Special judicial retirement bill is dropped
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By ALAN CHOATE
Capital Bureau
MONTGOMERY - Legislation that state retirement officials say would offer a Mobile County circuit judge and a former
appellate judge more than $900,000 each in benefits was yanked from consideration Wednesday at the request of one
of the would-be beneficiaries.
In a letter to Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery and chairman of the House committee that writes the General Fund
budget, former Court of Civil Appeals Judge Roger Monroe of Birmingham said he no longer supported the bill and
asked that it be withdrawn.
"Hopefully this will allow the committee to concentrate on more pressing state business during the final days
of the session," Monroe's letter said. "I do not wish to cloud your few remaining days with this bill."
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, would have allowed judges to count up to five
years of service as a "bonded special assistant state prosecutor" toward their judicial retirement. It
already passed the Senate.
Administrators with the Retirement Systems of Alabama - which includes the Judicial Retirement System - called
the bill "special interest legislation" that might benefit no more than two people, Monroe and Mobile
County Circuit Judge William McDermott.
Had the measure been enacted, Monroe could have started collecting a retirement benefit eight years early, at age
62 instead of 70, according to RSA, if he chose to "purchase" the additional retirement credit for about
$40,000. Retired judges receive an amount equal to 75 percent of their salary when they left the bench - in Monroe's
case, about $115,000 a year.
McDermott, elected to a six-year term in 1998 at the age of 64, could have qualified for judicial retirement had
he been allowed to purchase the additional retirement credit under the legislation. Judges must serve at least
10 years to be eligible for retirement benefits, and McDermott cannot seek re-election in 2004 because the state
constitution bars anyone 70 years old or older from seeking a spot on the bench.
Though RSA officials worried about the additional costs the bill could cause, they also contended the legislation
would confer public retirement system credit for work done in the private sector. Both men were private lawyers
before they were judges. Monroe once contracted to handle some civil and criminal cases for former Attorney General
Bill Baxley, and McDermott performed land condemnation work for the state.
Monroe acknowledged that "misunderstandings" over whether the work was private or public service played
a part in his decision: "Failure to resolve this question in a timely fashion lead (sic) me to withdraw my
support of the bill."
In an earlier interview, McDermott pointed out that he currently pays into the retirement system, even though he
won't be able qualify for benefits. He also acknowledged that the bill's approach is not the best one and said
he favored lifting the age limit on judicial service.
The House Ways and Means General Fund committee couldn't have acted on the bill Wednesday even with Monroe's support,
since not enough members showed up. But Knight, the committee's chairman, said Bedford's bill would not resurface
before the legislative session ends Monday.
"I'd just like to applaud Judge Monroe for taking the high road," said Rep. Perry Hooper, R-Montgomery.
"I think there's a lot of appreciation in this committee at this time," said Knight.
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