Title
Title
Allocations and Reimbursements to Trial Courts | Funding for Court Reporters (Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
Senate Bill 170 (Stats. 2021, ch. 240), which amended the Budget Act of 2021, included $30 million ongoing General Fund to the Judicial Council for establishing a methodology to allocate funding to all trial courts to increase the number of court reporters in family law and civil cases. The budget language in the 2022 Budget Act and ongoing expanded the use of this funding but did not affect how these funds are allocated to the courts. The May Revision for the fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 budget reduced the level of funding to $20 million ongoing but has no impact on how these funds could be used. The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee recommends approving a proportional allocation of the ongoing $20 million to all trial courts for FY 2024-25.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective July 12, 2024, approve the following:
1. Allocate the $20 million to the trial courts on a proportional basis using the council-approved methodology with updated Assessed Judicial Need data based on the 2022 Judicial Needs Assessment as outlined in; and
2. Direct Judicial Council staff to survey the courts after allocations are distributed to the trial courts, no later than midyear of fiscal year 2024-25, for a one-time redistribution of unspent funds to ensure the full appropriation is maximized to increase the number of court reporters in family law and civil cases.
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