Judiciary committee considers $1.43 billion budget bill for 2026-27 biennium

The omnibus judiciary finance bill would fund the courts, civil legal services, Guardian ad Litem Board, Tax Court, Uniform Laws Commission, Board on Judicial Standards, Board of Public Defense, and Human Rights Department to the tune of $1.43 billion in the 2026-27 biennium.

The details of the proposed spending were revealed Tuesday when the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee received walkthroughs of a delete-all amendment to HF2300 and an accompanying spreadsheet.

It is sponsored by Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover), who co-chairs the committee with Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester).

Committee action is scheduled for Thursday.

Where the money would go

The total General Fund appropriation proposed in the bill is $1.43 billion over two fiscal years, a $30 million increase above the February base forecast and a total that meets the fiscal target set for the committee by House leadership.

The committee gained another $23 million by canceling unused 2024-25 appropriations to the State Competency Attainment Board ($11 million), Cannabis Expungement Board ($10 million in budget savings) and Office of Appellate Counsel and Training ($2 million).

Add it all up and the $53 million is $7.85 million more than the $45.15 million spending above base proposed by Gov. Tim Walz for the 2026-27 biennium.

Top areas of funding in the proposal include:

• $768.18 million for district courts;
• $328.72 million for public defenders;
• $98.13 million for the Supreme Court;
• $68.33 million for civil legal aid;
• $51.24 million for the Guardian ad Litem Board;
• $30.52 million for the Court of Appeals; and
• $17.78 million for the Department of Human Rights.

[MORE: Feedback on the proposal]

Policy changes

The bill would also make several policy changes, including:

• establishing private privileges for participants in restorative justice victim-offender conferences;
• allowing courts to charge fees for private attorneys to access court documents;
• modifying the definition of “custodian” in orders of protection;
• modifying procedures for foreclosure sales; and
• adopting the Uniform Special Deposits Act.

***

The following are selected bills that have been incorporated in part or in whole into the omnibus judiciary and civil law finance bill:

• HF101 (Feist)
• HF104 (Feist)
• HF1039 (Scott)
• HF1429 (Liebling)
• HF1596 (Acomb)
• HF1862 (Agbaje)
• HF1999 (Greene)
• HF2127 (Curran)
• HF2233 (Niska)
• HF2412 (Hudson)
• HF2781 (Pinto)
• HF3070 (Liebling)