Assembly budget chair makes no promises on courts budget

The chair of the Assembly Budget Committee is going to take a close look at court funding for the 2020-21 fiscal year but declined to make any specific commitments on a conference call with reporters on Monday.

California's courts are in line for a 1% increase, about $22 million, in the new fiscal year on their nearly $2.2 billion annual budget, according to documents released late last month by the Legislative Analyst's Office. That report also noted "The state is now in good shape to weather a recession" with a projected surplus of nearly $7 billion.

But on Monday, the agency issued a statement seeking to "temper" funding expectations amid concerns of a potential recession.

On his conference call, Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, also warned of uncertainties around the economy and the state's relationship with the federal government.

"We are concerned a recession is looming," Ting said.

After years of decrying the state of the courts' budget, Chief Justice Tani-Cantil Sakauye issued positive statements over the past two budget cycles.

"We know that court funding has been an issue every year since I've been in the Legislature," said Ting, who was elected to his job in 2012. "We'll obviously be taking a look at courts."

"The courts were pretty happy last year," he added.

One key reason was that Gov. Gavin Newsom's 2019-20 state budget funded 25 of the 50 judge positions that were approved in 2007 but never paid for.

Several legislators have carried bills in recent years to fund these slots. Most of these lawmakers hailed from the two counties with the greatest need for new judges, San Bernardino and Riverside. On Monday, a spokesperson for a key lawmaker involved in this effort, Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, said he would not pursue new judge funding "at this time."

Ting declined to say whether the budget may include new judge positions.

Another major issue promises to be long-delayed court construction and renovation projects, particularly needed seismic retrofits and replacements in earthquake-prone areas. Last month the Judicial Council approved a new construction priority list, which added seismic risk and avoiding unnecessary costs to the criteria, along with security and crowding.

Among the other priorities Ting mentioned were the corrections budget, the illegal cannabis market and ongoing wildfire concerns.

The state's $12.1 billion criminal justice budget is set to fall by 0.6%. Ting said reducing the prison population has not done as much to lower costs as hoped, and new measures are called for.

"The only way to reduce spending on corrections is to reduce the number of facilities," Ting said.

Meanwhile, he blamed the continued existence of the black market alongside legal cannabis sales in part on local governments that ban storefronts. The thriving illicit market raises not only law enforcement concerns but budgetary ones, as illegal sales have undercut tax revenue.

"I think it is better to have a storefront that can be monitored," he said.

On fires, the Legislature is looking to an "overall solution," Ting said. This would include vegetation management and changes in utility practices. Major cases involving utility liability have been working their way through the courts, particularly the Pacific Gas & Electric bankruptcy proceeding in federal court in Sacramento.

Several wild-card factors remain, Ting warned -- in the particular that "the federal government is no longer reliable."

When asked for an example, Ting didn't dwell on California's many court battles with the Trump administration. Instead he pointed to the Managed Care Organization tax.

This is a tax on health insurers instituted as part of the 2016-17 budget. The current tax expires July 1 and will need federal approval to be renewed. If this doesn't happen, it could nix nearly $2 billion in revenue to the state Medi-Cal program.