Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 1 to 7 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §4, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. M, §3, is further amended to read:
2-A. Cost-of-living adjustment. Effective July 1, 1999 and every July 1st thereafter, the State Court Administrator shall adjust the salaries of the State's chief justices, chief judge, deputy chief judge, associate justices and associate judges by any percentage change in the Consumer Price Index from January 1st to December 31st of the previous year, but only to a maximum increase of 4% 3%. The State Court Administrator shall determine the cost of these adjustments; notify the State Budget Officer and the Director of the Office of Fiscal and Program Review of these costs; and include them in the Judicial Department's budget requests, as necessary. For purposes of this subsection, "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: United States City Average, All items, 1967=100, as compiled by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics or, if the index is revised or superseded, the Consumer Price Index is the index represented by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as reflecting most accurately changes in the purchasing power of the dollar by consumers.