Judicial Council approves allocation plan for $42 million partial restoration of trial court operations funding

The Judicial Council on Feb. 21 approved an allocation plan to distribute roughly $42 million in partial restorations to trial court operations funding for the current fiscal year. The allocation uses reserves in the Trial Court Trust Fund to deliver the funds this fiscal year rather than waiting for the annual budget cycle.

Administrative Director Shelly Curran summarized outreach and budget advocacy that led to the proposed restoration, noting discussions with the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office. "We are continuing our discussion with our sister branches of government, advocating for judicial branch priorities," Curran said. The council will distribute the augmentation in the March distribution to trial courts.

Council staff and advisory committees recommended using the same methodology previously applied to the $97 million reduction to allocate the $42 million restoration, preserving the workload-formula approach intended to maintain funding equity among courts. Budget services staff said the $42 million will be funded from available reserves on a one-time basis and that the legislature had increased the Trial Court Trust Fund budget to support the action.

Several council members praised the timing and mechanism used to accelerate distribution. One member, Mr. Fruhser, called the approach "short of genius" for allowing courts to access funds in March rather than wait until later in the budget cycle. Members moved and approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will finalize allocations shown in the meeting materials attachment and distribute funds in March as described. The council will continue meetings with branch leadership, the Department of Finance, and legislative staff as the budget process continues.