Courts.

The California Assembly Budget Committee proposes substantial changes to court administration and financial management through legislation that consolidates oversight functions and enhances reporting requirements. The measure modifies how the Judicial Council manages trial court operations, establishes new accountability metrics, and authorizes the sale of specific court facilities.

Under the legislation, the Judicial Council must provide detailed annual reports by February 1st on trial court operations, including case disposition times, clearance rates, backlogs, public counter hours, and staff vacancy rates. The council gains authority to transfer up to $150 million annually between designated funds to support trial court operations, with loans requiring repayment within two years.

The bill authorizes the Judicial Council to sell three specified courthouse properties - the Plumas/Sierra Regional Courthouse, Modesto Main Courthouse and Hall of Records, and Ceres Superior Court - in fair market value transactions after consulting with and offering first right of purchase to the respective counties. Net proceeds from these sales would be deposited in the General Fund.

The measure consolidates existing judicial improvement funds into the State Trial Court Improvement and Modernization Fund, with $13.4 million transferred annually to the Trial Court Trust Fund for court operations. It also appropriates $4.69 million from the General Fund to the State Court Facilities Construction Fund as a one-time allocation for the 2025-26 fiscal year.