Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1057 by Hinojosa (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 each with a population of less than 100,000 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. The bill would provide that participating counties and regional public defender offices agree to a Commission-approved means to pay outstanding defense costs for cases pending in the county after the termination of the agreement of the county's participation in the agreement.
Based on this analysis, 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