Budget affects court finances, policy

By Deborah Brescoll, Budget and Policy Officer

Governor Jim Doyle signed into law, as 2009 Wisconsin Act 28, the 2009-11 biennial budget bill on June 29. Except where otherwise specifically provided, Act 28 became effective on July 1. The budget act covers state expenditures from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011.

The governor made more than 80 partial vetoes in signing the act, including several affecting the courts. The Legislature may override any veto with a two-thirds vote of members present in each house. A budget override has not been adopted since the 1980s.

Act 28 contained significant changes to sentencing laws, which are summarized in a separate article. Additional court-related provisions in Act 28 include the following:

• Delete 1 percent from every court appropriation, including appropriations for payments to counties under the circuit court support and guardian ad litem payment programs and court interpreter reimbursements.
• Require the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, acting as the administrative head of the judicial system, to take actions during the 2009-11 biennium to ensure that $7.4 million be lapsed to the state's general fund over the biennium from any of the courts' general fund appropriations (these include the three levels of court, the Director of State Courts Office, and the Wisconsin State Law Library) or transferred from any court appropriations funded from non-tax revenue sources, such as surcharge revenues. The lapse and transfer amounts are attributable to forgoing the 2-percent general wage adjustment, furloughs of non-judicial employees, and additional across-the-board reductions.
• Provide additional county interpreter reimbursement funds to reflect increased demand for court interpreter services, and increase the state reimbursement to counties for court interpreter mileage from 20 cents per mile to the state mileage reimbursement rate (set at 48.5 cents per mile for 2009-11).
• Provide non-statutory authority for a two-year court interpreter pilot in which the District Seven Court Administrator's Office would coordinate, schedule and pay for court interpreter services within the district to begin September 1.
• Provide a two-year extension to a project auditor position provided in 2007 Act 20, the 2007-09 biennial budget act, to institute a standardized program for recording, reporting, and auditing the revenues and expenditures of Wisconsin's circuit courts.
• Convert a project assistant litigation counsel position in the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) into a permanent position.          
• Increase a number of surcharges imposed on fines or forfeitures to provide revenues for executive branch programs, indigent civil legal services, and grants to counties for the treatment alternatives and diversion (TAD) programs that provide alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for criminal offenders, excluding violent offenders, who abuse alcohol or other drugs.
• Expand the eligibility for court record expungement to include first-time non-violent Class H to I felonies, with certain exceptions, and to increase the age limit to apply to individuals up to 25 years of age.
• Provide certain protections to tenants in foreclosure-related evictions and provide that tenants without a lien or ownership interest in the property may not be named as parties in foreclosure actions.
• Require domestic partners to be treated in the same manner as spouses with respect to all pension benefits provided to public employees who are covered under the Wisconsin Retirement System and all other benefits provided to state employees.

Court employees have received a more detailed summary of the Act as an administrative bulletin.

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