1091: SENATE-PASSED (5-25-06) - FY 2006-07 JUDICIARY BUDGET

FY 2006-07 JUDICIARY BUDGET S.B. 1091 (S-1): SENATE-PASSED

Senate Bill 1091 (S-1 as passed by the Senate)
Committee: Appropriations

Changes from FY 2005-06 Year-to-Date:
1. Justices and Judges Compensation. This includes compensation and defined contribution and FICA increases for seven part-time probate judges who convert to full time as of 1/2/2007.	960,200
2. Rent Increases. This includes rent for an office outside of Lansing for a Supreme Court justice and increases for offices for various agencies.	53,300
3. Court of Appeals (COA) Projected Collections. This reflects an increase in projected fee collection for COA. It is also included in the Governor's supplemental for FY 2005-06.	150,000
4. GF/GP Program Reductions. These include: $88,300 in supreme court administration; $18,000 for the judicial institute; $48,400 for the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO); $21,200 for judicial information systems (JIS); $5,900 for the foster care review board; $6,000 for drug treatment courts; $140,000 for COA operations; $7,300 for the judicial tenure commission; $29,600 for the appellate public defender program (SADO); $5,200 for appellate assigned counsel administration (MAACS); and $130,100 for court equity fund (CEF) reimbursements.	(500,000)
5. 1.302% GF/GP Cut. The Senate applied the following additional GF/GP cuts: $205,500 in supreme court administration; $29,500 for the judicial institute; $116,100 for the SCAO; $36,800 for JIS; $18,800 for the foster care review board; $509,100 for COA operations; $7,500 for branchwide appropriations; $19,600 for the judicial tenure commission; $84,700 for the SADO; $14,800 for MAACS; and $1,042,400 for CEF reimbursements.	(2,084,800)
6. Pending Changes to the Number of Judgeships. Four new circuit judgeships have been authorized, beginning January 2, 2007. The Governor's original recommendation did not include funding for these judgeships. The Senate included the necessary funding.	479,400
7. Increased Federal Funding. Increased federal funding is expected to be available for judicial information systems. The House added $200,000, and an additional $500,000 was added by the Senate as new sources were identified by judiciary.	700,000
8. COA Delay Reduction Contractual Services. The Senate inserted a placeholder for COA delay reduction contractual services. The House Subcommittee added $250,000 GF/GP to court of appeal operations for this purpose.	100
9. Federal Funding Shortfall. Current drug court funding includes $1.8 million in federal Byrne money, which was not included in the president's FY 2006-07 budget. In the current fiscal year, partial funding was restored by Congress.	0
10. Other House Changes. The House Subcommittee added $591,500 for SADO and $58,500 for MAACS for increases in workload from Halbert v. Michigan. The Senate did not include these changes.	0
12. Comparison to Governor's Recommendation. The Senate Substitute is $905,400 Gross and $1,605,300 GF/GP under the Governor's recommendation.
Total Changes	$1,961,500
FY 2006-07 Senate Gross Appropriation	$257,343,400

FY 2006-07 JUDICIARY BUDGET BOILERPLATE HIGHLIGHTS

Changes from FY 2005-06 Year to Date:

1. Disciplinary Action. The Governor removed language prohibiting the judicial branch from taking disciplinary action against an employee for communicating with a member of the legislature or his or her staff. The House and Senate restored the section. (Sec. 204)

2. K-16 Ballot Initiative. The Senate added language requiring a report from the judiciary identifying budget cuts to reduce GF/GP spending by 7.93% if the K-16 Ballot Initiative is adopted by voters.

3. Direct Trial Court Automation Support Program. The Governor added language to include "development of future versions of case management systems" as part of the costs of the direct trial court automation support program. The House retained current year language and the Senate concurred with the Governor. (Sec. 301)

4. Auditor General. The House added language requiring the judiciary to comply with the auditor general regarding audits conducted under section 53 of article IV of the state constitution of 1963. The Senate concurred with the House. (Sec. 304)

5. Quarterly Revenue Reports. The House added language requiring the judiciary to report quarterly on revenues to the subcommittees, the fiscal agencies and the state budget director. The Senate concurred with the House. (Sec. 305)

6. Court of Appeals Delay Reduction. The Governor deleted language requiring the judiciary to use $312,500 from court of appeals operations for the purpose of delay reduction, $225,000 from an increase in COA filing fees and $87,500 from an increase in COA motion fees. The House and Senate retained current year language and added language identifying funds for delay reduction contractual services. (Sec. 307)

7. SADO Funding. The House added language providing $591,500 for SADO to contract for services to manage any increase in workload from Halbert v. Michigan. The Senate did not include this section. (Sec. 309)

8. Transcript Fee Reimbursement. The Governor deleted language requiring that funds appropriated for transcript fee reimbursement be disbursed to counties to compensate for costs incurred in the event of a statutory increase in court transcript fees. The House removed the language and the placeholder. The Senate retained current year language. (Sec. 317)

Date Completed: 5-25-06 Fiscal Analyst: Stephanie Yu Bill Analysis @ http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations. hijud_sp.doc