Texas Legislature Approves Judicial Pay Raise and Lawmaker Pension Boost in Final Hours

Estimated Time to Read: 10 minutes

As the 89th Texas Legislative Session came to a close, lawmakers approved one of the most controversial measures of the session: a bill that not only increases judicial salaries by 25% but also significantly boosts legislative pensions.

The final version of Senate Bill 293 (SB 293) triggered a sharp debate, as the timing and structure of the pension increase drew scrutiny from activists, watchdogs, and even members within the chambers themselves. The legislation was adopted only after intense behind-the-scenes negotiations between the Texas House and Senate, following a procedural standoff over whether lawmakers should receive a pension increase alongside the judicial pay raise.

Judicial Salary Increase in Texas: From $140,000 to $175,000

The centerpiece of the final agreement is a long-awaited salary increase for state district judges. For the first time since 2013, judicial base pay will rise from $140,000 to $175,000 annually. This increase is intended to address Texas’s national ranking near the bottom for judicial compensation, an issue that has reportedly hampered recruitment and retention in the state judiciary.

State Sen. Joan Huffman (R–Houston), who carried the bill in the Senate, called it a “long, well-deserved raise” for Texas judges. Supporters, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, argued that insufficient judicial pay discourages experienced attorneys from pursuing service on the bench.

“It’s difficult for a lot of attorneys to give up their legal practice even though they want to serve, to take a 50 percent cut in pay,” said Patrick. “So we want our judges to be paid well… and this is a big step in that direction.”

Judicial Pay Raise Held Hostage by Pension Debate

As the legislative session neared its conclusion, judicial pay legislation was caught in a political crossfire. The long-standing linkage between judicial pay and legislative pensions clouded the path forward, putting a widely supported raise for judges at risk.

In a memo to lawmakers dated May 31, 2025, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock (R) emphasized the urgency of passing a judicial raise and condemned the standoff:

“If either legislative chamber insists on its favored solution to the legislator-pension question, I fear we will end the session without any increase in judicial pay. If that happens, it is not the judges themselves but our Texas justice system… that will suffer most.”

Blacklock proposed compromise language that would allow the raise to proceed without immediately impacting legislative pensions, urging lawmakers to prioritize the judiciary and the Texans who rely on it.

His intervention underscored the perception, confirmed by both political insiders and public observers, that judicial pay was being held hostage to legislative pension politics. The final compromise only came after public pressure, private negotiations, and a last-minute agreement between the chambers.

Legislative Pension Boost: Tied to Judicial Pay… For Now

By statute, legislative pensions in Texas are not based on a legislator’s $7,200 salary, but instead are tied to the base salary of a district judge. This link meant that any judicial pay raise would automatically increase the maximum annual pension benefit for lawmakers.

That reality led to a showdown between the two chambers. As first introduced in the Texas Senate, SB 293 including the coupling of lawmaker pensions. As such, Texas Policy Research opposed the bill. The bill was substituted in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, and no longer included a pension increase for lawmakers. The House sponsor, State Rep. Jeff Leach (R–Allen), said lawmakers should not give themselves a pension hike while trying to fix judicial pay. It later passed the House with some additional amendments in late May. With this change, Texas Policy Research revised the overall vote recommendation, encouraging lawmakers to support the bill.

As SB 293 went back to the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) sustained a procedural point of order, arguing a specific House amendment was not germane to the underlying bill. The amendment was killed, leading to high-stakes, behind-the-scenes negotiations over the weekend in a conference committee before lawmakers reached a last-minute compromise.

Ethics Commission to Oversee Future Legislative Pensions Starting in 2030

The final agreement, detailed in the SB 293 conference committee report, allows the judicial pay raise to go into effect, and as a result, lawmaker pensions will also temporarily increase to match the new $175,000 base salary. However, beginning August 31, 2030, the Texas Ethics Commission will be responsible for setting future pension amounts for lawmakers and reviewing them every five years.

This transition to an external oversight mechanism was framed as a middle ground between immediate reform and preserving judicial pay equity. The Ethics Commission will be empowered to:

• Determine an equitable increase in pension calculations
• Develop a public methodology by 2026
• Consider increases in salaries for other elected officials, including those listed in the General Appropriations Act

State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Allen), the House sponsor, called the result “a thoughtful compromise” that balances competing priorities. While some conservatives remained wary of the optics, others emphasized the importance of ending the long-standing gridlock on judicial compensation.

Political Fallout: Lawmakers Brace for Backlash

Despite bipartisan recognition of the need to improve judicial pay, the inclusion of a legislative pension boost created anxiety among lawmakers, especially with election season looming.

State Rep. Brent Money (R-Greenville) acknowledged the issue’s political toxicity, saying opponents and PACs often weaponize votes related to pensions. Nonetheless, he urged colleagues to support the judiciary and “face the consequences together” as the House considered the Conference Committee Report (CCR).

