click here for:  VIDEO of what CJA's director said on the subject at
the Legislature's February 6, 2013 Budget Hearing on "Public Protection"
-- last speaker:  at 7:21:50

Transcript of Testimony:  see pp. 393-394
"...there is another issue that needed to be brought to your attention. 
Last year, in questioning by Senator Saland of the acting director of the Criminal Justice Services, it was identified that because of the judicial pay raises, salaries of the district attorneys were necessarily increased.  And there was colloquy as to the cost to the state.
If you look this year, if you look this year in your -- well, let me just show you. 
I'm reading now from the Yellow Book of the Assembly Majority.  'District attorney salary reimbursement.  The Executive proposes a total of $3.9 million, an increase of $1.05 million from state fiscal year 2012-2013 levels, to support the full cost of local district attorney salary increases that are tied to the scheduled increases in judicial compensation.'
In our opposition report, we pointed out that one of the deficiencies of the report of the Commission on Judicial Compensation is that it did not identify that there was a statutory link between judicial compensation and DA compensation and what that was going to cost to the state.  That is now coming back to haunt you.  And I would respectfully draw to your attention the colloquy last year between Sean Bryne, the then acting director of the Criminal Justice Services, and then-Senator Saland as to who was going to be footing the bill.  And apparently the full bill is coming due to the state, not the counties.  And this is on top of the (judicial) salary increases, last year $27.7 million, this year --"