Subcommittee approves raising special-justice hearing fees to $150 and extends increase to related roles

House Bill 754, proposed by Delegate Runyon, would raise per-hearing fees for special justices overseeing involuntary commitment and review hearings from $1.20 to $150 to improve recruitment and ensure experienced decision-makers.

Eileen Longenecker of the Office of the Executive Secretary at the Supreme Court described the role of special justices and supplied a fiscal impact estimate of about $690,000; the bill patron said a house fiscal review estimated $50,000, noting a discrepancy in fiscal calculations. Testimony from a longtime practitioner and a former representative argued that underpaying special justices harms the quality and continuity of decision-making in sensitive civil commitment and forensic hearings.

Committee members debated whether all hearing-related roles (special justices, evaluators and court-appointed attorneys) should receive the same increase. The committee adopted a friendly amendment to raise all three categories to $150 and reported the bill, as amended, unanimously to Appropriations for fiscal consideration.

Supporters framed the change as necessary to preserve due-process protections by ensuring qualified hearing officers are available; the committee deferred fiscal trade-offs to appropriations.