Senate approves pay increase for court reporters left out of 2018 state pay bill

The full Senate has given unanimous approval to a bill to give court reporters throughout the state a $2,000 pay increase. State Sen. Roger Thompson is the author of SB 349 which was approved by the Senate Wednesday. Thompson, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said because court reporters’ salaries are specified in Oklahoma statute, last year’s state employee pay increase didn’t apply to them. He said it was a technicality that needed to be corrected.

“There are 171 court reporters in Oklahoma, and like other state employees, they had not received a pay increase since 2006. The work they do is vital to our judiciary and the citizens who depend on it, so we wanted to make sure they would receive a raise and take steps to make sure they aren’t overlooked in the future,” said Thompson, R-Okemah.

Court reporters are responsible for creating official, word-for-word transcriptions of civil and criminal court proceedings.

Thompson said the goal of his legislation is to grant each of the 171 court reporters a $2,000 salary increase that would take effect upon the governor’s signature. The total cost for the pay raise bill would be $344,000. In addition, Thompson said the bill would amend current law so that the salary cap for court reporters would no longer be set in statute.

“I’m grateful we’ve been met with such tremendous support in this effort to give these dedicated employees their long overdue raise,” Thompson said.

SB 349 now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.