California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

California's state judiciary stands to continue receiving incremental funding increases under the budget proposal unveiled Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

The governor's $222.2 billion proposed budget includes $4.3 billion for the judicial branch with more money designated for technology projects and long-term priorities flagged by court officials, including a portion of the courthouse construction projects identified by the Judicial Council and a court navigator program for unrepresented litigants in state courts, a program Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye initially called for in her 2018 State of the Judiciary Address. 

The program, which is set to get $8.1 million in 2020-21 and $15.5 million annually thereafter, would add court navigators at trial courts to help unrepresented individuals, including victims, witnesses, and family court petitioners, navigate the complexities of the court system. 

"We are grateful for Governor Newsom's budget proposal. It is welcome news for our residents, who rely on a fair, just, and accessible court system," the chief justice said in a statement that specifically noted the budget's inclusion of the court navigator program. "This kind of program will assist millions of our court users in understanding and following court processes," she said.

The budget includes $2 billion for court construction projects, which assumes that about five projects from the list of 80 projects identified and ranked by the Judicial Council will be started each year for the next five years. The Judicial Council ranked the projects, which include both new construction and renovation projects in 41 of the state's 58 trial courts, based on need and cost. The administration said it expects to propose the first of the projects this spring. The total cost of all 80 projects is estimated at $13.2 billion. 

The budget also includes $10.3 million in 2020-21 and $2.8 million going forward for information technology modernization projects to convert static court forms into an electronic data-driven format; to develop a virtual case management system to allow interfacing between individual court case management systems; and to create "next-generation data centers and cloud-based solutions."

The budget also provides for an expansion of a program that ties fines and court fees to the ability to pay. Four courts have implemented a pilot program to cut fines and fees for those eligible by about 50% and allow them to make payments in installments. The budget includes $11.5 million in 2020-21, increasing to $56 million by 2023-24, to expand the program statewide for both traffic and nontraffic violations. The ongoing $56 million in costs include $2 million to put an online application system in place for the program and $54 million to backfill the estimated loss in revenue to the courts from the lowered fees and fines.