The Attorney General of Tex,as
August 9, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable Joseph N. Murphy, Jr. Opinion No. H- 122 6
Executive Director
Employees Retirement System of Texas Re: Contributions to judicial
P. 0. Box 12337, Capitol Station retirement by persons who
Austin. Texas 78711 formerlv were domestic relations
court judges and juvenile court
judges.
Dear Mr. Murphy:
You have requested our opinio,n regarding contributions to the Judicial
Retirement System by former domestic relations and juvenile court judges.
Article 1926a, V.T.C.S., the Family District Court Act, provides, in section
1.08(b):
Each iudee. at his ootion. mav oav into the State
Treasury no’less than six percent” pius’interest of that
salary that would have been paid to him had he been
paid by the state for his full tenure on any court of
domestic relations or special juvenile court. Upon
such oavment and the comoliance with the transfer
herein provided the judge will be given full credit for
such tenure toward state judicial retirement.
In addition for such fuR.credit to apply, any judge of
the family district court who elects to secure credit in
the judicial retirement system pursuant to this section
shall forfeit all rights to ,any county and district
retirement system other than the reserves for the
additional funds, if any, paid by the county to such
judge over and above the amount of state salary paid
to district judges by the state, for the tenure for which
credit is sought. Such county and district retirement
systems shall transfer to the judicial retirement
system all sums credited to the account of such judge
except the amount paid in for such additional salary, if
any, whether paid by the judge or by the employer,
plus accumulated interest thereon, in such county and
P. 4902
Honorable Joseph N. Murphy, Jr. - Page 2 (H-1226)
district retirement system. Such sum paid into the judicial
retirement system by any county and district retirement
systems shall be first applied against the judges’ required six
percent payment herein set out and any remainder shall
remain in the General Revenue Fund.
(Emphasis added). You ask what amount the statute directs be paid by a family
district court judge who elects to transfer into the Judicial Retirement System.
In our opinion, section 1.08(b) requires an affected judge to pay six percent of
that amount which would have been paid him by the state if article 1926a had been
in effect at the time of his prior service. See Attorney General Opinion H-1073
(1977). Since section 1.05(b) grants to a faxy district court judge “the same
compensation . . . provided by the state . . . for the other district judges in his
county,” it follows that he must contribute six percent of the state’s portion of a
district judge’s salary for the full period of his tenure on the court of domestic
relations or the juvenile court. We believe that this result is compelled by the
language of the statute itself.
In the first place, the effect of the contribution is “full credit for such tenure
toward state judicial retirement .” It would be inequitable to permit a judge who, as
a member of the county and district retirement system, had contributed
substantially less than a member of the Judicial Retirement System for an equal
period, to receive full credit under the latter without the payment of an additional
and equalizing amount. In addition, had the legislature intended to require a family
district court judge to pay no more than he had actually contributed to the county
and district retirement system, it need only have directed him to pay six percent of
his salary as a domestic relations or juvenile court judge. Furthermore, the last
two sentences of section 1.08(b) seem to contemplate a difference between the
amount actually paid into the county and district retirement system and the
amount required to be paid into the state treasury.
Accordingly, it is our opinion that section 1.08(b) of the Family District Court
Act requires that a family district court judge who elects to transfer his retirement
credits to the Judicial Retirement System pay to the state treasury six percent of
the state’s portion of a district judge’s salary for the period of his tenure on the
court of domestic relations or the juvenile court.
SUMMARY
Section 1.08(b) of the Family District Court Act, article
1926a, V.T.C.S., requires that a family district court judge
who elects to transfer his retirement credits from the
county and district retirement system to the Judicial
Retirement System should pay to the state treasury six
percent of the state’s portion of a district judge’s salary for
P. 4903
- -
Honorable Joseph N. Murphy, Jr. - Page 3 (H-1226)
the full period of his tenure on the court of domestic
relations or the juvenile court.
Attorney General of Texas
c~g~&;$
Opinion Committee
P. 4904