Newsom calls for $283.3M in cuts from court budget

Courts would face $283.3 million in cuts under the state budget revision Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled Thursday. The Department of Justice will also see reductions, albeit smaller ones, as the state works to address massive tax shortfalls caused by the shutdown of much economic activity due to the coronavirus.

"This is not a normal budget year, so this will not be a normal budget presentation," Newsom said near the beginning of the two-hour plus session.

Just four months ago, Newsom proposed a record $222.2 billion budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, counting the state General Fund and other pots of money. The new overall state budget will come in at $203.3 billion.

The overall change appears much smaller than the $54.3 billion budget hole projected last week by Newsom's Department of Finance, due to falling revenues and costs caused by responding to the pandemic. The difference comes from Newsom's decision to tap reserve funds and to spread some of the pain around future budget years.

Mindful of debates in Washington D.C. that could result in new aid to the states, he also touted the reserve funds the state has built up over years. For instance, the draft budget unveiled in January would have added $5.6 billion to state reserves. Newsom also praised the work done on building up reserves by former Gov. Jerry Brown, seen by some as a more fiscally moderate executive.

The changes come as the courts had finally recovered from the last downturn, which began in 2007. Excluding infrastructure spending, they would drive the courts' budget down from the nearly $4.3 billion Newsom proposed in January to a little under $4 billion.

Trial court operations are set to lose $107.6 million in General Fund support. The budget also withdraws $43.6 million in General Fund money for court construction and the suspension of about $2 billion in current and future construction funds "as the courts reassess how they will use their facilities," according to a budget summary document.

The state judiciary will see cuts of $23.2 million. Other judicial branch programs would receive a $15.2 million drop spread among items like dependency counsel, collaborate and drug courts and civil case mediation. The branch is also set to lose about 16 staff positions from a total workforce of some 1,700 in the Judicial Council, Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal and Habeas Corpus Resource Center .

The budget does seek to maintain some spending designed to help low-income Californians. For instance, there is $238.5 million to backfill falling fine and fee revenues. The budget also maintains much of the spending on court modernization and technology, which the budget summary said helps reduce the branch's costs of the long term.

These reductions might be ameliorated if the federal government comes through with new relief money for the state, as Newsom repeatedly said they should.

California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye frequently criticized state budgets she said shortchanged courts throughout the long recovery. On Thursday, however, she released a conciliatory statement about the new plan.

"The state's economic outlook is in a vastly different place than it was in January," she said. "The projected budget deficit is sobering. The judicial branch is prepared to work with the governor and the Legislature as we all try to maintain services for the public we serve. My hope is that the financial burden of a deficit will be shared fairly by all sectors of government. No one wants to turn away those coming to our courts to seek justice."

Consumer Attorneys of California President Micha Star Liberty was less impressed.

"Civil court operations have already been crippled by the closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic," she said in an emailed statement. "The governor's proposed budget cuts to trial courts threaten to further undermine a cornerstone of our democracy."

Several Republican lawmakers praised Newsom's approach, though generally found items they didn't like as well. Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, identified a key piece of spending they hoped Newsom would cut: enforcing the 2019 law codifying Dynamex Operations Inc. v. Superior Court, 2018 DJDAR 3856.

"Unfortunately, the budget still includes more than $20 million to enforce AB 5, which will further hurt workers who wish to remain independent," Bates said in an emailed statement. "What should be done instead is to fix AB 5's job-killing flaws and make the law fair for all, rather than creating more winners and losers."

The Department of Justice will see a $23.5 million reduction and the loss of 50 previously budgeted positions. The changes include a $7.3 million reduction from the Bureau of Forensic Services to replace equipment and $5.7 million from a program designed to track and recover funds from the underground economy. But it maintains funding for several programs relating to firearms.

More details on the changes should be available in the coming days as the administration releases more detailed budget documents. Legislators have also proposed their own plans for dealing with the shortfall, including a detailed proposal from Senate Democrats to incentive some taxpayers to pay future year taxes early.

Much of the shortfall comes directly from policies Newsom put in place -- and which Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been defending in courts around the state -- starting in early March in order to mitigate deaths and hospitalizations from the pandemic. These have drastically reduced economic activity and tax receipts, though the governor has begun reopening many businesses in the last two weeks.

He addressed criticism coming mainly from Republicans that these measures have been overly aggressive.

"Opening up doesn't matter if customers don't feel safe," he said.