Judicial branch seeks funds for courtroom tech, cybersecurity and guardian‑ad‑litem pay
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Summary
The judicial branch told the Senate subcommittee it needs funding to replace aging courtroom video systems, establish a security operations center for 24/7 cyber monitoring, and raise compensation for guardian ad litem appointments to slow attrition, citing rural shortages and rising costs.
Carl, speaking for the judicial branch, outlined several budget requests included in the governor’s introduced budget and answered senators’ questions about local variation and operational risks.
On courtroom technology, Carl said about 1,300 video units are deployed statewide and many are near a 15‑year lifecycle: "They also are based on older platforms and older software that is not as conducive to doing some of the things we wanna do," he said, and requested funds for replacement to support remote dockets, arraignments and motion hearings.
On cybersecurity, he described a requested Security Operations Center to provide 24/7 monitoring and quicker incident response. "If the system were to be compromised, it would be pretty catastrophic," he said, and requested funding for contracted monitoring plus staff to coordinate response and communication.
On representation, the judicial branch highlighted declines in guardian ad litem (GAL) participation: "GALs for children were down from 1,171 in 2020 to 828 in 2025," and said compensation is cited as the number‑one reason attorneys leave the list. The governor’s proposal would raise out‑of‑court and in‑court rates from prior levels to reduce attrition, though the branch had requested a larger increase.
Other items: Haid reported the supplemental drug‑offender assessment fund receipts fell from about $175,000 in 2019 to about $75,000 in 2025 after marijuana‑law changes and asked for funding to staff recovery‑court monitoring positions. He also confirmed the branch’s statewide e‑filing system is currently active in 65 circuit courts and said excess fee revenues reverted to the general fund can total at least $250,000,000 in a year.
Committee members asked for locality breakdowns and data on GAL shortages; Haid agreed to follow up with locality data and additional details from division staff. The branch also said it can attempt to measure potential efficiencies from reminder‑texting systems by comparing nonappearance rates before and after implementation.
Next steps: Judicial staff will provide requested locality and workload data and follow up on GAL appointment standards and compensation projections.
