Relating to the financial administration of the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability; and declaring an emergency.
Summary
House Bill 5013 appropriates General Fund money to the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability for the 2025-2027 biennium. It provides $618,820 for administration and $23,324 for extraordinary expenses, thereby funding the commission’s core operations and any unusual or unanticipated costs during the biennium.
The bill is a budget measure rather than a policy change, and it takes effect on July 1, 2025. It also includes an emergency clause, indicating the Legislature intended the funding to be available immediately at the start of the biennium to support the commission’s ongoing work without delay.
Impact
HB 5013 amends the state’s budgetary framework by appropriating General Fund dollars to the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability for administrative and extraordinary expenses. It does not create new regulatory duties or change the commission’s substantive authority, but it ensures the agency has operating funds for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025. The measure affects the commission, the state budget, and indirectly the judicial discipline and fitness oversight process by supporting the body that handles those matters.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House committee unanimously, then cleared the House floor with a strong majority and the Senate floor with only limited opposition. The voting pattern suggests general agreement that the commission should be funded as proposed.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available record. The only notable disagreement is reflected in the floor votes, where a small number of legislators voted no in both chambers. Because there are no committee transcripts, the specific objections are not documented here, but any concerns likely related to the size or necessity of the appropriation rather than the commission’s existence or mission.