BATON ROUGE — A state panel on Monday suggested that legislators give pay raises to judges after an economist said members of the judiciary have less purchasing power than they did as a group in 1983.

Loren Scott laid out four possible paths for members of the Louisiana Judicial Compensation Commission, who were tasked with looking into potential pay raises for state judges.

Scott said he preferred giving judges a major bump soon, and then grant future raises in line with the consumer price index. 

“I would suggest that it be tied to CPI,” Scott said. “Judicial salaries should at least keep up with inflation. The problem isn’t what the salaries were in 1983.” 

Tying wages to state or regional averages would still leave judges behind, Scott said, who also described how some other states, including Texas, give extra pay for longevity.

Georgia, Scott said, ties salaries to those for federal district judges. Supreme Court justices make 94.5 percent, with a staggered scale for appellate and local judges.

The panel voted to follow Scott’s recommendation. For Supreme Court judges, Scott's projection included a raise of about $27,000 in 2026, $6,000 in 2027 and $4,810 in 2028.

Louisiana Chief Justice John Weimer told the panel that regardless of what path the panel takes, it should include fiscal responsibility to taxpayers; ensure integrity, impartiality and independence; and full transparency about how state money is taken in and spent.

Commission member JR Ball of Baton Rouge wondered whether recent stipends to the judiciary, in lieu of raises, were intended to minimize the impact on state retirement system. Sen. Gregory Miller of Norco said the intent was to not tie lawmakers to a permanent increase.

“Can we make it a permanent raise now? How are we in a better state now?” Ball asked before the panel took its vote.

Associate Supreme Court Justice John Michael Guidry said judges "put their heads down" and do the work despite challenges in a tough political environment, and deserve a raise.

"We are way, way out of whack," Guidry told the panel. "They could be making a whole lot more money in private practice."