AOC seeks $31.1 million to shore up courts as state budget outlook tightens

The Administrative Office of the Courts unveiled a biennial budget request of about $31.1 million to maintain court services and modernize aging technology, AOC Chief Financial Officer Christopher Stanley told the Inter-Branch Advisory Committee.

Stanley said AOC grouped its 23 decision packages into four categories—"keep," "keep plus," "add" and "new"—and prioritized programs that fund local court operations. "We have 23 packages coming from AOC on behalf of the board for judicial administration this year," he said. The packages cluster around three goals: delivering accessible and trusted justice, strengthening courts and communities, and modernizing court technology.

Why it matters: committee members pressed AOC on how to present the requests while the legislature prepares for a tight 2027 session. Senator Jamie Peterson and others said lawmakers will be reluctant to approve new spending if the short-term forecast remains weak.

AOC identified several items it called critical to keep running: funding for protection-order dockets that pay pro tem judges, two legal self-help centers (Grays Harbor and Spokane) with a modest expansion plan, and continued resources for programs tied to the Blake vacatur and refund process. Stanley also warned that the Judicial Information Systems appropriation authority was reduced in a nonpublic budget version and urged restoration to maintain a statewide case-management system.

"Without it, again, everything stops," Stanley said of core IT systems, adding that AOC needs both restored appropriation authority and additional general-fund support to update antiquated systems.

The committee recommended clearer communication about cuts AOC has already taken so legislators understand what the branch has sacrificed; AOC leaders said many programs on the list are pass-through funds and that AOC trimmed discretionary programs earlier in the biennium.