Senate passes judicial branch budget, approves one-time judge salary adjustments and new guardianship office staffing

Senate Bill 2002 passed the North Dakota Senate 45-1 with one senator absent after floor consideration of amendments to judicial branch budgets.

Senator Thomas, speaking for the Appropriations Committee, outlined amendments covering the Supreme Court, district courts, the Judicial Conduct Commission and a new Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship. The package includes a one-time salary adjustment in the current biennium: a 9% increase for the chief justice and an 8.5% increase for other Supreme Court justices (described as a one-time adjustment), and a 7% increase for district court judges.

The amendment added one FTE for the Supreme Court (administrative assistant) funded at $293,625 and seven FTE positions for district courts (admin assistant in Bismarck, deputy court administrator in Minot, and five IT staff). The Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship will absorb two Supreme Court staff and adds four new FTEs with $1,200,000 in funding to administer guardian/ conservatorship programs created under recently passed legislation.

Other appropriations noted on the floor include IT system maintenance and enhancements ($1,938,000 increase), $873,216 for one-time district court IT equipment, $758,000 for cloud migration of case management, $1,250,000 for clerk filing software and $960,000 for court record management upgrades. The clerk filing software was described as intended to improve filing efficiency and reduce staffing pressure.

The senate agreed to the amendment and the bill’s final passage; the clerk’s tally recorded 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent not voting.