Legal News

Baer Asks Senate Panel for More in State Tax Revenues

By Brian Harris

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

With Pennsylvania facing another tight fiscal year, the Pennsylvania state court system received both sympathy and prodding for improvement in its financial situation from state senators during a state Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Thursday.

State Supreme Court Justice Max Baer told the committee that the state judiciary has received less funding than it needs to pay for judges, judicial staff and courthouses for the last five years. He said the judiciary's budget request of $341 million for the fiscal year starting July 1 includes $20 million to cover a shortfall for this fiscal year's expenses.

"We, like you, are a co-equal branch of government and respectfully, we need to be funded so we can carry out the mandatory constitutional duties of the judiciary and we do not have extra funds in our budget," Baer said.

State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, R-Bucks, majority vice chair of the committee, and state Sen. Patrick M. Browne, R-Lehigh, both said that the state judiciary should not be tapping into a computer augmentation account to pay for shortfalls in funding the judiciary as the judiciary has been doing in recent years.

"We're making your argument for you," Tomlinson said at the very end of the hearing.
Last year, both the state Senate and Gov. Edward G. Rendell's spending proposals for the state judiciary provided funding that was tens of millions of dollars below the court's self-identified budget needs.

Rendell's proposal this year would keep intact the funding cuts from last year and fund the court system at $335.9 million, including $276.9 million from the general fund.

Baer said the court system is facing the $20 million shortfall, in part, because a law increasing court user fees became active later than first expected because of last year's Harrisburg budget showdown.

State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, floated the idea of increasing court user fees again this year to address any shortfall in funding the judiciary. Last year, the state court system requested a larger increase in user fees than the state Senate showed a willingness to pass into law.

Baer said the state court system is requesting $340 million in general fund dollars, including coverage of the $20 million shortfall in this year's fiscal budget. But if the new court user fees, which are expected to generate $29 million annually, are added to the governor's suggested appropriation, the shortfall between the judiciary's request for fiscal year 2010-2011 and the governor's proposal would be closer to $13 million, Baer said.

Baer said there are reasons to question "the merits of the policy of funding the third branch of government -- with fees rather than tax dollars -- but it's better than not being funded. At least we can operate."

State Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, and state Sen. Lisa M. Boscola, D-Northampton, asked why the court system does not require its judges and other employees to pay part of their health care premiums, just as the state Senate does.

Baer said there is a disturbing trend of older judges deciding to not serve until the mandatory retirement age of 70 in order to take more lucrative work for a law firm. He said one of the benefits the judiciary can offer is very competitive benefits.

Justice Thomas G. Saylor, Commonwealth Court President Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter, state Court Administrator Zygmont Pines and others also made presentations on behalf of the state court system.

The state Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, has not yet introduced its own budget proposal.

The state House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, held a budget hearing on the state court system earlier this week.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on February 18, 2010 (boomark / email).