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Judiciary asks for pay-plan funding and expungement/redaction software after marijuana initiative; appellate courts report compensation gap
Summary
Court leaders asked for constitutionally required judicial salary adjustments, highlighted a multiyear gap for appellate judges and requested ongoing funds for software and redaction tied to the marijuana expungement initiative; the governor recommended some pay items but not the full gap restoration.
Missouri judicial leaders told the House Budget Committee that judicial pay is a constitutional mandate and asked for funding to cover cost-of-living adjustments and a multi-year gap affecting appellate judges.
Betsy Ledgerwood said "judicial salaries are tied to their federal counterparts" and noted the judiciary requested the federal increase (1.7%) for FY26. Ledgerwood also described a four-year gap in statutorily directed pay increases for appellate judges and said funding shortfalls hit smaller appellate districts hardest; the judiciary requested restoration of that gap though the governor did not recommend the full amount.
The judiciary also sought ongoing spending authority and subscription funding tied to the marijuana initiative's expungement and redaction workload. Ledgerwood told the committee that the court previously received $1.5 million for redaction software and that subscription increases tied to the consumer price index are expected to raise ongoing costs; the court requested the authority to continue those security and redaction services.
Why it matters: judicial pay affects retention and court operations; redaction and expungement workloads from changes in marijuana law create ongoing software and security needs.
Committee action and next steps: members asked for county and statewide totals related to expungement overtime and for clarification on pay-plan treatment for elected clerks and deputy clerks; the committee requested follow-up materials; no vote was recorded at the hearing.
