Complex sentence: That determination is now being made by an independent commission rather than by the executive and legislative branches and, in August 2010, the commission decided to raise the salaries of New York state judges to the level of federal judges in phases over the next few years.
Split into simpler sentences: That determination is now being made by an independent commission rather than by the executive and legislative branches. In August 2010 the commission decided to raise the salaries of New York state judges to the level of federal judges in phases over the next few years.