Weathering the Economic Storm—The Challenges of Delivering Court Services Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal Philadelphia, Pennsylvania October 28, 2009 Daniel J. Hall, Vice President National Center for State Courts 1

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 20,

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How will the federal stimulus package affect court budgets? Source: COSCA Budget Survey June 12,

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Source: COSCA Budget Survey September 16,

What Are the Options for Courts? Cut Spending Increase Revenue Enhance Efficiencies See handout of state court actions as of September 16,

Spending Cuts Used During the Last Recession 8

Raise Fees and Fines To What Extent can Fees and Fines be Raised to Generate Funds to Pay for Judicial Responsibilities? 9

Definitions  General Funds: legislature appropriates money from the general fund (from taxes, fees and fines, etc.) to pay for judicial operations.  Cash Funds—revenues from fees and fines are committed by statute for a specific purpose (technology, court security, or general use to cover core judicial operations) and appropriated by the legislature. 10

States Responding Authorized to Fund Judicial Responsibilities Dedicated to Special Funds Dedicated to General Court Operations N= Percentage 83% 96% 55% Source: COSCA Survey, May 2007 How Do State Courts Use Cash Funds? 11

Common Cash Fund Designations in 24 States Dedicated Cash FundNumber of States Technology17 Court Security5 Innovation4 Education3 Building Construction3 Alternative Dispute Resolution 3 Judicial Performance2 12

State Court Use of Cash Funds CategoryExamples Courts with Significant Cash Funds (for both dedicated and general use) California, Colorado, Nevada, Washington Courts with Dedicated Cash Funds Only Arizona, Nebraska, Georgia, Montana, South Dakota Courts with Little Cash Funding Delaware, Wisconsin, Virginia Courts with No Cash Funds Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, 13

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How Are Appellate Courts Affected (2009)? COLRS: –11 face decreases; 17 increases; 2 no change IACs –2009: 11 face decreases; 27 had increases and 6 had no change 2010 break even 15

The Silver Lining Courts are being significantly shielded from the worst of the budget impacts in most states. Federal stimulus will lessen reduction in court budgets—for now “Never waste a good crisis” CJ Broderick, New Hampshire 16

State Courts Actively Looking at Reengineering Their Services Alabama Florida Minnesota New Hampshire Iowa Nebraska Rhode Island Utah Vermont 17

 Budgets will be bad for years to come  Structural deficits in state budgets  Demographic shifts (fewer workers, more retirees)  Rising health, education and transportation costs  Fees and fines cannot be significantly increased (list)list  Mandated services are not necessarily the most important services  Business as usual will result in reduced services Summary 18

NCSC Online Budget Resource Center 19