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Judiciary asks for magistrates and completes court‑technology overhaul funded by ARPA
Summary
At a Jan. 23 Joint Finance Preparation Committee hearing, the Judicial Branch summarized ARPA‑funded court technology upgrades, ongoing cybersecurity and cloud migration work, and requested new judges and reporters to address heavy caseloads in Twin Falls and Bonneville counties.
The Idaho Judicial Branch on Thursday told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee it is completing a multi‑year technology upgrade funded in part by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, and it is seeking additional judges and court reporters to address district and magistrate caseload pressure.
Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, reviewed court operations and highlighted that most court appropriations come from the Court Technology Fund, which is driven primarily by filing fees. Bybee said the judiciary received roughly $19.9 million in ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund appropriations for court technology; the branch has obligated the ARPA funds to contracts and is seeking reappropriation of about $16 million to continue projects into FY2026.
Sarah Omanson, administrative director of the courts, outlined the technology work that began in 2020 and the rationale for upgrading statewide court infrastructure: growing cybersecurity threats, the need to centralize and secure court data and to put local court access on a controlled state network. Omanson said the branch has rolled out Office 365 to about 80% of users and is implementing multi‑factor authentication. “We are telling the counties we’re going to come into your courthouses and we’re going to install our network,” Omanson said, noting counties were offered options to meet security needs while retaining county‑specific workflows.
Bybee and Omanson explained the modernization included shifting 50.75 FTE for court technology onto the general fund as part of last year’s appropriation and that much of the ARPA money remains obligated to contracts that will be executed through 2026.
On workload and judicial resources, the courts requested two district judges with court reporters and two magistrate judges (one in Twin Falls and one in Bonneville County) as part of the FY2026 budget request. Bybee said the governor’s budget included a placeholder 5% judicial compensation increase; the judiciary’s full compensation request was larger and would require statutory change.
Omanson described the magistrate requests with case statistics and travel impacts: Twin Falls magistrates opened about 1,773 cases per magistrate in a 249‑work‑day year and some judges are scheduling as many as 24 hearings per week. She said Twin Falls has not received a new magistrate in 35 years. In Bonneville County, magistrates open around 1,539 cases each; the Seventh Judicial District covers 10 counties and about 20,000 square miles, and Omanson said judges lose the equivalent of 67.5 judicial days annually to travel from outlying counties to Bonneville to hear cases.
On hiring and operations, Omanson said some positions funded last year were filled at lower salary levels than requested and that the courts continue to struggle to recruit IT specialists: three of five IT positions remain unfilled. She reported seven judges had announced retirements since July 1 and said the pool of applicants for judgeships has narrowed, with fewer applicants bringing private civil practice experience.
Committee members asked for additional detail on ARPA spending and the upcoming IRIS‑style support needs for courts. Several legislators requested a breakdown of the ARPA obligations and a timeline for remaining work; Omanson said all ARPA obligations are contracted and that the remaining installations and wiring work represent the next major phase.
Omanson also said the court system will issue a request for information (RFI) to survey case‑management options and the vendor landscape; the current statewide case‑management vendor (Tyler) is in year two of a five‑year contract and the RFI will assess alternatives and state needs. She said the attorney portal for attorney access to case records should be live within about 30 days.
No committee votes occurred during the hearing. The judiciary committed to provide additional documentation on ARPA contracts, a summary of remaining work and estimates for closing the staffing gap to help the committee evaluate budget requests and related policy proposals.
