SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California’s courts would see a sizable funding boost as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $4.9 billion judicial branch budget package that reflects a commitment to cybersecurity and other tech investments.
The proposal includes $34.7 million for electronic filing, digitizing records and updating case management software in fiscal year 2022-23, with plans to increase that amount to $40.3 million in fiscal year 2025-26.
It also devotes $33.2 million for better access to remote proceedings each year for two years, with $1.6 million in ongoing funding thereafter. “These resources will be used to provide a publicly accessible audio stream for every courthouse in the state,” Newsom said.
Cybersecurity and remote technology have taken center stage as courts moved proceedings online during the Covid-19 pandemic, a change made all the more permanent with the passage of Assembly Bill 716 last year. AB 716 requires courts to provide streaming audio or a public call-in line when courthouses close for public health reasons.
Discussing budget priorities with reporters in December, Judicial Council administrative director Martin Hoshino said the judiciary would be asking for more funding to deal with pandemic-related changes to court operations.
“There's a big year coming up for the trial courts. In this window in time we see the courts are still dealing with pandemic impacts, trying to safety operate and having some limited operational capacities. At the same time they have to groove and balance two modes of operation, which are in-person and remote stuff that people have pivoted to during the pandemic. We're pushing hard for funds to be able to support so we can find our way through that in this particular year,” he said.
“And at the same time we're putting an emphasis on cybersecurity protection, because as we continue to push through the remote space, it's going to increase our exposure to hacks, or risks, or just plain old mischief. We feel we have an obligation to protect and defend the space we're creating, so we're pushing hard for some new investments there."
The budget proposal also provides funding for other online services, like $2.6 million in 2022-23 and $1.7 million ongoing for electronic filing systems for domestic and gun violence restraining orders.
Newsom also assigned $15 million in general fund dollars to “timely and accurate data collection" from trial and appellate courts, saying, “This investment will enhance the ability of all three branches of government to assess court programs and resource needs.”
Criminal fines and accompanying administrative fees have historically been a leading source of court funding for the courts — adding $1 billion in revenue in 2020-21. But with the support of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Newsom and his predecessor Jerry Brown have sought to eliminate what they see as undue burdens on the poor.
The Legislature has also gotten on board, passing a law last year that eliminates fees charged to criminal defendants to cover the cost of public defenders, electronic monitoring, processing arrests, and home detention.
Newsom’s budget package offers $50 million to help offset some of that lost revenue.
Other funds include $42.6 million in 2022-23 and $42.3 million ongoing to hire 23 state court judges, funding for new courthouses in Fresno, Santa Clarita, Fairfield, Quincy, and San Luis Obispo, as well as three projects already approved by the council — a new courthouse in Mendocino County and renovations to juvenile facilities in San Bernardino and Butte counties.
In December, Cantil-Sakauye said that while the judicial branch remains short of full funding she was optimistic about the next round of budget negotiations with Newsom.
“We continue to be closer. As the state’s fortunes rise so do incrementally the branch’s fortune’s rise. We continue to have a strong dialogue with the governor’s office, who understands the work we do and understands our challenges," she said. "It might be helpful that Governor. Newsom’s father was in the judicial branch, and even when Governor Newsom was a candidate and I met with him several times he would always say, ‘I know, I know, the branch needs money.’”
But the pandemic and the Legislature's criminal justice reform measures have only added to the courts' operating costs. “It all speaks to the continuing rise of costs that the branch continues to incur, and we incur it across every county and at every level,” she said. “It’s a continuing dialogue for sustainable funding.”
Newsom's proposal drew an initial positive reaction from the chief justice on Monday.
“I welcome the governor’s continuing commitment to sustainable funding in his budget proposal for the judicial branch. He clearly recognizes how important equal access to justice is for all Californians," she said in a statement. "We look forward to working on this landmark budget proposal with his administration and the Legislature in the next few months as the budget becomes finalized.”
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