Bill
S 1068
The bill raises and standardizes non-judicial court officers' pay by setting salaries at 84.57% of the SJC Chief Justice’s pay and increasing fixed salaries by $20,000, effective J
Status
- Filed in the Massachusetts Senate (Docket No. 1808) on January 16, 2025; presented by Sen. Sal N. DiDomenico (Judiciary).
- Referred to the Judiciary Committee; hearing(s) scheduled/rescheduled (next listed for November 4, 2025).
- If enacted, the act becomes effective July 1, 2025.
Purpose and intent
- To raise and standardize compensation for a broad set of non-judicial senior court officers (clerks, registers, recorders) by (a) increasing statutory salary amounts in several chapters and (b) setting many of these officers’ pay at a fixed percentage of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC).
- The bill frames these changes as promoting “equity within the judicial branch.”
Key provisions
- Percentage adjustment: where current law ties various court clerks’ and registers’ salaries to 81.57% of the salary of their department’s chief justice, this bill changes that ratio to 84.57% of the salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. The change is applied across multiple statutes referenced in the bill.
- Specific positions whose pay relationship is changed to 84.57% of the SJC Chief Justice include:
- Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth and for Suffolk County
- Clerk of the Appeals Court
- Clerks in the Superior Court (including Boston Municipal Court)
- Clerks in the Juvenile Department and District Court Department
- Registers of the Probate and Family Court Department
- Recorder of the Land Court Department
- Clerks of the Housing Court Department
- Direct salary increases: the bill amends numeric salary figures in multiple statutory sections (chapters 211, 211A, 211B), increasing each listed salary figure by $20,000 (examples: $232,101 → $252,101; $219,856 → $239,856; etc.).
- Statutory overrides: language states the changes apply notwithstanding other sections or laws that would otherwise set different percentages or limits (i.e., it supersedes conflicting general/special laws or by-laws).
- Effective date: the act is explicitly effective July 1, 2025.
Who is affected
- Primary: non-judicial court officers listed above — clerks, registers, and recorders across multiple court departments in Massachusetts.
- Secondary: the Commonwealth’s operating budget and the Judicial Branch payroll; local courts and municipal budgets (to the extent local funding or reimbursements are implicated).
Potential fiscal and operational impacts
- Direct payroll cost increases for the Commonwealth (and any statutorily funded court positions) due to higher fixed salary amounts and raised percentage-based salaries. The bill does not include a fiscal note in the text provided; the total cost will depend on how many positions are covered and current pay practices.
- Administrative updates required across statutory citations and payroll systems to implement new percentages and figures beginning July 1, 2025.
Other notes
- The bill updates multiple statutory sections throughout several chapters of the General Laws to align language and numerical salary figures with the new percentage and amounts.
- A similar or related measure appeared in a prior session (Senate No. 955 of 2023–2024).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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