Judiciary asks for more judges, court technology maintenance and cybersecurity funding; committee hears progress on ARPA‑funded upgrades

The Idaho Judicial Branch briefed the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Jan. 23 about court operations, the status of a multi‑year court technology upgrade funded in part with ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds, and requests for additional judges to address rising caseloads and travel‑related lost judicial time.

Keith Bybee, division manager for budget and policy analysis, reviewed fiscal trends and told the committee that the Court Technology Fund—driven primarily by filing fees—has seen actual collections grow from about $2.9 million in FY2023 to $3.4 million in FY2024, and that year‑over‑year filings were up roughly 29%. Bybee said the court system’s working cash is projected at about $21.5 million for FY2026 and a carryforward fund balance was about $18.8 million.

Why it matters: The judiciary is asking for additional judicial resources to address caseload pressures and to limit travel by judges who are currently covering neighboring counties. The courts also are in the middle of a large technology and cybersecurity push, funded largely with ARPA appropriations, to modernize infrastructure and centralize protections across counties.

Administrative director Sarah Omanson told lawmakers that the core technology and cyber work began in 2020 in response to rising cyber threats to court systems nationwide. The project includes multi‑factor authentication, a dedicated state court network in each courthouse, migration to Office 365 for court business, and other infrastructure…