State courts get $200M cut, but $953M for construction remains

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a state budget that includes $4 billion for courts, roughly $200 million less than he proposed in January.

According to a budget summary distributed by Newsom's office, the final budget cuts $176.9 million in General Fund support for trial courts and another $23.1 million from the state judiciary. If the state receives "at least $14 billion" in federal support by Oct. 15, all but $50 million of this $200 million reduction would be restored. The money is included as part of SB 74, the 225,000-word budget bill Newsom signed Monday.

The final plan preserves $953.3 million in court construction projects approved in 2018, many of which were delayed during the last downturn. Nearly half of this money will go to a new courthouse in downtown Sacramento.

Newsom's initial plan came during a strong economy and a $6 billion surplus. The coronavirus pandemic hit weeks later, resulting in Newsom largely closing down the state's economy and leading the state Department of Finance to project a $54 billion deficit.

"We made some bold commitments in our January budget," Newsom said during a news appearance to discuss the COVID-19 response on Tuesday. "No sooner did we make those commitments than self-evidently we started to address the issues of this pandemic."

Newsom went on to say the budget was the result of tense negotiations with legislative leaders. Those fingerprints can be seen in a courts budget that includes $337 million set aside for a group of programs that includes dependency counsel, collaborative and drug courts and the state's Equal Access Fund. Protecting programs that serve lower-income litigants was a key goal of Democratic lawmakers when they presented their alternative to Newsom's May budget revision.

The governor warned the budget situation could quickly worsen again. He told reporters Tuesday he might issue new shutdown orders soon in response to recent increases in new infections registered in parts of the state. Last weekend, he ordered bars closed in seven counties, including Los Angeles, and put several other counties on notice.

"The initial budget for the coming fiscal year is not a surprise based on what the governor laid out in his May revise," said California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in a statement. "As I said at the time, the projected budget deficit is sobering. I realize our unusual fiscal year may mean more budgetary changes later this summer or even this fall, if the federal government provides some relief in a COVID-19 stimulus bill. In the meantime, we in the judicial branch will do our best to serve the public in these unprecedented times of a global pandemic and recession."

The cuts will now play out across the state's 58 counties. For instance, the Santa Clara County Superior Court announced Tuesday it had negotiated furloughs with court workers' unions as it faces a $16 million deficit.

There are positives for the court system. The budget includes $273.8 million to backfill falling fine and fee revenue across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years -- an increase of $238.5 million over the amount Newsom proposed in January. Falling fine and fee revenue was a key point of contention between the courts and Legislature during the last downturn, which began in 2007.

The budget includes $50 million to help courts deal with a backlog of cases that has grown during the months courts have largely shut down. Trial court employees will see another $30 million for their health a retirement benefits. There is $25 million for modernizing court operations and remote access, and smaller amounts for items such as language access and county law libraries.

Meanwhile, Xavier Becerra will continue his reign as the only state attorney general in the country to control a billion-dollar budget. His $1.1 billion dwarfs that of his counterparts in other large states such as Texas and New York.

But lawmakers have also given Becerra's office many new tasks in recent years. That list grows annually, particularly when it comes to gun laws. For instance, Becerra's budget includes nearly $10 million for the Bureau of Firearms to enforce firearms restrictions Newsom signed last year. His office will also receive an additional $35.8 million for forensic services and smaller amounts for enforcing health care and gambling laws.