Territorial Judgeship Retirement Equity Act of 2020
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Territorial Judgeship Retirement Equity Act of 2020
This bill lowers the age and service requirements for a district court judge in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands to receive a retirement annuity and be eligible to serve as a senior judge.
Under the bill, such a judge may receive a retirement annuity after having served for at least 10 years and reaching 50 years of age, along with meeting other requirements. Such a retiring judge may serve as a senior judge if the judge (1) has served for at least 15 years, or (2) has served for at least 10 years and is at least 65 years old. Current law generally requires a greater combination of age and length of service before a district court judge in one of these territories may receive an annuity and obtain senior status.
The bill also lowers various requirements for such a district court judge to receive an annuity if the judge retired, or was removed, due to a disability.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 21, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 21, 2020: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Michael San Nicolas (D-GU) introduced it on April 21, 2020, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 21, 2020, 2380 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2380 days ago, on April 21, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers