Judicial Council submits 15 budget change proposals and adds $1.1 million dependency counsel workload study

The Judicial Council approved submission of a package of budget change proposals (BCPs) to the Department of Finance for the 2026–27 Governor’s budget and added a one‑time request to fund a comprehensive workload assessment of court‑appointed dependency counsel.

Judge Marvin Mormon, chair of the Judicial Branch Budget Committee, presented a prioritized set of 15 proposals the committee considered most critical in light of the state’s projected multi‑year deficits. The package addresses priorities including trial court inflationary and equity adjustments, facilities and security, court‑appointed counsel for appellate programs, language access, and litigation management. The committee reviewed 31 concepts and advanced 15 for submission; other concepts were deferred.

During floor consideration, the council accepted a friendly amendment requesting a $1,100,000 one‑time General Fund appropriation to fund a comprehensive workload assessment of dependency representation. The study would reassess caseload standards and workload assumptions that currently underpin allocations for the court‑appointed dependency counsel program (the council currently funds 150 counsel by appropriation) and would inform future funding requests. Judge Mormon explained the methodology for current allocations is likely outdated and identified that the present standard assumed 141 clients per full‑time dependency attorney from a 2004 workload study.

Judge Hernandez moved approval of the BCP package as amended and Mr. Yamasaki seconded; the council approved the package by voice vote. Council members thanked committee members and staff for the multi‑month development process and noted the addition of the workload study as a step to create a data foundation for future funding decisions.