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Interbranch advisory committee warns $105M shortfall will strain courts; AOC and OPD lay out funding requests
Summary
Judicial and legislative leaders said a roughly $105,000,000 budget shortfall will force program cuts in the 2026 session and outlined priority funding requests, including roughly $10 million for public defense, $3 million to continue tenant counsel and continued support for Blake vacates and water‑rights adjudications.
Chief Justice Deborah Stevens, co‑chairing the Center Branch Advisory Committee, opened the meeting by framing the session as an information‑sharing forum and highlighted upcoming personnel changes at the state’s highest court. Senator Jamie Peterson and budget staff warned the state faces a sharply constrained outlook ahead of the 2026 session.
Why it matters: committee members said the shortfall will make new spending difficult and that most fixes will come from cuts rather than new revenue, placing pressure on statutory obligations and critical programs that support vulnerable people and court operations.
Chief Justice Stevens reviewed judicial updates including a forthcoming Supreme Court vacancy and steps to make court processes more navigable for self‑represented litigants. "Mary Yu will retire at the end of the year," she said, and the governor has appointed Colleen Melody to fill the seat.
On the budget, Senator Peterson told attendees the state currently faces a roughly $105,000,000 gap and limited reserves, cautioning: "Almost all of... changes that we'll have to do are gonna be, reductions to existing programs." Christopher Stanley, AOC’s budget lead, listed the board's top priorities as continuing water‑rights adjudications, restoring early intervention funds for juvenile courts (the backup program), and stabilizing interpreter reimbursement and guardianship funding.
Stanley also flagged a continuing operational challenge: "There's $30,000,000 sitting in the Blake Refund Bureau right now waiting to be claimed by over 90,000 people," a sum the court is promoting through outreach and events.
Asked what happens if the requests are not funded, Stanley responded that courts cannot stop taking filed cases but that "everything will take longer" — delays that would affect civil, criminal and family dockets across the state.
Office of Public Defense priorities and recruitment: Larry Jefferson of the Office of Public Defense said a legislature‑funded recruitment program placed 12 recruits with housing stipends and praised a low‑cost proposal from the Sixth Amendment Center to study public‑defense delivery statewide. He said OPD will ask for roughly $10,000,000 this year to comply with court caseload standards and to support ongoing Blake work.
Civil legal aid and other safety‑net programs: Sarah Robbins of the Office of Civil Legal Aid said the appointed counsel for tenants program has represented more than 30,000 tenants since 2021 and requested $3,000,000 to maintain service; she said data show about nine in 10 tenants served remain housed or find alternative stability thanks to representation.
Next steps: Committee leaders set a budget‑focused interbranch meeting for the morning of February 25 and planned outreach events with legislators in late January. The meeting adjourned for the holidays.
The meeting produced no formal votes; members outlined legislative and budget priorities that will be tested in a session leadership described as likely to emphasize technical fixes and cuts rather than new spending.
