Judicial branch seeks roughly $166 million, pay raises and 22 staff; senators trim some requests

The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on Tuesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 2002 as the Judicial Branch requested $165,960,657.28 for the 2025 biennium, including pay increases for judges, 22 additional full‑time positions and a series of information‑technology and program investments.

The request, presented by State Court Administrator Sally Halava and Finance Director Don Wolf, would raise the branch’s budget by about $36.2 million over the 2023–25 base. Chief Justice John Jensen and multiple judges told the committee that the request is aimed chiefly at bringing judicial salaries closer to national averages and at addressing workload and retention pressures.

The Judicial Branch’s request and the Senate’s changes

Sally Halava, state court administrator, told the committee that salary and IT are the primary drivers of the request. She said the package includes a 3% grid adjustment for classified staff, a market adjustment to the court compensation grid, an explicit $2 million line for judicial officer increases and funding for 22 new FTEs (about $4.8 million). Halava said the branch’s total contains both recurring salary/benefit increases and one‑time IT and equipment items.

Chief Justice John Jensen framed the pay request by describing heavy workloads for district court judges, saying North Dakota’s district courts handle “somewhere between 340,000 cases a year” across 55 judges and that judges in the state cover a broad range of matters. “Our district court judges handle everything from traffic tickets on the criminal side all the way up to murder trials,” Jensen said. He and others said North Dakota judges’ pay trails neighboring states by roughly $10,000 (South Dakota) to $18,000 (Minnesota) and that the branch asked to bring compensation to roughly the national midpoint.

The judicial‑pay proposal in the branch request would equalize pay closer to national averages by applying a 12.1% increase to the chief justice, 11.1% to other supreme court justices and 7.7% to district court judges (these are the percentages the branch used to model reaching national averages). The Senate‑approved version of SB2002 reduced that proposal: the Senate provided roughly a 9% increase for the chief justice, about 8–8.5% for other justices and 7% for district court judges.

New positions, programs and Senate cuts

Halava detailed the 22 requested FTEs by program. Highlights included: - Juvenile court: 4.5 FTEs (administrative assistants and juvenile court officer postings for Grand Forks, Fargo and Minot). The Senate provided none of those positions. - Information Technology: five IT staff positions (identified as the branch’s top FTE priority). The Senate approved all five. - District court administrative positions: a deputy unit administrator and a Bismarck admin assistant (the Senate approved these). - Guardianship and conservatorship office (linked to separate legislation, Senate Bill 2029): request included $1.5 million and five FTEs to stand up an Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship; the Senate approved $1.2 million and funded four of the requested positions, cutting one paralegal (approximately $190,464).

Halava also described several program and one‑time IT requests that the Senate partially or fully trimmed: - Court navigator and Allied Legal Professional (new access‑to‑justice roles): the Allied Legal Professional proposal (about $364,574) was cut by the Senate. - Treatment/specialized dockets (Indian child welfare, mental health and an additional veterans court): total request about $373,476 ($124,492 per court). The Senate did not fund those three new treatment dockets in SB2002. - Guardian ad litem expansion (YouthWorks contract): request $935,768 to convert part‑time roles to full‑time and to add staff; the Senate funded roughly half (about $470,000). - Family mediation expansion: request $138,200 to accept all referred cases; the Senate did not approve the increase.

IT and capital projects

The branch sought several large IT and equipment items. Don Wolf and Halava said the Senate adopted some of those requests but cut others: - District court case management cloud migration: $758,000 requested and left in by the Senate. - ‘‘Clerk filing’’ artificial‑intelligence tool (vendor feature to automate intake): $1.25 million requested; the Senate left this funding in. - Digital evidence management system: $980,000 requested to let parties upload and manage video and other exhibits; the Senate did not fund that item. - Courtroom audio/video and other courtroom equipment replacement (multiple items across the state, including equipment tied to a new Cass County courtroom): the overall request was roughly $1.5 million; the Senate provided about $800,000.

Advocates, judges and court staff: reasons for priorities

Several judges and advocacy groups spoke in favor of restoring or preserving parts of the request. - Judge Michael Hurley (Northeast Judicial District) told the committee that heavy caseloads and travel distances make recruitment and retention difficult and endorsed the pay increases. “If judicial salaries continue to lag … we risk a shortage of qualified candidates willing to assume the workload and responsibilities required of a district court judge,” Hurley said. - Judge Bobby Wyler and Judge Connie Cleveland described plans for a mental‑health docket and a veterans treatment court, respectively. Cleveland said the East Central district’s veterans court would rely on volunteer mentors and targeted services and projected a first‑year operating cost near $122,000; she urged lawmakers to reinstate funding the Senate withheld. - Barbara Oliger, director of YouthWorks’ Guardian ad Litem program, said the program’s workload has become more complex and that the average GAL case load is about 60 families — well above national best‑practice guidance of about 17–22 families per full‑time GAL. YouthWorks’ work group recommended converting positions to full time and adding staff to reduce turnover and improve child advocacy; the full request was $935,768. - A parole and probation behavioral‑health officer, Josh Celli, supported a mental‑health docket, saying frequent, structured contact between clients and the court team prevents crises and reduces recidivism.

What the committee will do next

Committee members and branch officials said this was an overview hearing and that they will return to dig into individual line items. State Court Administrator Halava and Finance Director Wolf told members they can provide additional cost detail on specific line items, and lawmakers indicated they will consider the Senate‑House differences as the process continues.

Because SB2002 as presented on the floor will be edited in conference with Senate and House adjustments, committee members emphasized they will revisit treatment dockets, guardian ad litem funding and the guardianship office requests in later meetings.

Quotes attributed in this report come from witnesses who identified themselves on the record at the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division hearing: Chief Justice John Jensen, State Court Administrator Sally Halava, Finance Director Don Wolf, Judge Michael Hurley, Judge Bobby Wyler, Judge Connie Cleveland, Barbara Oliger (YouthWorks), and parole/probation officer Josh Celli.