Authority: Discretionary Inclusion.

A. Sufficient funding is included within the Judicial Department to support a total of 408 circuit and district court judgeships. The vacant judgeships to be filled as of July 1, 2016, are as follows:

1. Circuit Court judgeships: one each in the 10th, 19th, and 23rd Circuits; and two each in the 15th and 25th Circuits, for a total of seven Circuit Court judgeships to be filled as of July 1, 2016.

2. General District Court judgeships: one each in the 7th, 16th, 19th, 21st, 24th and 31st Districts; and two in the 15th District, for a total of eight General District Court judgeships to be filled as of July 1, 2016. The general district court judges of the seventh district shall render assistance on a regular basis to the general district court judges of the eighth district by appropriate designation.

3. Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judgeships: one each in the 5th, 17th, and 29th Districts, for a total of three Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judgeships to be filled as of July 1, 2016, and one in the 13th District to be filled as of August 1, 2016.

B. Included within this item is $1,593,348 the first year and $2,500,000 the second year from the general fund for a compensation initiative for district court clerks and deputy clerks, effective November 10, 2016. The annualized cost of the compensation initiative shall not exceed $2,500,000 and the implementation is subject to approval by the Committee on District Courts.