Kentucky House Bill 504, as currently proposed, would underfund the state’s judicial branch and could lead to the closure of specialty courts such as drug court across the commonwealth.
Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert warned the impact could be widespread.
“Because of severe underfunding of the Judicial Branch by the General Assembly thus far, specialty courts may have to be eliminated in all 120 counties,” Lambert said.
The proposed budget would leave court operations short by approximately $14 million in 2027 and $19 million in 2028, raising concerns about the sustainability of programs that address addiction, mental health and veteran services.
Circuit Judge Judy Vance Murphy, who presides over courts in Adair and Casey counties, emphasized the urgency of maintaining funding for drug court programs, calling them life-changing interventions.
“Drug Court absolutely changes lives,” Murphy said. “I’ve seen babies born drug-free to mothers in our program, I’ve seen graduates go on to become successful business owners, I’ve seen families reunited that addiction had separated for years.”
Murphy said eliminating the program would shift more defendants into jail or traditional probation, increasing costs for counties while reducing access to intensive treatment.
“Without drug court as a resource, this will place more defendants in jail, burdening the county financially, or more defendants on traditional probation, not receiving the intense treatment they need,” she said.
She added that addiction affects all segments of society and argued that reducing funding would worsen an already critical issue.
“The judicial branch needs more funding to combat the growing problems with addiction, not a budget cut,” Murphy said.
Murphy noted that 91 participants in Adair County and 74 in Casey County have graduated from drug court programs since 2004, calling it “a proven, valuable program that we cannot afford to lose.”
Lawmakers are expected to finalize the state budget by April 1 leaving a narrow window for potential changes to judicial funding.
Contact legislators by calling the message line at 1-800-372-7181.
