BOISE — The Idaho Senate on March 27 approved Senate Bill 11-85, a finance committee appropriation that increases funding for the judicial branch to pay for new judgeships, court reporters and a personnel market adjustment, and for IT and other operating costs tied to recent policy legislation.

Sponsor Sen. Sarah Cook described the bill as a set of “enhancements for court operations” that largely flow from three policy measures enacted earlier this session: House Bill 3-22 (judicial salary increases) and Senate Bills 10-28 and 10-29 (new district judges). Cook said the three policy bills caused roughly $4,691,400 of the budget increase and that the full package was 5.5% above the current-year judicial budget.

Cook told colleagues the $17,000 per-judge salary increase in House Bill 3-22 generated a fiscal note of about $3,870,000. She said the two district-judge bills each carried fiscal notes that included statutorily required court reporters and related operating costs; the bills’ combined fiscal note for district judges and reporters totaled about $816,200. The bill the Senate approved also funds two magistrate judges, IT staffing market adjustments and other court support, Cook said.

Sen. Nichols voiced concern about accountability and constituent complaints tied to the judicial system and announced she would vote against the bill until those concerns are addressed. Other senators praised JFAC’s work and urged support, saying the funding implements statutes already passed and signed into law.

Cook and other supporters repeatedly referenced Idaho statutory provisions on judge counts and court reporter requirements included in the transcript as cited by sponsors: "section 59 dash 5 0 2 Idaho code," and the district-judge and court-reporter language noted in the record as "Idaho code 1 dash 8 0 2" and "Idaho code 1 dash 11 o 1." The sponsor also described administrative placements for magistrate judges (no separate statute required) and said the positions were requested by the judicial branch and included in the governor’s budget.

After debate, the roll call showed 29 senators in favor and 6 opposed. The Senate approved the bill; the title was corrected and the bill was transmitted to the House of Representatives.

Why it matters: Sponsors said the increases implement statutory changes and address caseload and security concerns, including IT protections for court systems. Opponents said they were withholding support pending more assurances about accountability and constituent complaints. The outcome means the judicial branch will receive the requested resources tied to the recently enacted policy bills.

Votes and next steps: The Senate voted to pass SB 11-85; the bill will be sent to the House.

(Reporting for this item is based on the Senate floor debate and roll call shown in the March 27, 2025 Senate transcript. Quotations and statutory citations are drawn from the floor record.)