Title
Title
Trial Court Budget | Allocations from the Trial Court Trust Fund
and Trial Court Allocations for Fiscal Year 2024-25
(Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
For fiscal year (FY) 2024-25, the Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee (TCBAC) recommends the Judicial Council allocate $3 billion to the trial courts, which includes $2.8 billion from the Trial Court Trust Fund (TCTF) and $137.8 million from the state General Fund for employee benefits and pretrial funding. Due to the state’s multiyear budget deficit, the May Revision included an ongoing $97 million General Fund reduction to the trial courts’ operational funding, which is reflected in the total allocations for FY 2024-25. The TCBAC also recommends the Judicial Council approve the Workload Formula allocation of $2.5 billion, which is a subset of the $3 billion total allocation, based on recommended methodologies as well as methodologies approved by the Judicial Council. Assuming approval of the allocations, current revenue projections, and estimated savings from FY 2023-24 appropriations, the TCTF will end FY 2024-25 with a fund balance of $128.6 million, of which approximately $60.8 million will be unrestricted.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective July 12, 2024:
Approve the recommendation that Consumer Price Index funding included in the budget to address inflationary costs for the trial courts is not considered “new money” for the purpose of allocating funding via the Workload Formula, and therefore revise the definition of “new money” in the policy to exclude Consumer Price Index funding.
Approve base, discretionary, and nondiscretionary program allocations in the amount of $3 billion (Attachment A, column AC), which includes the following:
a. A reduction of $97 million to the trial courts (Attachment A, column E);
b. An allocation of $50 million from the Trial Court Trust Fund for support of operation of the trial courts (Attachment A, column B); and
c. An allocation of $68.8 million General Fund for employee benefit cost increases associated with retirement, employee health, and retiree health benefits for the period 2010-11 through 2011-12 (Attachment A, column T).
Approve a Workload Formula allocation of $2.5 billion based on the methodology approved by the Judicial Council (Attachment B, column X).
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Speakers
Speakers
Hon. Jonathan B. Conklin, Chair, Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee