Judicial Compensation Commission approves 2025 report with numeric corrections

Camille Carey, dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law and chair of the Judicial Compensation Commission, called the meeting to order and the commission unanimously approved the 2025 Judicial Compensation Commission report with edits correcting numeric and wording errors.

The commission's unanimous vote approved minutes from the Sept. 16, 2025, meeting and adopted the draft 2025 report after friendly amendments proposed by Commissioner Patrick Ortiz and written edits incorporated by staff. Carl Reyfstek, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and staff to the commission, identified specific wording and numeric corrections in the circulated draft, including one passage that should read an increase from "10.5% to 14.74%." Reyfstek said the 14.74% figure was the commission's recommendation last year and the narrative had incorrectly shortened that number to 14.7.

The commission recorded the motions and votes on the record. Patrick Ortiz moved to adopt the draft report and later amended his motion to include Ortiz's suggested numeric corrections; the motion received a second and passed unanimously. The commission also moved to adopt the minutes from the Sept. 16, 2025 meeting with the amendments Ortiz provided; that motion likewise passed unanimously.

Discussion during the meeting focused on the report's prospects in the upcoming legislative session. Reyfstek said the commission had received little feedback last year and that the judicial branch may "take a year to regroup," noting there will be a new governor and the commission staff would "try to work with the new administration on what might be acceptable to them, work with the legislature on what's acceptable to them, and then come back to this group with ... those lessons." That was framed as planning and outreach rather than a formal direction; no new legislative strategy or formal referral was adopted during the meeting.

Commissioners and staff also noted minor editorial fixes in the report (for example, correcting a pluralization error and PDF page-numbering issues) and agreed to incorporate Ortiz's edits before finalizing the circulated document. Staff said they will distribute finalized minutes electronically rather than waiting a full year for approval, and the meeting adjourned after the votes.

No other formal actions were taken. The meeting record shows attendance from commission members and AOC staff; the report's adoption was procedural and did not itself change compensation without subsequent legislative or administrative steps.