Senate Study Bill 1181
SENATE/HOUSE FILE
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
APPROPRIATIONS BILL BY THE JOINT
APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
ON JUSTICE SYSTEM)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to and making appropriations to the judicial
2 branch.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 1126JA 80
5 jm/cl/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH. There is appropriated from
1 2 the general fund of the state to the judicial branch for the
1 3 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30, 2004,
1 4 the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to
1 5 be used for the purposes designated:
1 6 For salaries of supreme court justices, appellate court
1 7 judges, district court judges, district associate judges,
1 8 judicial magistrates and staff, state court administrator,
1 9 clerk of the supreme court, district court administrators,
1 10 clerks of the district court, juvenile court officers, board
1 11 of law examiners and board of examiners of shorthand reporters
1 12 and judicial qualifications commission, receipt and
1 13 disbursement of child support payments, reimbursement of the
1 14 auditor of state for expenses incurred in completing audits of
1 15 the offices of the clerks of the district court during the
1 16 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and maintenance,
1 17 equipment, and miscellaneous purposes:
1 18 .................................................. $113,354,603
1 19 1. The judicial branch, except for purposes of internal
1 20 processing, shall use the current state budget system, the
1 21 state payroll system, and the Iowa finance and accounting
1 22 system in administration of programs and payments for
1 23 services, and shall not duplicate the state payroll,
1 24 accounting, and budgeting systems.
1 25 2. The judicial branch shall submit monthly financial
1 26 statements to the legislative fiscal bureau and the department
1 27 of management containing all appropriated accounts in the same
1 28 manner as provided in the monthly financial status reports and
1 29 personal services usage reports of the department of revenue
1 30 and finance. The monthly financial statements shall include a
1 31 comparison of the dollars and percentage spent of budgeted
1 32 versus actual revenues and expenditures on a cumulative basis
1 33 for full=time equivalent positions and dollars.
1 34 3. The judicial branch shall focus efforts upon the
1 35 collection of delinquent fines, penalties, court costs, fees,
2 1 surcharges, or similar amounts.
2 2 4. It is the intent of the general assembly that the
2 3 offices of the clerks of the district court operate in all
2 4 ninety=nine counties and be accessible to the public as much
2 5 as is reasonably possible in order to address the relative
2 6 needs of the citizens of each county.
2 7 5. In addition to the requirements for transfers under
2 8 section 8.39, the judicial branch shall not change the
2 9 appropriations from the amounts appropriated to the judicial
2 10 branch in this Act, unless notice of the revisions is given
2 11 prior to their effective date to the legislative fiscal
2 12 bureau. The notice shall include information on the branch's
2 13 rationale for making the changes and details concerning the
2 14 work load and performance measures upon which the changes are
2 15 based.
2 16 6. The judicial branch shall submit a semiannual update to
2 17 the legislative fiscal bureau specifying the amounts of fines,
2 18 surcharges, and court costs collected using the Iowa court
2 19 information system since the last report. The judicial branch
2 20 shall continue to facilitate the sharing of vital sentencing
2 21 and other information with other state departments and
2 22 governmental agencies involved in the criminal justice system
2 23 through the Iowa court information system.
2 24 7. The judicial branch shall provide a report to the
2 25 general assembly by January 1, 2004, concerning the amounts
2 26 received and expended from the enhanced court collections fund
2 27 created in section 602.1304 and the court technology and
2 28 modernization fund created in section 602.8108, subsection 5,
2 29 during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2002, and ending June
2 30 30, 2003, and the plans for expenditures from each fund during
2 31 the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30,
2 32 2004. A copy of the report shall be provided to the
2 33 legislative fiscal bureau.
2 34 8. The supreme court, in consultation with the Iowa state
2 35 bar association, juvenile probation officers, the state public
3 1 defender, clerks of the district court, the legal services
3 2 corporation of Iowa, the supervisors affiliate of the Iowa
3 3 state association of counties, the judicial district
3 4 departments of correctional services, the Iowa county
3 5 attorneys association, and district judges, shall study
3 6 methods to achieve efficiency and cost savings within the
3 7 judicial branch. The study shall include recommendations on
3 8 the best practices for court administration, utilizing court
3 9 personnel including judges, magistrates, and clerks of the
3 10 district court, customer service and delivery of court
3 11 services, measuring of performance and performance=based
3 12 budgeting, and judicial district redistricting. The supreme
3 13 court shall submit a report with findings and recommendations
3 14 to the general assembly by December 15, 2003.
3 15 Sec. 2. JUDICIAL RETIREMENT FUND. There is appropriated
3 16 from the general fund of the state to the judicial retirement
3 17 fund for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and ending
3 18 June 30, 2004, the following amount, or so much thereof as is
3 19 necessary, to be used for the purpose designated:
3 20 Notwithstanding section 602.9104, for the state's
3 21 contribution to the judicial retirement fund in the amount of
3 22 9.9 percent of the basic salaries of the judges covered under
3 23 chapter 602, article 9:
3 24 .................................................. $ 2,039,664
3 25 Sec. 3. APPOINTMENT OF CLERK OF COURT. Until the supreme
3 26 court submits its clerk of court study committee report to the
3 27 general assembly pursuant to 2002 Iowa Acts, Second
3 28 Extraordinary Session, chapter 1003, section 176, and
3 29 notwithstanding section 602.1215, the appointment of a clerk
3 30 of the district court shall not occur unless the state court
3 31 administrator approves the appointment.
3 32 Sec. 4. POSTING OF REPORTS IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT ==
3 33 LEGISLATIVE FISCAL BUREAU. All reports or copies of reports
3 34 required to be provided by the judicial branch for fiscal year
3 35 2003=2004 to the legislative fiscal bureau shall be provided
4 1 in an electronic format. The legislative fiscal bureau shall
4 2 post the reports on its internet site and shall notify by
4 3 electronic means all the members of the joint appropriations
4 4 subcommittee on the justice system when a report is posted.
4 5 Upon request, copies of the reports may be mailed to members
4 6 of the joint appropriations subcommittee on the justice
4 7 system.
4 8 EXPLANATION
4 9 This bill makes appropriations for FY 2003=2004 to the
4 10 judicial branch.
4 11 The bill includes a reduction in the percentage of the
4 12 state's contribution to the judicial retirement fund for FY
4 13 2003=2004.
4 14 The bill provides that the appointment of a clerk of the
4 15 district court shall not occur until the supreme court submits
4 16 its clerk of court study or if the state court administrator
4 17 approves such an appointment.
4 18 LSB 1126JA 80
4 19 jm/cl/14