During the last fiscal year, the state court system - like every other branch of California government - had to cut costs. So state courthouses closed their doors on the third Wednesday of each month. Now, those statewide furloughs are over, according to Philip Carrizosa with the courts' administrative office.
Carrizosa: "Local courts in individual counties still have the option of closing their courts to balance their individual budgets. But there will not be statewide court closures."
The court system will be getting 100 million dollars more to cover its operating costs. That money will come from two sources: an increase in several court filing fees - in some cases, by more than 10 percent - and a new three-dollar penalty added to every parking citation in the state.
