LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 83RD LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 16, 2013

TO:	Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB780 by Hinojosa (Relating to the prioritization of certain available legal defense services when appointing representation for an indigent defendant in a criminal case.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to require a court or designee to appoint the public defender office in some cases if such an office exists in the county.

The Office of Court Administration does not anticipate a significant fiscal impact to the state.

Local Government Impact

The bill may lead to increased appointment of a local public defender's office instead of private attorneys to represent indigent defendants. To the extent that the public defender's costs are fixed, a county may save on costs that would otherwise be spent paying a private attorney.  However, these savings are not anticipated to be significant.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council

LBB Staff:

UP, ESi, KKR