Supreme Court urges 7% funding boost, seeks reauthorization of Act 49 and more cybersecurity money

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday asked the House Appropriations Committee for a 7% increase in general‑fund support for the unified judicial system, the reauthorization of Act 49 and statutory changes to the Judicial Computer System Augmentation account to address chronic funding shortfalls for court technology and services.

Justice Christine Donahue delivered opening testimony on behalf of the judiciary, saying the governor’s budget proposal totals about $509 million for the judicial branch — roughly a $30 million increase from the prior year — and urging the committee to reauthorize Act 49, which the judiciary said expires July 31. “Adequate funding for Pennsylvania’s unified judicial system is essential to our constitutional democracy,” Donahue said.

Why it matters: The court told lawmakers that an outsized share of the judiciary’s budget is personnel (about 89%), that 75% of state judicial dollars support county‑level courts and that a portion of court operations now depends on fee revenue that has been unpredictable. Justices and administrators warned that reliance on fee‑based funding leaves statewide case management and other core systems vulnerable to year‑to‑year swings.

Key budget requests and explanations

- General fund increase: The judiciary asked for roughly $30.5 million (about 7%) to keep pace with personnel costs and recent increases in operating needs. Justices said the request assumes continuation of fee streams that currently augment the general fund.

- Act 49 reauthorization: Witnesses said some courtroom operations and operating revenue now rely on a statutory reauthorization known as Act 49 and urged the General Assembly to renew it before it lapses on July 31.

- Judicial Computer System Augmentation/account changes: Justices requested statutory changes to allow adjustments to the judicial computer system augmentation account without creating new or higher fees, pointing to the volatility of fee revenue and the need for a predictable funding stream for statewide technology.

- UJS security grants: The judiciary asked for $3 million to continue and expand grants used by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) to “harden and better secure” court facilities and to operate a statewide security incident reporting system. The AOPC reported nearly 1,000 security incidents reported in 2024, including threats delivered by email and phone.

- Cybersecurity: After a distributed‑denial‑of‑service attack and concerns about ransomware risk, the judiciary requested roughly $1.2 million more (a 33% increase from the prior cybersecurity line) to fund additional personnel, vulnerability and penetration testing, and upgrades to end‑of‑life hardware used by magisterial district courts and the appellate data centers. AOPC identified the UJS portal — which handles e‑commerce functions and public docket access — as an early target of last year’s attacks and said it intends to bid for new annual vulnerability testing.

Other program and operational items raised in questions

- JNET and statewide systems: The judiciary asked to fully fund the ongoing operating cost of JNET (the integrated criminal justice system). AOPC said a roughly $1 million increase reflects the actual cost to operate JNET after several years of partial funding that forced tradeoffs elsewhere.

- Office of Elder Justice: An increase in the elder‑justice line was attributed to the end of federal grants that had paid for three staff positions; the judiciary said the requested funds will continue those personnel and the office’s training and guardianship‑tracking work.

- Treatment and problem‑solving courts: Justices highlighted the statewide network of treatment courts (drug, DUI, veterans and mental‑health courts), said there are roughly 138–139 treatment courts in Pennsylvania and described a planned certification rollout with the national organization All Rise. The judiciary urged additional support to expand and sustain these programs, which officials said reduce incarceration and provide wraparound services.

- Juvenile placements and forensic evaluations: Several lawmakers raised concerns about juvenile detention and placement capacity after youth detention centers closed in recent years. Justices and AOPC said delays in forensic evaluations and limited placement options in some counties are creating pressure on trial courts; they urged local, county and state partners to address placement and competency evaluation backlogs.

- Clean Slate and record sealing: Committee members and justices discussed the administration of the Clean Slate program (automatic record sealing). The judiciary reported earlier implementation work with the Pennsylvania State Police and noted that advocates and lawmakers have expressed concern that sealing under the latest Clean Slate provisions has not proceeded as rapidly as expected. The court committed to meet with the chairman and advocates to review implementation mechanics and barriers.

- Court fee reliance and unpredictability: Multiple lawmakers pressed the justices about the share of the judiciary budget derived from fees (the judiciary cited roughly 11% of operating funds coming from fees in recent figures) and whether that dependence affects fairness or the appearance of incentives in case processing. Justices and administrators said they would provide a more detailed breakout of fee sources and amounts to the committee and again urged a more stable appropriated funding stream for core systems.

Process and no formal actions

Committee members pressed the justices on a range of hypotheticals — including the potential effects of adult‑use cannabis legalization on court caseloads — but the court witnesses repeatedly said impact would vary by county and that the trial courts at the county level would feel any immediate operational effects. The hearing produced requests and clarifications; it did not include a committee vote or a formal funding decision.

What the justices asked of lawmakers

Justice Kevin Robson and Justice Donahue asked the Appropriations Committee to: reauthorize Act 49, approve the requested general‑fund increase, support statutory changes that would stabilize the Judicial Computer System Augmentation account and consider the additional cybersecurity and security‑grant funding that AOPC said is necessary to protect statewide systems and court facilities.

Looking ahead

Justices and AOPC officials said they will return to the committee with more detailed finance breakdowns (including a fee‑source breakout and more precise counts on Clean Slate outcomes) and asked legislators to allow adequate lead time for IT implementation in the event the General Assembly enacts additional expungement or record‑sealing legislation.

Ending note

The committee did not act on any of the funding requests at the hearing. Members closed the session by scheduling additional agency budget hearings on other departments. The judiciary’s written budget request and follow‑up materials are expected to be provided to the committee staff for further review.