San Bernardino and Riverside superior courts are recommended to regain $2.36 million and $3 million in funding respectively, according to the agenda for the Judicial Council’s Feb. 21 meeting.
This funding is not new, but a restoration from prior budget cuts, according to the agenda.
California’s Budget Act of 2024 cut funding to superior courts by $97 million. The 2025-26 Governor’s Budget included a partial restoration of that funding. The cut is now only $55 million, instead of $97 million.
The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee recommends San Bernardino Superior Court to receive $138 million in general funding, and Riverside Superior Court to receive $137 million.
San Bernardino Superior Court needs $157 million to be fully funded, and Riverside Superior Court needs $156 million, according to the agenda. That number is determined by the Judicial Council’s judicial workload calculation, which accounts for the complexity of cases each court receives.
San Bernardino Presiding Judge Lisa Rogan and Riverside Past-Presiding Judge Judith Clark serve on the committee.
Court interpreters
The committee is also set to recommend the Judicial Council to allocate $4.6 million from the Trial Court Trust Fund to the Court Interpreters Program, to pay for past court interpreter expenses.
Riverside Superior Court is recommended $173,000 from the allocation. The court had spent $7.2 million on court interpreters, but had been awarded $6.7 million. San Bernardino Superior Court will not receive any money from the reallocation, because the court was one of 11 that had balanced their court interpreter allocation with their court interpreter expenditures.
The Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee predicts court interpreter expenditures to continue increasing by 6 % every year. The Court Interpreters Program is expected to have insufficient funding at the end of 2026.
“Due to rising interpreter costs, courts will need to carefully evaluate their program expenditures, including considering cost-saving measures, in order to stay within funding allocations and maintain current levels of interpreter services,” the agenda item says.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the word “reporters” where it was supposed to say “interpreters” in the penultimate paragraph.
