Court of Claims seeks modest budget increase to cover payroll, technology and cybersecurity

Anderson Renick, clerk of the Ohio Court of Claims, told the House Public Safety Committee that the court is requesting a total appropriation of $5,088,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $5,320,000 for fiscal year 2027 to cover statutory payroll adjustments, employee benefits and investments in technology and cybersecurity.

The request, Renick said, reflects a court that is primarily personnel‑driven: "This budget is 84% payroll," he told the committee, noting the figure covers staff, special masters, magistrates and judges. He said 11% of the budget is for supplies and maintenance, 4% for purchased personal services such as court reporters and IT support, and 1% for equipment and courtroom technology.

The Court of Claims is the only statutory trial court with statewide jurisdiction that adjudicates civil actions against the state, hears certain appeals under the Victims of Crime Act, processes claims for wrongful imprisonment and offers a forum for public‑records disputes, Renick said. He told members the court’s FY2026–27 request is intended to preserve those core functions while continuing recent modernization efforts.

Renick outlined several technology and transparency efforts the court has undertaken, saying staff completed cloud migrations of case‑management systems, introduced email quarantine for suspicious messages and integrated courtroom equipment with Zoom to allow remote witnesses to share documents during hearings. "The court's case management systems have been migrated to cloud based servers," he said. He also described an expanded open‑data portal that allows public access to case and financial information and said the court is updating its website.

Renick cited examples of external recognition: a Kent State journalism professor used the court’s data for a research paper that won a 2024 National Freedom of Information Coalition prize, and a Utah newspaper recently praised the court’s public‑records program. He said more than 60% of public‑records cases are resolved during mediation through the court’s online dispute resolution system.

Committee members questioned administrative details. Representative Miller asked about staffing; Renick said the court has 29 total personnel, including part‑time judges and one other part‑time staff member, and said staffing levels have been roughly consistent for about five years. Ranking Member Thomas asked about court reporters; Renick said the court still uses court reporters for live trials, particularly when an appeal or technical testimony could require a stenographic transcript, and otherwise records proceedings for smaller hearings.

Renick closed by saying the court would continue to seek savings where possible while maintaining services and offered to answer additional questions from the committee. No committee action or vote on the budget request was recorded in the transcript.

The testimony took place during the Public Safety Committee meeting; members asked clarifying questions but did not vote on the request during the session covered by the transcript.