Greene County residents could see reduced services at the clerk of court office depending on how the Iowa legislature resolves its budget gridlock. The legislature has returned for a 17th week in session – with legislators paying for their own meals, lodging and other expenses – as the Code allows for only 110 days of expense payments. An impasse on the state budget, particularly the allocation for K-12 education, is what called legislators to the capitol for additional work.
The Democrat-controlled Senate’s proposed total state budget calls for a spending total of about $7.3 billion, identical to Republican Governor Terry Branstad’s total. The Republican-controlled House is proposing about $166 million less at $7.175 billion.
Uncertainty in state funding has created significant problems in budget planning for school districts. That uncertainty is also seen in the judicial branches.
Clerk of court offices across Iowa received notice late last week from state court administrator David K. Boyd noting that the legislature was about six weeks behind the normal appropriations schedule. The budget proposal in the Iowa House includes $5.5 million less than what the Iowa Senate proposed.
Boyd alerted judicial branch personnel that budget planning based on the House budget would result in underfunding the judicial branch by $8.6 million in fiscal year 2016. According to Boyd’s memo, “it is possible that any or all of the following might occur if necessary to balance the FY 16 budget:
- Part-time clerk of court offices
- Inability of juvenile court officers to meet face to face with first time offenders
- Delays in the resolution of legal disputes
- Reduction in family treatment courts and other problem-solving courts (e.g., drug courts, veterans courts, mental health courts, and business courts)
- Delays in the implementation of a new track of litigation, expedited civil actions
- Limited enhancements to current technological services (EDMS, Iowa Courts Online)
- Travel restrictions for all judicial branch personnel, including judges and court reporters
- Delays in the processing of child support payments
- Delays in development of new technology to provide increased services to Iowans”
Boyd continued, “As evidenced in FY 10, when courts are not open full-time Iowans are denied access to justice in a timely manner. We have made great strides in recent years toward becoming the best court system in the nation. However, should such an appropriation shortfall come to pass it will be very difficult for the judicial branch to meet our six goals as outlined in the last two State of the Judiciary addresses.”
Those goals include protecting Iowa’s children; providing full-time access to justice; operating an efficient, full-service court system; providing faster and less costly resolution of legal disputes; remaining open and transparent; and providing fair and impartial justice for all.
