Judiciary asks lawmakers to fund interpreters, security upgrades and JIC tech as vacancies, funding shifts draw scrutiny
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Summary
During a Joint Finance Committee orientation, the judiciary outlined the governor’s FY26 recommendations and pressed for funding increases for interpreter services, court security, Judicial Information Center staffing and courthouse security upgrades amid questions about vacancies and transfers from ASF to the general fund.
Analyst Kylie Thompson told the Joint Finance Committee the governor’s recommended FY26 budget for the judicial branch includes a mix of ASF, NSF and general‑fund positions and several targeted increases, including $340,600 to expand the interpreter program and $785,700 to shift 10 court security officer positions from ASF to the general fund.
Thompson said the interpreter request responds to growth in the number of individuals entitled to interpreter services and rising regional interpreter rates, and listed a $97,500 recommendation to buy court security equipment and supplies. She also outlined lease escalators for multiple JP court locations and additional technology and staffing requests for the Judicial Information Center (JIC) to support new family court facilities.
Several legislators pressed staff on the apparent contradiction between adding positions and thousands of existing vacancies. Thompson said an OMB report showed about 138 vacant FTEs statewide for the judiciary, many of them recent vacancies; some of the positions requested overlap with those vacancies (judicial case processors, case managers, court security and court reporters). OMB Director Bridal Maxwell said the administration prioritized cost drivers and statutory obligations when making recommendations and that a governor's contingency of $5 million was included to backfill programs if fines‑and‑fees revenues decline.
Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. urged funding for interpreter pay increases, arguing the courts compete with neighboring states for qualified interpreters, and described the JIC’s needs as the judiciary brings new courthouses online and phases in a statewide e‑filing project called “cascade.” Seitz also detailed security concerns after a statewide security audit and asked the committee to consider funding to upgrade video surveillance systems and judicial privacy services to scrub judges’ personal information from public sources.
Committee members asked follow‑ups about the effects of moving positions from ASF to the general fund, the status of grant‑funded positions whose federal dollars have expired (for example, DUI/drug court support), and which unrecommended items the judiciary would most like restored if additional revenue becomes available.
The orientation closed with officials saying they will provide an updated prioritized list of unrecommended items for committee consideration and that the judiciary would continue working with OMB and DHR on classification and recruitment challenges.