The Judicial Council, as the policymaking body for the judicial branch, shall have the following responsibilities and authorities with regard to appellate court facilities, in addition to any other authority or responsibilities established by law:
(a)
Exercise full responsibility, jurisdiction, control, and authority as an owner would have over appellate court facilities, including, but not limited to, the acquisition and development of facilities.
(b)
Exercise the full range of policymaking authority over appellate court facilities, including, but not limited to, planning, construction, acquisition, and operation, to the extent not otherwise limited by the law.
(c)
Establish policies, procedures, and guidelines for ensuring that the appellate courts have adequate and sufficient facilities, including, but not limited to, facilities’ planning, acquisition, construction, design, operation, and maintenance.
(d)
Allocate appropriated funds for appellate court facilities maintenance and construction, subject to the other provisions of this chapter.
(e)
Prepare funding requests for appellate court facility construction, repair, and maintenance.
(f)
Implement the design, bid, award, and construction of all appellate court construction projects, except as delegated to others.
(g)
Provide for capital outlay projects that may be built with funds appropriated or otherwise available for these purposes, as follows:
(1)
Approve five year and master plans for each appellate court.
(2)
Establish priorities for construction.
(3)
Submit the cost of projects proposed to be funded to the Department of Finance for inclusion in the Governor’s budget.
(h)
Keep funding for appellate court facilities, whether for operation, planning, or construction, separate from funding for trial court facilities.
