FINANCING OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title III, ch. c. 29A

in effect

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 1 Costs of judicial branch to be paid by commonwealth

c. 29A, § 1. Costs of judicial branch to be paid by commonwealth Section 1. All costs of maintenance and operation of the judicial branch shall be paid by the commonwealth. The operation of a registry of deeds and office of an assistant recorder of the land court in connection therewith shall not constitute a court operation. As used in this chapter and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, ''costs of maintenance and operation of the judicial branch'' shall include all costs and expenses related to the operation of the supreme judicial court, the appeals court, the trial court and its departments and divisions, district attorneys' offices, law libraries, registries of probate, clerks' offices and expenses incurred for assignment by the court of counsel as the court determines, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing shall also include all salaries of probation and court officers and other persons employed in such courts, offices and places, but in no event shall costs include any costs or expenses related to registries of deeds, sheriffs' offices, county jails or county houses of correction, except as otherwise provided by law.

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 2 County supplies and equipment declared property of commonwealth

c. 29A, § 2. County supplies and equipment declared property of commonwealth Section 2. All books, papers, equipment, furnishings, uniforms, supplies, records and documents purchased by the counties and in the custody of or maintained primarily for the use of the judicial branch are hereby declared to be the property of the commonwealth, and shall be under the control of the judicial branch thereof.

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 3 Fees, fines, etc., paid into general fund; exceptions

c. 29A, § 3. Fees, fines, etc., paid into general fund; exceptions Section 3. All fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties and any other receipts or income of any kind paid to or received by any of the courts, clerks, registers, recorders or other officers or employees of the judicial branch shall be paid into the general fund of the commonwealth except as otherwise specifically provided by law. The provisions of this section shall not include a registry of deeds and office of an assistant recorder of the land court in connection therewith.

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 3A Electronic access to docket, calendar and other court information; fee-based system

c. 29A, § 3A. Electronic access to docket, calendar and other court information; fee-based system Section 3A. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in section three or any other general or special law, the trial court and the appeals court are hereby authorized to establish a fee-based system and a schedule of fees for electronic access and retrieval of information by attorneys and other members of the public from their automated data bases relating to docket entries, calendaring and other information contained therein. The chief justice of the trial court and the chief justice of the appeals court, or persons duly authorized by them, shall determine which types of information shall be available by remote access and shall otherwise establish by administrative order conditions, methods and means by which such information is to be made available by electronic access. The trial court and the appeals court shall provide such remote access without charge to prosecutors and government agencies. The trial court and the appeals court shall file an annual report with the executive office of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the amount of revenue generated by said fee-based system and said schedule of fees. All revenue generated by said fee-based system and said schedule of fees shall be credited to the General Fund.

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 4 Rental of quarters and space; rental of court facilities

