Judicial Branch requests new judges and continues ARPA-funded court-technology rollout

The Idaho Judicial Branch told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Jan. 23 that it needs new judges to address rising caseloads and is continuing a multi-year, ARPA-funded court-technology and cybersecurity modernization that will run into FY2026.

Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, said the Court Operations budget covers programs including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district and magistrate courts, water adjudication, community-based substance-abuse treatment and senior judges. Bybee said the branch averaged about 372 full-time positions over five years and that personnel costs make up roughly 70% of the courts’ budget.

Sarah Omanson, administrative director of courts, described a multi-year technology upgrade funded in part with one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations. She said the courts received $19.9 million in ARPA State Fiscal Recovery funds for infrastructure and that most of that work is contracted and obligated; Omanson said roughly $16 million was requested for re-appropriation in the maintenance bill.

"We started really focusing on cybersecurity," Omanson said, describing upgrades including multi-factor authentication, a state court network in every…