Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB316 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 to give priority to public defenders offices when making an appointment to represent an indigent defendant where such offices exist, with some exceptions.
The Office of Court Administration indicates the bill would not result in a significant fiscal implication to the state court system.
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