c. 29A, § 4. Rental of quarters and space; rental of court facilities Section 4. The judicial branch may lease buildings and land owned by a county, city, or town to provide suitable quarters and space for court facilities and necessary related activities such as parking. The judicial branch may, in the alternative, lease such buildings and land from other public or private entities as the interest of the efficient and cost-effective administration of justice requires. The court administrator shall be responsible for negotiating leases between the judicial branch and other parties, subject to the approval of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, and in compliance with laws and regulations governing state leases. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no payments for rent shall exceed the prevailing rent a commercial establishment would pay for comparable space in that geographic area, excluding that portion of said prevailing rent attributable to property taxes. The rental of court facilities pursuant to this section shall be governed by a lease subject to the approval of the division of capital asset management and maintenance. Every county, city, or town which receives rental payments pursuant to this section shall submit a schedule, subject to approval by the court administrator, detailing the cost of maintenance, repairs, utilities, county courthouse retiree health benefits, not less than $1 per square foot for administrative costs, and debt service on the rented facilities. The court administrator of the trial court shall file such schedules with the house and senate committees on ways and means within ten days of their receipt. Every county, city or town which receives payments under this section shall maintain such funds in a separate account which shall be used solely for the maintenance of the rented facilities, and all rents paid to any such county, city or town shall be expended for courthouse maintenance costs; provided, however, that for the purposes of this section, ''maintenance costs'' may include healthcare benefits for retirees of the county courthouses. Each such county, city or town shall provide the court administrator with all such data as he may request regarding such accounts and expenditures. The court administrator shall monitor compliance with these accounting and expenditure requirements and the state auditor shall audit the court facilities rental accounts and related accounts of such a county, city or town, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, as often as the state auditor determines is necessary. Every lease for the rental of such court facilities by the judicial branch shall contain uniform, statewide standards for the respective counties, cities and towns, with respect to issues including but not limited to expenditure reporting, safety, maintenance, repairs, security, and complaints by judicial personnel, and shall provide for automatic renewal except in cases of noncompliance with such standards and with accounting and expenditure requirements; provided, such standards shall be incorporated in the long-term leases of cities and towns upon the expiration and renewal of such leases. The counties, cities and towns shall provide the court administrator with all such data as he may request to monitor compliance with such standards, and the court administrator shall compile such data and present it to the court facilities council. Each fiscal year, quarterly payments of the estimated rental amounts shall be made to each county equal to at least 100 per cent of the amount owed to such county for such rent per quarter of the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this section, subject to reconciliation based on accurate cost data in the fourth quarter or in the succeeding fiscal year; provided, however, that payments shall not be made for the third or fourth quarter to any county in the absence of a current lease and unless the county has submitted and the chief administrative justice has approved the required schedule of expenditures; provided, however, that if the quarterly payment is more than 5 days late, the judicial branch shall pay to the county a penalty equal to 5 per cent of the quarterly payment due.

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 5 Acquisition of buildings occupied by judicial branch

c. 29A, § 5. Acquisition of buildings occupied by judicial branch Section 5. If all or substantially all of any building owned by a county, city or town is occupied by the judicial branch, then the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, upon the recommendation of the court administrator of the trial court, if applicable, may recommend to the general court that such building be acquired by the commonwealth. Any such recommendation shall be accompanied by an estimate of the fair market value of the property, and an estimate of the cost of maintenance, repair and necessary operating expenses.

M.G.L. c. 29A, § 6 Court facilities council

c. 29A, § 6. Court facilities council Section 6. There is hereby established a court facilities council. The membership of the council shall consist of the following persons: the court administrator for the trial court or his designee, who shall serve as chairman of the council; the administrative justices of the superior, district, juvenile court, Boston municipal court and probate departments of the trial court or their designees; appointed by the court administrator, or the designee of such appointed justice; two sitting justices of the trial court, appointed by the court administrator; a justice of the supreme judicial court or the appeals court, appointed by the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, or the designee of such appointed justice; the librarian of the social law library, or his designee; five representative county commissioners of counties which retain ownership of court facilities occupied by the judicial branch of the commonwealth and a designee of Local 254 Service Employees International Union, Massachusetts State Labor Council, AFL–CIO, appointed by the governor. All appointed members of said council shall serve three-year terms; provided, however, that of the first such county commissioners appointed to said council, two shall be appointed to serve one-year terms, two shall be appointed to serve two-year terms, and one shall be appointed to serve a three-year term; provided, further, that if any such appointed member shall cease to qualify for membership, the appointing authority shall appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the term of such disqualified member. The council shall meet periodically and shall advise the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance and the court administrator of the trial court regarding the exercise of their powers and duties with respect to court facilities. The council shall study and periodically review the possibility of consolidating or sharing facilities across jurisdictional lines in order to avoid duplication and increase efficiency. The council shall monitor compliance by the counties, cities and towns with accounting and expenditure requirements and lease conditions established pursuant to section four, and shall report any noncompliance so significant as to jeopardize the safe or effective use by the judicial branch of a rented court facility to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the joint committee on the judiciary, with a recommendation that the commonwealth assume control of such court facility; provided, however, that the court administrator shall adopt criteria, with the advice of the council but without compliance with chapter thirty, specifying the type or degree of noncompliance necessary to justify such a recommendation.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIII/Chapter29AFetched: 10/20/2026