(a) The chief justice shall appoint a court administrator and such assistants as he or she deems necessary to aid in the administration of the judicial system. The administrator and his or her assistants shall serve at the pleasure of the chief justice.
(b) The court administrator shall, under the direction of the chief justice, prepare an annual budget for the judicial system and submit the budget to the department of administration and perform all other necessary functions relating to the administration of the courts thereof.
(c) It shall be the responsibility of the court administrator, under the direction of the chief justice, to act upon all administrative matters affecting the operation of the judiciary, including, but not limited to:
(1) The preparation of the judicial payrolls;
(2) The control of judicial appropriations for all state courts, except those as provided otherwise by law;
(3) The procuring of office space, supplies, equipment, and professional and technical assistants for the judiciary; and
(d) The court administrator, with the written approval of the chief justice, is authorized and empowered to adopt any rules and regulations that are deemed necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section, a copy of which rules and regulations shall be filed with the secretary of state and available for public inspection. In the formation of these rules and regulations, the judiciary shall take into consideration and conform to, where practicable, existing policies governing financial and personnel practices within the executive branch of government.
(e) The court administrator shall, under the direction of the chief justice, assume control of and supervise the maintenance and repair of all buildings housing the supreme and several inferior courts of justice throughout the state of Rhode Island. The general assembly shall appropriate sufficient amounts in the court budget to enable the court administrator to implement the provisions of this section.
(f) The preparation of the annual budget for the judiciary and all state courts including salaries.
History of Section.
P.L. 1969, ch. 239, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 178, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 125, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 362, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 595, art. 45, § 1.