Democrats expressed concerns that decoupling legislative pensions could lead to benefit cuts in the future, while some Republicans feared it could be painted as self-enrichment. Still, the House approved the final SB 293 CCR by a vote of 114-26, with four members voting “present, not voting.” The Senate had passed the measure unanimously a short time beforehand.

Brief Timeline

• 11/12/24: SB 293 filed by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston)
• 3/12/25: SB 293 passes the Texas Senate, which included the link to increase lawmaker pensions
• 5/14/25: Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence considers and passes a Committee Substitute for SB 293, which “decoupled” lawmaker pensions from judicial pay raises
• 5/27/25: Texas House passes SB 293 by a vote of 128 to 4
• 6/1/25: Texas Senate requests a conference committee after concurring with one House amendment and sustaining a Point of Order on another. The Texas House appointed a conference committee shortly thereafter
• 6/2/25: Conference committee report (CCR) is filed and includes new language that shifts authority of pension adjustments to the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) in 2030, directs the TEC to publicly develop and adopt a method of adjusting pensions no later than 2026, and amends computation methods for account balances tied to annuity calculations. The final version includes a legislative pension increase.
  • Texas Senate adopts CCR by a vote of 31 to 0.
  • Texas House adopts CCR by a vote of 114 to 26.

Texas House Nay Votes on SB 293 CCR

SB 293 Legislative Summary and Final Text Changes

As adopted in the CCR, SB 293 amends Section 814.103 of the Texas Government Code to set the judicial base salary at $175,000 for purposes of calculating elected official retirement annuities. It also creates subsections:

• (a-2): Shifting authority over pension adjustments to the Texas Ethics Commission in 2030.
• (a-3): Directing the Ethics Commission to publicly develop and adopt a method for adjusting pensions no later than 2026.
• Section 24: Amending computation methods for account balances tied to annuity calculations.

This technical structure ensures the immediate raise and pension bump go into effect, while phasing in an independent review system for future adjustments.

Legislative Pension Mechanics: What Lawmakers Actually Receive

Before the passage of SB 293, Texas legislators’ pensions were calculated based on a judicial base salary of $140,000, a figure unchanged for more than a decade. Under this status quo, lawmakers with eight years of service could begin receiving pensions at age 60, while those with twelve or more years of service could start collecting at age 50. The formula remained constant: 2.3% × Years of Service × $140,000, which meant a lawmaker serving 12 years could expect an annual pension of approximately $38,640.

The passage of SB 293 increases the judicial base salary to $175,000, automatically raising the base used for legislative pension calculations. While this shift immediately boosts potential pension payouts, a significant structural change is also implemented: beginning in 2030, the Texas Ethics Commission will oversee and periodically revise the base pension calculation every five years, introducing a new layer of external oversight.

However, this change introduces several potential negative effects:

• Erosion of Transparency and Accountability: By shifting future pension decisions to the Texas Ethics Commission, lawmakers may insulate themselves from direct political accountability when pensions increase, even if those decisions remain controversial.
• Reduced Legislative Control: Future legislatures will have less say in pension adjustments, potentially leading to increases without direct votes or legislative scrutiny.
• Perception of Self-Dealing: The immediate raise in pension value, tied to judicial pay, creates the appearance that lawmakers are enriching themselves, especially given the timing at the end of the session.
• Public Trust Concerns: The optics of voting to increase judicial pay while simultaneously boosting one’s own pension undermine confidence in the integrity of the legislative process.
• Potential for Automatic Increases: Though not formulaically tied to other state raises, the Ethics Commission’s discretion could mimic indexing in practice, enabling quiet, incremental growth in pension values over time.
• Establishment Capture of Oversight: The Texas Ethics Commission is often seen as a political instrument of the establishment. This raises concerns that the very entity now responsible for overseeing pension increases is unlikely to challenge entrenched power or resist political pressure.

A detailed breakdown of Texas legislative pensions helps contextualize just how significant the impact of this raise is:

• Lawmakers vest after eight years of service.
• The annual pension is calculated as 2.3% × Years of Service × District Judge Salary.
• With 12 years of service, lawmakers can begin collecting at age 50.
• With 8 years of service, lawmakers begin collecting at age 60.

Under the new $175,000 base salary, the minimum pension over a 25-year retirement period increases from approximately $724,500 to $1.24 million, a difference of more than $500,000 for some lawmakers.

While not all will reach those figures, the structure creates strong incentives for long tenure and political loyalty, especially in surviving redistricting cycles and primary challenges.

Conclusion

SB 293 represents the culmination of high-stakes negotiation, policy trade-offs, and political risk-taking in the final moments of the 89th Legislative Session. While judicial compensation finally received a sorely needed upgrade, lawmakers also walked away with larger pensions, at least for now. Time will tell if the new Ethics Commission oversight structure will temper future tensions or if the politics of pay will continue to dominate Capitol corridors.

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