The Judicial Council will consider recommendations tomorrow on
how it divides annual state funding for the judicial branch among
each of the state’s 58 trial courts based on the workload at each
court. The council’s Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee
proposed the
recommendations to make its Workload-Based Allocation and
Funding Methodology (WAFM) more stable and predictable, and
lessen any negative impacts on courts who experience large cuts
to their budgets in lean funding years.
Among the proposals, the committee recommends eliminating the
historical funding base that implemented WAFM gradually over the
previous five fiscal years, and instead establish base
allocations each year based on a court’s funding level the prior
year. The committee also proposes to continue reporting workload
every fiscal year based on a three-year average of filings data
to respond to local changes in court workload.
Other items on the council meeting agenda include: Reporting Case Processing Statistics: The council will
consider a
recommendation to revise statistical reporting definitions
for the Judicial Branch Statistical Information System (JBSIS).
These statistics help the council calculate the workload-based
funding need for each court.
Ability-to-Pay Determinations: The council will consider a
proposal for two new forms court users would complete to
request a determination of their ability-to-pay court fines in
traffic and other infraction cases.
Courthouse Closures or Reduced Hours: The council will
receive a
report on which trial courts have closed courtrooms or
clerks’ offices or reduced clerks’ office hours because of budget
challenges. Since the previous report, three superior
courts—Alameda, Modoc, Stanislaus, and Sierra Counties—have
issued new notices of closures or reductions.
