EKB News

State officials with the Administrative Office of the Courts warned a panel of Kentucky lawmakers this week that, in the next fiscal fiscal year, the agency needs an additional $44 million to avoid further worker cutbacks. AOC Director Laurie Dudgeon told the Legislative Budget Subcommittee that the state's court system, which was budgeted to spend $273 million in the current fiscal year, would have trouble functioning if the extra cash is not available by July 1, 2010. AOC says it needs $72 million more in the second year of the upcoming biennial budget. If additional funding is not appropriated in the next fiscal year, 39% of the agency's non-elected employees could face layoffs.