Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2969 by Herrero (relating to the provision of funding for indigent defense services.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Government Code to permit the Texas Indigent Defense Commission to award grants to law schools and regional public defender programs created by more than one county that provides at least 50 percent of the operating costs of the program. The bill would also require the Commission to collect each county's share of the program's costs and distribute them to the regional public defender program. In addition, the bill would require each participating county and the regional public defender program to assume all costs associated with the defense of cases assigned to the office that remain pending following termination of the agreement or the county's participation in the agreement and provides that the commission would select a means by which this payment can be made to the office from a list of options provided in the bill.
Based on the analysis of the Office of Court Administration, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources.
Local Government Impact
Counties participating in a regional public defender program would be required to provide the county's share in meeting 50 percent of the operating costs of the program to the Commission. These amounts would be distributed to the regional public defender program.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts