(The Center Square) — The New Hampshire Supreme Court is tightening its fiscal belt and warning of potential layoffs and courthouse closures across the judicial branch as the state Legislature weighs deep cuts to the budget.
Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald said the House budget plan approved last week would result in about a 10% cut to the judicial branch. His office issued an order Friday outlining plans to create a more efficient court system, including a hiring freeze and other cost-cutting efforts.
“This effort presents an important opportunity for us to step back and take a hard look at how we are structured and how we operate,” MacDonald said in a statement. “At the end of our effort, we look forward to identifying meaningful opportunities to serve the people of our state in a more efficient way.”
The order calls for the creation of a new committee of judges and court staff to “review the administrative structures of other state court systems” and recommend any changes necessary to implement its recommendations. The panel will be assisted by the Virginia-based National Center for State Courts, which supports the work of state and territorial court systems.
The judicial branch employs more than 800 people, including judges, court staff and other officials, with about 75% of its budgeted spending on personnel costs.
In his preliminary budget, MacDonald had called for $116 million in spending for the next fiscal year, a reduction of more than $4 million from the current year’s budget, but House Republicans are seeking deeper cuts to the judiciary.
On Thursday, the state House of Representatives approved a $16 billion state spending plan that includes deep spending cuts, the elimination of dozens of jobs and the closure of some state government offices.
The House budget goes beyond the cuts proposed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte in her $16.5 billion preliminary spending plan, filed in February. It calls on state agencies to reduce their bottom-line spending through a combination of program cuts and job eliminations. The plan would trim $46 million from the state Department of Health and Human Services and $14.7 million from the Department of Justice, according to legislative leaders.
“This budget puts the New Hampshire taxpayers first and not the bureaucracies that have ballooned and bloated since 2020,” House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said in remarks during Thursday’s formal session.
Ayotte initiated a government-wide hiring freeze earlier this year before the budget process started, but that didn’t impact the judicial system.
The budget is now headed to the state Senate for consideration, which will craft its own spending plan.
