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_ 35 Item Details($) Appropriations($) ITEM 31. First Year Second Year First Year Second Year FY2025 FY2026 FY2025 FY2026 General Management and Direction (39901) $53,003,053 $54,377,883 $53,293,491 $59,079,165 Fund Sources: General $42,650,189 $44,025,019 $42,940,627 $48,726,301 Special $124,375 $124,375 Dedicated Special Revenue $8,913,744 $8,913,744 Federal Trust $1,314,745 $1,314,745 Authority: §§ 16.1-69.30, 16.1-69.33, 17.1-314 through 17.1-320 and 17.1-502, Code of Virginia. A. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court shall submit an annual fiscal year summary, on or before September 1 of each year, to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees and to the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, which will report the number of individuals for whom legal or medical services were provided and the nature and cost of such services as are authorized for payment from the criminal fund or the involuntary mental commitment fund. B. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 19.2-326, Code of Virginia, the amount of attorney's fees allowed counsel for indigent defendants in appeals to the Supreme Court shall be in the discretion of the Supreme Court. C. The Chief Justice is authorized to reallocate legal support staff between the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of Virginia, in order to meet changing workload demands. D. Prior to January 1 of each year, the Judicial Council and the Committee on District Courts are requested to submit a fiscal impact assessment of their recommendations for the creation of any new judgeships, including the cost of judicial retirement, to the Chairs of the House Committee on Courts of Justice and Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees. E. Included in this Item is $3,750,000 the first year and $3,750,000 the second year from the general fund, which may support computer system improvements for the several circuit and district courts. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court shall submit an annual report to the Director, Department of Planning and Budget on or before September 1 of each year outlining the improvement projects undertaken and the project status of each project. Each project in the report should include the life to date cost of the project, the amount spent on the project in the most recently completed fiscal year, the year the project began, the estimated cost to complete the remainder of the project and an estimated project completion date. F. Given the continued concern about providing adequate compensation levels for court- appointed attorneys providing criminal indigent defense in the Commonwealth, the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court, in conjunction with the Governor, Attorney General, Indigent Defense Commission, representatives of the Indigent Defense Stakeholders Group and Chairs of the House Committee on Courts of Justice and Senate Committee on the Judiciary, shall continue to study and evaluate all available options to enhance Virginia's Indigent Defense System. G. In addition to any filing fee or other fee permitted by law, an electronic access fee may be charged for each case filed electronically pursuant to Rule 1:17 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The amount of this fee shall be set by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Moneys collected pursuant to this fee shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Courts Technology Fund established pursuant to § 17.1-132, to be used to support the costs of statewide electronic filing systems. H. 1. No state funds used to support the operation of drug court programs shall be provided to programs that serve first-time substance abuse offenders only or do not include probation violators. This restriction shall not apply to juvenile drug court programs. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection O. of § 18.2-254.1, Code of Virginia, any locality is authorized to establish a drug treatment court supported by existing state resources and by federal or local resources that may be available. This authorization is