School districts have to open their budgets to the public. So do cities and counties. Now annual, independent audits may soon be the norm for California’s multi-billion-dollar court system too.
Today a key legislative committee voted 9-0 for AB 2521, which will require independent audits of the Administrative Office of the Courts and local trial courts. The audits could flag mistakes before they are made, prevent abuse of funds and allow public debate about court spending priorities before court employees are laid off and courthouses closed to the public.
The committee also approved AB 1749, which creates whistleblower protections for AOC and court employees.
“Court employees and the public need to have confidence in the court system,” said LA County Court Reporter Arnella Sims, who spoke before the committee vote. “There is a need for accountability and transparency regarding the precious finances of the judicial branch.”
Why does accountability matter?
With open books and budgets, Los Angeles courts might not have laid off 329 people and closed courtrooms due to budget cuts. An independent audit of the Administrative Office of the Courts could have revealed reserve funds available to prevent these layoffs and court closures. And audits could help prevent more layoffs in the future.
San Mateo court administrators overlooked a $4 million deficit leading to dozens of layoffs and increasing backlogs that delay justice for crime victims and others who count on our courts. An independent audit could have found this mistake in time to prevent the layoffs.
“Without sensible, outside audits of the courts, mistakes can have serious consequences for families like mine,” said San Mateo court worker Annette Ruiz Vides.
The Administrative Office of the Courts has spent nearly $2 billion on a computer system and costs have grown more than 35% without public oversight, according to the Daily Journal newspaper.
The Judicial Council called California courts’ deficits “staggering” and said that available reserves should be used to keep courts functioning. But the report did not detail what funds were available.
I was among the laid off in March and I do not know how to start over. I am hoping that the Judicial Council and the Legislature will hire back the employees that were laid off. They may say two weeks pay and a chance for job training may help, but when your life is snatched away from you in a few minutes, when all the people you have grown with as a family as well as a co-worker are no longer there, nothing can replace that. Financial hardship is so hard and trying to figure out where your mortgage is coming from, car notes, and how to function day to day. I thought I would retire from the courts and at the age of 54, it is hard to find a job especially with the economy as it is. I want someone that can tell all 329 that were laid off, how do we get our life back that was taken because of corporate greed that went on without any accountability.