Judiciary finance committee walks through HF2300 DE, staff outline spending plan and witnesses urge more civil legal aid funding

St. Paul — The Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee on April 8 conducted a walkthrough of the DE amendment to House File 2300 (DE A25-61), reviewing funding recommendations for judicial branch agencies and several substantive policy changes, and heard testimony urging additional funding for civil legal aid.

Nonpartisan fiscal staff John Walz told the committee the recommendation meets the committee's $30 million target above forecast for the 2026-27 biennium and carries another $30 million into the 2028-29 biennium. "The total spending for this committee with the base plus increases, is 717,278,000 in fiscal 26," Walz said as he summarized line-by-line items in the spreadsheet provided to members.

Why it matters: The DE merges budget adjustments for the Supreme Court, district courts, appellate offices, the Board of Civil Legal Aid and other judicial entities with a set of statutory and administrative changes across five articles. Committee members and outside witnesses said the bill will shape how courts and legal services operate and how some personal data is handled, while advocates argued the recommended funding still falls short of service needs.

Key budget and agency details

Walz told the committee the Supreme Court has a base of $49 million per year and the DE adds several items, including a $867,000 per-year insurance and compensation increase, a one-time $3.5 million appropriation for cybersecurity, $1,124,000 one-time for digital accessibility, and $4,000,000 for a "justice partner access" request tied to document access. The Board of Civil Legal Aid was described as having a $34 million base with a…