District of Columbia Courts

difficulties in planning and budgeting during fiscal year 1998--its first year of operations without direct federal funding. Records showed that it potentially over-obligated its resources by more than $5 million, which would violate the Anti-Deficiency Act. D.C. Courts officials do not believe that a violation of the act occurred. GAO also identified a legal issue involving the Crime Victims Compensation Program. This testimony answers the following four questions: What were the D.C. Courts' obligations for fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998? Did the D.C. Courts have a spending plan for fiscal year 1998 and obligate funds consistent with available resources? Why were payments to court-appointed attorneys deferred from July through September 1998? Did the D.C. Courts follow policies and procedures in processing payments to court-appointed attorneys?

GAO noted that: (1) DC Courts experienced difficulties in planning and budgeting during this transition year; (2) DC Courts' records showed that it did not operate within its available resources, potentially in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act; (3) GAO also identified a legal issue regarding the Crime Victims Compensation Program; (4) DC Courts' records indicated that total obligations in fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998 were $115.4, $119, and $126.3 million, respectively; (5) FY 1998 obligations reflect GAO's adjustments, and are not comparable to the prior years' obligations; (6) upon receipt of its FY 1998 appropriations, DC Courts was responsible for developing a spending plan based on an appropriation that was about $15.5 million less than it requested as a result of funding changes under the Revitalization Act and the FY 1998 appropriation act; (7) DC Courts did not develop such a plan or properly monitor spending to ensure that its obligations did not exceed available resources; (8) it obligated throughout the year based on its expectation of receiving additional funds; (9) by the end of the fiscal year, DC Courts' records showed obligations of almost $122.2 million and funds received of about $121.8 million; (10) however, GAO found that adjustments needed to be made to these amounts; (11) as adjusted, DC Courts' recorded obligations and available funding for FY 1998 would be $126.3 and $121 million, respectively; (12) thus, DC Courts potentially over-obligated available funds by more than $5 million; (13) the Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits federal and DC government officials from making expenditures or obligations in excess of amounts available in an appropriation or fund unless otherwise authorized by law; (14) to avoid an Anti-Deficiency Act violation, the DC Courts made the decision to defer payments for court-appointed attorneys for the remainder of the fiscal year, and then used FY 1999 appropriations to pay those amounts; (15) however, since the vouchers were approved by the presiding judges or hearing commissioners in FY 1998, the obligations should have been recorded in FY 1998; (16) DC Courts processed vouchers for court-appointed attorneys in accordance with its policies and procedures; and (17) however, its procedures did not include timeframes for making payments to court-appointed attorneys.