FRANKFORT — The Kentucky General Assembly passed the judicial branch budget Wednesday after negotiating changes between the House and Senate. Supreme Court Justice Debra Hembree Lambert previously said the budget (before a conference committee of House and Senate members met and created a new, co mpromised document) had severely underfunded court operations, leaving her with no choice but to shutter services not constitutionally required, such as drug, mental health and veterans treatment courts.  KY chief justice warns drug, mental health courts would be wiped out by budget proposals The Judicial Branch Budget includes a total of $693 million for the next two years for court operations.  Initially, the House proposed about $657 million a year, later upping it to $687 million for each of the two fiscal years. The Senate proposed nearly $693 million for each fiscal year.  An Administrative Office of the Courts analysis from late March found the budget would have underfunded court operations by about $33 million.  Lambert said in a Wednesday night statement that “The Kentucky Court of Justice is reviewing the final budget approved by the General Assembly to assess its impact on court operations across the commonwealth.”  “We know we will have significant layoffs but will focus now internally on taking care of our people and the citizens we serve with as much care and dignity as possible,” Lambert said in a statement provided to the Kentucky Lantern. “We are deeply disappointed but understand that it was the will of the legislature to make these decisions.” A Wednesday analysis from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy said that despite “small” increases in funding in this version, the judicial branch “continues to be cut by approximately 7% under the agreement.” The General Assembly will break on Thursday, returning to the capitol on April 14. During the break, Gov. Andy Beshear can veto bills but lawmakers have the ability to override his vetoes when they return for the last two days of the 2026 legislative session.  This story may be updated.  GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE The post KY chief justice ‘deeply disappointed’ in judicial branch budget on the way to Beshear appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less