Governor Newsom’s record budget includes $4.3B for courts

Gov. Gavin Newsom provided the judicial branch $2 billion over five years to fund new courthouses that don't meet safety and technology standards in the state budget unveiled Friday.

Newsom's budget committed to modernizing and improving court infrastructure while decreasing barriers to access and punitive fines for low-income people.

The plan funds five courthouse construction and renovation projects each year for the next five years. The first of the initiatives will be implemented this spring in order of the most critical projects identified by the Judicial Council.

In total, Newsom provided $4.3 billion for the courts in 2020-21. The allocation reflects a modest increase of roughly $37 million from last year. The funding matches the $2.4 billion for trial court operations in last year's budget with slight boosts for technology and mental health services.

The $222.2 billion budget is the largest in state history. Its most significant expenditures are in housing, public education and wildfire prevention.

California's top judicial officer applauded the increased funding in the court-friendly budget.

"We are grateful for Governor Newsom's budget proposal," Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said in a statement. "It is welcome news for our residents, who rely on a fair, just and accessible court system."

The Judicial Council sent a ranked list of 80 courthouse projects to the Legislature in December. It estimated total costs at roughly $13.2 billion with $10.6 billion going toward 56 new construction projects.

A new four-courtroom Lake County courthouse topped the list with other projects in mostly rural counties following, including Mendocino, Nevada and Butte counties. Two construction projects for Los Angeles County Superior Court were similarly listed as "immediate need."

The budget includes $11.5 million to expand a statewide program that allows people to apply online to have their fines and fees from traffic infractions reduced in accordance with their ability to pay.

The Judicial Council estimated these fines generated approximately $1.4 billion in revenue in 2018-19. Newsom forecast increases in funding for this program to account for estimated losses in revenue to support trial court operations as a result of the penalty reductions.

Judicial Council Administrative Director Martin Hoshino said the four courts that have implemented the program, which reduces fines and fees for eligible participants by around 50% and allows them to make payments over a period of time, have seen "promising early results." He praised the funding directed toward fixing "the inequities and overly punitive consequences of California's criminal fines and fees system on low-income residents."

"This proposal builds on those efforts, expands it statewide, and begins to reverse decades of using our courts as revenue centers for funding government services," he continued.

Newsom also added an $8.1 million allotment for a program to add "court navigators" to assist unrepresented litigants. They will help improve customer service to court users, such as collaborative court participants and victims and family petitioners, and encourage use of existing self-help services, according to the budget summary.

"This kind of program will assist millions of our court users in understanding and following court processes," Cantil-Sakauye, who proposed the initiative in 2018, said in a statement.

Continuing on his commitment to modernize court technology, Newsom provided $17.2 million to expand new technology to increase access and digitize court records. The Judicial Council is still in the process of digitizing court records in 15 courts.

The Consumer Attorneys of California declined to comment. The California Judge's Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

While praising the $18 billion "rainy day reserve" allocated in the budget, Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, criticized it for being "out of touch with everyday Californians." She said more money should have been directed toward the state's lofty housing goals.

"For example, nearly $20 million will go towards cracking down on AB 5 and limiting workers' freedom, despite the pleas from so many industries to fix the law," she said in a statement. "This is a clear case of poor prioritization."

Staff Writer Malcolm Maclachlan contributed to this article.