New law hikes pay for county prosecutors, some judges

Senate President Nicholas Scutari signed the new law as acting governor. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s Office)

Senate President Nicholas Scutari, acting as the state’s chief executive while the governor and lieutenant governor are away, signed legislation Thursday that will raise pay for county prosecutors and some judges and allow prosecutors to collect judicial pensions while receiving their full salary.

The bill , which passed both chambers in June in votes that fell almost entirely along party lines, will raise salaries for county prosecutors to $204,167 retroactive to the beginning of 2024.

“Our judges and county prosecutors work extremely hard every day to ensure justice is served at the highest level and quality here in New Jersey,” Scutari (D-Union) said in a statement. “The enactment of this bill allows us to maintain competitive salaries and retirement compensation for these officials.”

The bill will also index those salaries to increases in the Consumer Price Index for at least three years.

That provision prolongs cost-of-living adjustments present in existing law through the start of 2025, but not after. The previous increases were enacted under legislation Gov. Phil Murphy signed in 2018.

The salary increases are expected to cost the state $135,900 in the current and following July-to-June fiscal years, $275,193 in the two fiscal years thereafter, and $367,697 in future years, according to a fiscal note prepared by the Office of Legislative Services.

“This will help attract and retain qualified professionals to serve as prosecutors and judges,” bill sponsor Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) said in a statement.

Prosecutors receiving pension benefits through the judicial retirement system cannot simultaneously accrue benefits through a separate state retirement system.

The bill also raises the salaries of presiding New Jersey appellate judges to $218,546, up from $215,546.

The legislation allows prosecutors who earned pension credits as judges to draw on their pensions while serving as county prosecutors, something barred under current law.

Other provisions allow prosecutors to purchase pension credits based on past work as law clerks for a New Jersey judge or justice. This “will help New Jersey’s legal system attract and retain top talent who have valuable experience working in a state court,” said bill sponsor Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson).

It’s not clear how many of New Jersey’s 21 county prosecutors will benefit from the change to pension rules.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez served five years as a Superior Court judge in Passaic County before being confirmed prosecutor in 2015, and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella clerked for former Superior Court Judge Ralph Polito.

Scutari is acting governor while Gov. Phil Murphy and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way are in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention . Scutari attended the convention earlier this week but returned to take helm of the administration Thursday. Murphy and Way are expected to return Friday morning.

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