March 25, 2009 – Last week, the Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance heard from state agencies about Gov. Jim Doyle's proposed budget. These agency briefings are conducted every two years as part of the budget process, in which agency heads explain the governor’s plans for the state and take questions from lawmakers. No public testimony is taken at these briefings, but the Committee will hear from the public at hearings taking place this week around the state.
At last week’s briefings, numerous agencies provided testimony, including the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice. Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson appeared before the Committee to speak about the court system’s budget. The Chief Justice’s full remarks are online. Following are a few highlights.
Chief Justice Abrahamson asked the committee to support the court budget items in Assembly Bill 75, which provide for increased funding for interpreter services, continuation of a position to support efforts to standardize counties’ reporting of expenditures for the court system, and a program revenue-funded position in the Office of Lawyer Regulation to help facilitate lawyer discipline proceedings. The Chief Justice also asked the committee to maintain other court-related priorities in the current budget bill, including increased funding for civil legal services for indigent persons.
Chief Justice Abrahamson also told the committee that properly staffed district attorney and public defender offices are critical for timely justice, and she voiced the court system’s support for proper staffing of these offices. She also reiterated the Court’s support for an update to the State Public Defender indigency guidelines, which are more than 20 years old.
The Chief Justice acknowledged that the state is facing economic challenges greater than perhaps ever before. But, she added that “we must not let these challenges chip away at our core constitutional responsibility to provide fair and just settlement of disputes through our court system.”
This week, Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairs Rep. Mark Miller and Rep. Mark Pocan announced they expect to begin executive sessions on the budget the week of April 13 and will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays to complete committee work by the end of May. Legislative leaders hope to complete the budget by June 30, a feat no legislature has accomplished since 1975.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s summary of AB 75, the proposed state budget, can be found online.
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© 2009, State Bar of Wisconsin
