COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

OVERSIGHT DIVISION

FISCAL NOTE

L.R. No.:         3680-01

Bill No.:          SB 767

Subject:           Crimes and Punishment; Public Defenders; Courts; Fees; Criminal Procedure

Type:              Original

Date:               February 6, 2008

Bill Summary:            The proposal modifies provisions relating to the public defender system.

FISCAL SUMMARY

Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.

This fiscal note contains 5 pages.

☒ Estimated Total Net Effect on All funds expected to exceed $100,000 savings or (cost).

☒ Estimated Net Effect on General Revenue Fund expected to exceed $100,000 (cost).

FISCAL ANALYSIS

ASSUMPTION

Officials from the Office of Administration – Division of Budget and Planning assume the proposal would have no fiscal impact on their agency.

Officials from the Office of State Courts Administrator assume the proposed legislation would have no fiscal impact on the courts.

Officials from the Office of the State Public Defender (SPD) assume the legislation would enable the public defender system to contract out certain categories of cases now handled by public defenders: stand-alone misdemeanor cases, conflict cases, felony bad check cases, and felony criminal non-support cases.

SPD estimates the cost of the contracts as follows:

            23,000 stand-alone misdemeanor cases @ $300 each = $6.9 million

            3,050 conflict cases @ $750 each = $2.3 million

            1,109 felony criminal non-support case @ $500 each = $554,500

            1,744 felony bad check cases @ $500 each = $872,000

SPD assumes the total anticipated funding needed to implement the contract portion of this legislation to be $10,626,500.

Oversight assumes the legislation gives the Office of the State Public Defender (SPD) the authority to enter into contracts with private counsel for the provision of indigent defense services, but does not require the SPD enter into contracts with private counsel for all eligible cases. Oversight assumes the SPD would enter into such contracts up to the amount of funds received from the general revenue fund. For fiscal note purposes, Oversight assumes the SPD would receive general revenue funding in an amount up to approximately $10 million per fiscal year. Therefore, Oversight has reflected the cost to general revenue as $0 to approximately $10 million.

FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business

No direct fiscal impact to small businesses would be expected as a result of this proposal.

FISCAL DESCRIPTION

The proposed legislation allows moneys from the General Revenue Fund to be appropriated to the Office of the State Public Defender to pay contract counsel to represent eligible indigent persons who are charged with a misdemeanor, a violation for passing a bad check, or a misdemeanor probation violation that will likely result in confinement in county jail and for which the constitution or law requires the appointment of counsel. Such probation violation must also possibly result in the charging of a separate offense.

The appropriated funds shall also be used to represent persons involved in criminal child support enforcement actions and persons who would normally be represented by a public defender where the public defender has a conflict of interest.

This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Office of Administration

            – Division of Budget and Planning

Office of State Courts Administrator

Office of the State Public Defender

                                                                                                Mickey Wilson, CPA

                                                                                                Director

                                                                                                February 6, 2008