State court administrator warns 46% cut to operating budget would force steep reductions

The state court administrator told the Senate Finance Committee on April 3 that the governor’s recommended budget would cut the judiciary’s operating allocation roughly 46% below the amount the courts asked the governor to forward to the legislature.

“Simply put, the judiciary cannot withstand a 46% reduction to its operating budget,” the state court administrator said, urging senators to review the branch’s submitted request and the uses of current funding.

The administrator said the judiciary’s internal submission identified operating needs of $12,500,000 — consistent with the current fiscal-year operating allocation of about $12,600,000 — but the governor’s recommendation funds the operating line at $6,700,000, a difference of roughly $5,700,000.

Why it matters: the judiciary said its budget is driven by three broad categories — salaries and benefits, operating costs, and assistance and grants (primarily indigent defense). The administrator told the committee indigent defense alone is budgeted at about…