By The Star Staff
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia signed House Bill 1848 into law on Thursday, thereby establishing an increase in the competitive base salary of assistant district attorneys I through IV and juvenile and family attorneys by amending the Department of Justice’s (DJ) Organic Law.
The new law is in line with the commonwealth government’s fiscal plan, certified in April of this year, which contemplates an investment of $42 million per year, starting in fiscal year 2024, for salary increases for DJ employees, among others in the executive branch, as well as the judiciary. The Justice Department, the Courts Administration Office, the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, and the Puerto Rico Prosecutors Association all spoke in favor of the legislation. In the case of district attorneys, the compensation will be the equivalent of 15% in addition to the maximum scale applicable to the figure of “lead attorney,” using the central government’s Career Service Post Classification Plan as a reference.
Meanwhile, assistant prosecutors I through IV will be compensated equivalent to between 80% and 98% of the maximum scale applicable to district attorneys. The compensation for juvenile and family attorneys, meanwhile, will be 90% of the maximum scale applicable to district attorneys.
Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández thanked the governor for signing the measure, saying that it does wage justice to assistant and district attorneys, as well as juvenile and family attorneys.
“The legislation represents a great step toward properly compensating these legal professionals who, from the Department of Justice, provide essential and excellent service in our justice system with great dedication and gallantry,” he said. “Prosecutors are the voices of victims on the island, who watch over their rights and promote justice and truth, performing highly complex functions that require great knowledge and effort.”
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