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Judicial branch presents $112 million biennial request; committee lays bill over
Summary
The committee heard Senate File 1098, the judicial branch policy and appropriations bill, with the State Court Administrator presenting a biennial request totaling $112 million and items including judicial pay raises, juror per diem increases, and funding for digital accessibility and cybersecurity. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion.
The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on March 17 heard Senate File 1098, the Judicial Branch policy and appropriations bill. State Court Administrator Jeff Schorba presented the branch's biennial budget request and accompanying small policy changes and said the request reflected staffing, compensation and digital-access needs.
Schorba told the committee the Judicial Branch's overall biennial request totaled $112 million, a 12.51% increase over the base budget. Key items in the request include a proposal to increase judicial officer salaries by 6% in each year of the biennium, a 6% employee compensation pool for both years, funding for the employer share of anticipated health-care cost increases, and funds to address increased lease costs at the Judicial Center.
Schorba outlined several targeted proposals: $7.22 million in FY26 to raise contract forensic examiner pay from $136 to $175 per hour; $18.448 million in FY26-27 to raise juror per diem from $20 to $100 per day and increase mileage reimbursement to the current IRS standard of 67 cents per mile; $3.5 million in FY28-29 for permanent Judicial Branch cybersecurity funding; and multi-year funding to meet new federal digital accessibility guidelines and improve electronic data sharing with justice partners.
Jake Chadwell, identified as a member of the Minnesota Association for Justice, testified in support of increasing juror per diem, saying higher pay helps maintain a functioning jury system and offsets costs that jurors incur when traveling to urban courthouses.
Committee members had few questions at the hearing. Senator Westrom asked about a policy change to require conservators to serve annual reports to conservatees; Schorba said the bill clarifies that the person under conservatorship must be served with the report to increase transparency.
Schorba emphasized that courts are funded almost entirely through legislative appropriations and that the branch depends on the Legislature to secure the resources required to deliver timely justice.
Senator Lats, the bill sponsor, said the measure will be laid over for possible inclusion in the committee's omnibus bill; the committee did so.
Why it matters: The Judicial Branch's request addresses staffing and compensation pressures, juror recruitment and retention, digital accessibility and cybersecurity needs across Minnesota courts. The proposal will be weighed against the state's broader fiscal forecast and the governor's upcoming budget release.
