78A-2-113. Judicial hiring freeze authorized.
(1) As used in this section, "General Fund budget deficit" means a situation where General Fund appropriations made by the Legislature for a fiscal year exceed the estimated revenues adopted by the Executive Appropriations Committee of the Legislature for the General Fund in that fiscal year.
(2) During a General Fund budget deficit, the governor, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives, and chief justice of the Supreme Court, may, by unanimous vote, implement a judicial hiring freeze for judicial vacancies for: a juvenile court district with three or more juvenile court judges; a district court district with three or more district court judges; all Business and Chancery Court judges; all Constitutional Court judges if Chapter 5b, Constitutional Court, takes effect as described in Section; 78A-5b-102 all appellate court judges; or any combination of Subsectionsthrough (e). (2)(a)
(3) In implementing a judicial hiring freeze, the governor, president of the Senate, speaker of the House, and chief justice of the Supreme Court shall: establish the length of that hiring freeze; and ensure that the hiring freeze lasts at least 90 days, but not longer than the last day of the annual general session of the Legislature.