Missouri Judiciary FY 2024 Budget Request

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by  Missouri State Courts

MISSOURI JUDICIARY

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FY 2024 BUDGET REQUEST
With Governor’s Recommendations
JUDICIAL BUDGET

FISCAL YEAR 2024

HONORABLE PAUL C. WILSON

Betsy AuBuchon Chief Justice Kathy S. Lloyd

Clerk State Courts Administrator

751-4144 751-4377

Supreme Court Building

Jefferson City, Missouri
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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BUDGET SUMMARIES SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION
Judiciary Budget Summary.......................................................... i
Needed but not Requested Listing .............................................. 1 MISSOURI CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE
Judiciary Financial Summary....................................................... 2 Marijuana Initiative Petition ...................................................... 105

MISSOURI CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE SUPREME COURT
Missouri Citizens Commission Salary Adj. Judges FY24 ............ 3 Core ........................................................................................ 110
Marijuana Initiative Petition ........................................................ 13

APPELLATE JUDICIAL COMMISSION
STATUTORY MANDATES Core ........................................................................................ 121
Commissioners and Other Staff Salary Adjustment FY24 ........ 19
Court Reporter Tenure Levels ................................................... 27 STATE COURTS ADMINISTRATOR
Access to Justice Interpreter Services - Civil Cases ................. 31 Core ........................................................................................ 126
Associate Circuit Judge - 11th Circuit (St. Charles) ................... 42
Court Improvement Projects
Core ........................................................................................ 136
DECISION ITEMS
21st Century Workforce to Target - Circuit Courts .................... 47 Statewide Court Automation
21st Century Workforce to Target - Court of Appeals ............... 53 Core ........................................................................................ 142
21st Century Workforce to Target - Supreme Court ................. 59
21st Century Workforce to Target - OSCA ............................... 63 Judicial Education
GR Transfer - 21st Century Workforce to Target ...................... 73 Core ......................................................................................... 148
Reimbursable Family Court Commissioners ............................. 78
Security Upgrades for Supreme Court & Court of Appeals ....... 83 Judicial Education Transfer
Security Staff for Court of Appeals ............................................ 88 Core ........................................................................................ 154
Library Renovations and Judicial Learning Center .................... 94
Supreme Court Building Restoration ....................................... 100
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TREATMENT COURTS
COURT OF APPEALS .................................................................. 165 Treatment Courts Coordinating Commission Transfer
Western District Core .............................................................. 168
Core ........................................................................................ 241

Eastern District Core ............................................................... 178
Treatment Courts Coordinating Commission

Core ........................................................................................ 246
Southern District Core ............................................................. 188

JUDICIARY PS .............................................................................. 263
CIRCUIT COURT
Core ......................................................................................... 201

OTHER SUBMISSIONS

Fund Financial Summaries ...................................................... 270
COMMISSION ON RETIREMENT, REM. AND DISCIPLINE State Audit Report ................................................................... 296
Core ........................................................................................ 234
Programs Subject to Missouri Sunset Act ............................... 301
One-Time Request Summary .................................................. 302
Judiciary’s Flexibility Request .................................................. 303
Core Reconciliation ................................................................. 305
The Missouri Judiciary

The Missouri Judiciary – or third branch of government – provides
Missouri citizens a stable, fair, and accessible system of justice for the
resolution of disputes. Each year, Missouri courts resolve more than
750,000 cases. Municipal divisions resolved 618,194 cases in FY21
relating to traffic and city ordinances. The judicial branch of government
employs people dedicated to serving the citizens of Missouri.
The Missouri Judiciary – one of three co-equal branches of government
– provides Missouri citizens a stable, fair, and accessible system of
justice for the resolution of disputes.

The FY23 appropriation to the Missouri Judiciary totals just 2% of the statewide General Revenue.
The vast majority of that appropriation pays the salaries of court personnel
in local communities across the state.
Approximately 3,500 judicial employees represent the face of justice for Missourians who walk into our courthouses or access our
services online. The Missouri Judiciary is, at its heart, a branch of people – court clerks, marshals, court reporters, juvenile officers,
trial judges, and others who work to ensure the justice system serves the needs of our citizens. We continually strive for efficiency
using technological innovation, but we need to retain experienced employees and recruit top-quality replacements to maintain public
trust and confidence and to fully discharge our statutory and constitutional obligations.
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Within the circuit courts, cases are grouped and heard in divisions by type, such as circuit, associate
circuit, family, juvenile, municipal, probate, and small claims. Cases typically start in the circuit court
and may be appealed to one of the three appellate districts, potentially ending up at the state
supreme court. Some types of cases brought to the courts include divorce, bankruptcy, and
civil rights. Criminal cases filed by prosecutors and cases challenging the constitutionality of
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COURT OF APPEALS
state laws or the use of governmental power are other types of cases heard.
Southern
District
While the judiciary has effectively used existing resources to fulfill its role, additional
46 CIRCUIT COURTS
resources are needed to further the priorities that will ensure continuing stability, with more than 115 courthouses
(at least one in each cowityplus the city of St. Louis)
fairness, and accessibility. r
Circuit Dil,ision Associate Division
7 - - - -i- L
Junnile Family f Treallnent l
Division Division Court Court
Dilision Divisions

