Call to Order and Roll Call
The first meeting of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary of the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue was held on<Day> Monday, November 25, 2013, at 10:00 AM, in Room 169 of the Capitol Annex. Representative Jesse Crenshaw, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Sara Beth Gregory, Co-Chair; Representative Jesse Crenshaw, Co-Chair; Senators David P. Givens and Whitney Westerfield; Representatives Denver Butler, Martha Jane King, John Tilley, and Brent Yonts.
Guests: John D. Minton, Chief Justice, Kentucky Supreme Court; J. Michael Brown, Secretary, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet; and Edward C. Monahan, Public Advocate, Department of Public Advocacy.
LRC Staff: Mike Mullins, Zachary Ireland, and Benjamin Thompson.
Chairman Crenshaw welcomed committee members and guests.
Judicial Branch Budget Update
Chief Justice John D. Minton provided an update on the Judicial Branch’s budget status and expectations for the 2014-2016 biennial budget.
In response to an inquiry from Chairman Crenshaw concerning new technologies, Chief Justice Minton explained that there would soon be an electronic filing site available in Franklin County and the technology is expected to spread quickly to other counties in the state.
In response to a question from Chairman Crenshaw concerning case numbers, Laurie Dudgeon, Director of The Administrative Office of the Courts, clarified that changing the way case numbers are displayed would be part of a complete case management system redesign as opposed to the electronic filing system.
In response to questions from Representative Yonts concerning restitution, Ms. Dudgeon stated that interest for restitution is still manually figured and that the restitution part of the case management system redesign has yet to be implemented. Ms. Dudgeon said that her office is working closely with the Franklin County sheriff’s department in the redesign.
In response to inquiries from Representative Tilley, Ms. Dudgeon noted that no additional pretrial officers have been added since the implementation of HB 463 in 2011. Chief Justice Minton added that the 12 hour rule for pretrial release was relaxed to accommodate the high turnover rate among pretrial officers.
In response to a question from Senator Givens concerning increases in debt service for the Judicial Branch budget request, Ms. Dudgeon stated that the only increase for this budget request is for defined calculations. There is no increase in debt service for the 2014-2016 budget request.
Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Budget Update
Secretary J. Michael Brown provided a brief update on the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet’s budget request for the 2014-2016 biennium.
In response to inquiries from Representative Yonts concerning salaries, Secretary Brown noted that there have been no across the board pay raises, and State Police salaries are not competitive amongst law enforcement.
In response to a question from Representative Tilley concerning correctional officers at the Kentucky State Reformatory, Commissioner LaDonna Thompson of the Department of Corrections stated that there are about 50 fewer correctional officers than needed at the Kentucky State Reformatory.
In response to a question from Chairman Crenshaw concerning prevention programs for Juvenile Justice, Secretary Brown noted that the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet is requesting a $500,000 increase in each year of the biennium for prevention programs.
Department of Public Advocacy Budget Update
Public Advocate Edward C. Monahan provided an update on the Department of Public Advocacy’s budget request for the 2014-2016 biennium.
In response to questions from Representative Yonts concerning DUI fees, Mr. Monahan noted that the reduction in total DUI fees is due in part to the fact that the number of DUI cases has dropped by between six thousand to eight thousand.
There being no further business before the subcommittee, the meeting was adjourned at 12:00 PM.