service last received a State salary increase on September 1, 2019, when the 86th Texas Legislature enacted a new salary structure for the Texas judiciary. The year 2013 was also the last time District Courts judges received an increase to the County supplement (from $15,000 to $18,000). Meantime, judges in all five of the other most populous states (CA, FL, NY, PA, IL) received increases ranging from 27% to 60%, and nationally judicial salaries have increased in almost every state by an average of 29% to 32%, since 2013. Presently, 419 of 504 Texas District Courts receive a County supplement of $18,000.
Lastly, on August 6, 2024, the Commissioners Court unanimously approved a 9.2% cost of living adjustment for County Courts at Law judges, County Civil judges, and County Probate Court judges. This resulted in base salary increases ranging from $15,268 to $15,823 per judge.
Expected Impact:
Increasing the County supplement by $6,987 per judge will help increase judicial retention, and keep the judicial salaries for Harris County District Courts in alignment with other District Courts in Texas.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court could decide to approve a lower increase to the County supplement, or not approve an increase.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
07/10/25 |
100 |
No action. |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Compensation |
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
1000 - General Fund |
$2,777,619 |
$0 |
$2,777,619 |
$2,777,619 |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Existing Budget |
$2,777,619 |
$0 |
$2,777,619 |
$2,777,619 |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
1000 - General Fund |
$489,090 |
$0 |
$489,090 |
$489,090 |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$489,090 |
$0 |
$489,090 |
$489,090 |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$3,266,709 |
$0 |
$3,266,709 |
$3,266,709 |
|
Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
|
Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 8/7/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 9/1/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Richard Woods, Court Administrator, District Courts
Attachments (if applicable):
Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) Memo titled “Effect of Judicial Compensation Bills” (June 24, 2025)