Fiscal 2024 and Supplemental Fiscal 2023 Budget Priorities

The Missouri Judiciary’s FY24 and supplemental FY23 funding priority areas are:
$11.9M Compensation
$345 ,755 Interpreters in civil cases
Security upgrades for appellate courts
$988,521
Supreme Court Building and Library
$3.8M
$7M Marijuana Initiative implementation

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Support Public Service
For the last few years, excluding the FY21 pandemic year, the legislature and governor have appropriated and the judiciary has
implemented, salary increases for judiciary staff consistent with the goals of its classification and compensation study. For FY23, the
legislature and governor’s appropriations provided for significant progress toward salary goals. The judiciary’s 21st Century
Workforce compensation plan moves staff toward target – or market – salary
Need for Full Funding of 21st Century goals, and improves recruitment and retention with much of the focus on the
Workforce Compensation Plan
lowest paid staff and reducing salary compression. Staff whose positions are
established by statute (e.g., circuit clerks) and were not a part of the salary study
89% Positions Below should receive a comparable increase.
■
Target
■ Other Positions Missouri judges’ salaries are based upon the salaries of their federal counterparts
under the Missouri Citizens Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials
11%
and Article XIII, section 3 of the Missouri Constitution.

Additionally, St. Charles County (11th Judicial Circuit) is requesting an associate circuit judge, per section 478.320, RSMo, which
allows an additional associate circuit judge position for each additional 100,000 inhabitants (St. Charles County has exceeded
400,000 in population). Jackson County (16th Judicial Circuit) and St. Louis County (21st Judicial Circuit) are each requesting a
reimbursable family court commissioner.

Budget Request:
1. Appropriate $2,832,461 for fiscal 2024 for salaries for judges to match the projected federal salary increase of 4.6%.
2. Appropriate $270,500 for fiscal 2024 for salaries for commissioners, the Clerk of the Supreme Court, and counsel for the
Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline to match the projected federal salary increase of 4.6%.
3. Appropriate $15,243 for increases to court reporter salaries based on years of service per HB 271 passed in the 2021
legislative session.
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4. Appropriate $160,074 for 1.0 FTE and E&E for an associate circuit judge for St. Charles County under section 478.320, RSMo
due to exceeding 400,000 in population.
5. Implement the 21st Century Workforce compensation plan to raise salaries of staff to target – or market – for the Circuit Courts,
Courts of Appeals, Supreme Court, and Office of State Courts Administrator for a total of $8,298,091.
6. Appropriate $320,148 for 2.0 FTE and E&E for reimbursable family court commissioners – one for Jackson County and one for
St. Louis County.

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Ensure Access to Courts Through Interpreters in Civil Cases
Section 476.803, RSMo requires courts to appoint a qualified language interpreter in all legal proceedings in which a non-English
speaking person is a party or witness. Further, according to Federal Executive Order 13166 and U.S. Department of Justice policy
guidelines, state courts must provide interpreting and translating services to ensure non-English speaking individuals have
meaningful access to the courts.

Percent of Foreign Language Spoken in Missouri
 Language is very diverse across
Missouri. A Missouri Economic Research Spanish
and Information Center1 survey identified Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) -
eight languages in Missouri with 10,000 or German -
more speakers. In 2020, 6.3% of Missouri Vietnamese -
Arabic -
residents spoke a language other than
Serbo-Croatian -
English.
French (incl. Cajun)

Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch,

other West Germanic languages
0.0% 0.4% 0.8% 1.2% 1.6% 2.0% 2.4% 2.8%

Budget Request:
1. Fully fund the projected annual expenditures of $345,755 to cover costs for interpreters in civil court proceedings for fiscal
2024.

1 Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. (2021). Missouri Language Diversity. Retrieved from
https://meric.mo.gov/data/many-languages-missouri.
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Protect Judges, Courthouses, and the Effective Administration of Justice
The roles of both the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Court of Appeals is to ensure a stable and predictable system of
justice. Protecting the rule of law by funding security upgrades at the appellate courts is imperative. As U.S. Circuit Judge Richard J.
Sullivan recently stated in a special report about judicial security, “The safety of judges…is essential – not just to the individuals, but
to our democracy. Our system of justice depends on judges who are free to carry out their Constitutional duties without fear of
reprisal or violence.”2

Funding in the amount of $930,800 is needed for alarm systems, intercom systems, ballistic reinforcement of doors, walls, and
benches; security stations for security personnel; electronic door access control systems; security camera upgrades; installation of
panic buttons; secured parking with cameras; reconfiguration of entrances; and bulletproof glass. Additional security personnel are
needed at the Southern District to monitor courtrooms, the elevator, public areas, and live feed security cameras. The Southern
District is requesting 1.0 FTE for a part time deputy marshal to become full time (additional 0.4 FTE) and for a new part time deputy
marshal (additional 0.6 FTE).

Budget Request:
1. Appropriate $930,800 for security equipment and building modifications. Of that amount, 75% is one-time funding for fiscal
2024 and the remaining 25% is funding for fiscal 2024 and on-going.
2. Appropriate $57,721 for 1.0 FTE and E&E requested for 1.0 FTE for deputy marshal positions.

2 United States Courts. (2022, September 20), Judiciary Repeats Call for Improved Security for Judges, Acts on Administrative Issues. [Press
release]. https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2022/09/20/judiciary-repeats-call-improved-security-judges-acts-administrative-
issues?utm_campaign=usc-news&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
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