(Flickr Photo by Stewf)
The budget-writing committee in the Kansas House has voted to cut 18 court reporter positions in the judicial branch and eliminate 13 additional unfilled positions. Representative Pete DeGraaf, a Mulvane Republican, says this would help prompt the judicial branch to find cost savings. He says there’s institutional resistance to change.
DeGraaf says the courts can record proceedings electronically. Some committee members, like Wichita Republican Mark Hutton, questioned if the change could lead to problems with court records.
The cuts would eliminate 15 percent of the state's court reporter positions. The courts would be able to keep the money saved by eliminating the jobs and redirect it for other purposes.