Ohio Court of Claims seeks modest increase for payroll, cybersecurity and technology

The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee received budget testimony from the Clerk of the Ohio Court of Claims during the Sub. H.B. 96 hearing.

Anderson Renick, clerk of the Court of Claims, said the court is the state's only statutory trial court with statewide jurisdiction and that it handles civil actions against the state, appeals of Attorney General decisions under the Victims of Crime Act, wrongful-imprisonment fiduciary tasks and public-records disputes.

Renick said the court's proposed appropriation for fiscal year 2026 is $5,088,000, a 6% increase over FY25, and $5,000,321 for fiscal year 2027, a 5% increase from the prior year. He told the committee that 84% of the court's budget is payroll; 11% for supplies and maintenance (including hosting for case management and e-filing); 4% for purchased personal services and 1% for equipment.

Renick described steps the court has taken to strengthen cybersecurity and modernize operations, including cloud migration of the case management system, penetration testing, mandatory staff cybersecurity training and an email-security program that quarantines suspicious messages. He also said the court has expanded open data access to case and financial information and integrated courtroom equipment with videoconferencing tools.

Renick said more than 60% of public-records cases are resolved during mediation and that the court will continue to pursue efficiencies while maintaining service to litigants. There were no committee questions in the provided transcript excerpt.