LawReader : Blogs/ News Archive : AOC Director Jason Nemes Calls for Line Item Veto of Several Legislative Mandates Against Judiciary

What’s good for the Goose is not good for the Gander in Frankfort. While increasing the Legislative Budget by $10 million over two years, the Legislature dealt a harsh blow to the Judicial Branch of government.

The Judicial Budget approved last week provides $55.7 million less than the Chief Justice as administrator of the Judicial Branch had requested.

Lawmakers cut the Court of Justice operating budget on Wednesday by $13.6 million to $265.8 million for fiscal year 2009, which begins in July. Its budget rises to $295.9 million for fiscal year 2010.

Rising costs and spending obligations have created a budget shortfall, said Jason Nemes, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Layoffs are still a possible answer to the problem, he said.

Still, the proposed budget, which Gov. Steve Beshear is reviewing for possible line-item vetoes, improves upon earlier drafts by allowing the courts to raise fees and tap into construction funds to cover operating costs, Nemes said

In a slap at the Courts, the 2009-2010 budget mandates that if personnel cuts are required that the first 50 positions cut come from AOC's central office in Frankfort. After that, 35 percent of cuts must come from Frankfort.

AOC has close to 4000 employees. This includes Circuit and Deputy Clerks, probation and parole officers, court baillifs, judges, clerks and AOC support personnel.

AOC Director Jason Nemes is urging Gov. Steve Beshear to line-item veto those mandates.

"It is micro-managing the judicial branch," he said.

In one positive move, the Legislature did allow an increase in salary for the lowest paid workers. The budget diverts $15 million of existing funds to raise the minimum pay for deputy circuit court clerks and other non-elected staff to $22,000 a year. The minimum salary is now $18,120.

While providing for an increase in Court Costs, the Legislature effected a grab To help offset that mandate, the budget allows courts to raise certain fees by $6.5 million, although $1.5 million of that must go to the state's General Fund. The courts could keep the remaining $5 million.

In a statement typical of the Legislative reasoning afoot in Frankfort these days, the call for the courts to increase court costs was justified by State Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, who said some court fees have not been raised in 20 years.

What Rep. Webb didn’t acknowledge that there have in fact been increases in some court costs. Her statement that “some” court costs haven’t been raised is technically correct, but is incorrect in its implication that “no” court costs have been raised in the last 20 years.

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