Criteria for determining indigency for purposes of representation by the State Public Defender and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority

What it does

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, the State Public Defender (SPD) provides counsel to represent people in various legal proceedings, including criminal proceedings that may result in imprisonment, and proceedings concerning emergency detention, involuntary civil commitment, protective placement, paternity determination, and juvenile delinquency. The SPD provides counsel to children and juveniles in protective services and delinquency proceedings regardless of the child's or juvenile's income or assets. The SPD provides counsel to adults in proceedings concerning involuntary commitment for mental health or alcoholism treatment, protective placement or services, or involuntary administration of psychotropic medication regardless of the adult's income or assets. In other types of proceedings, the SPD may provide counsel only to people who are indigent.

Current law provides that a person is indigent for purposes of SPD representation if the person's income and assets, after deduction for reasonable and necessary living expenses, are insufficient to cover the cost of effective legal representation. Current law equates reasonable and necessary living expenses with benefit amounts under the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. However, in determining whether a person can afford counsel, courts are not limited by the SPD indigency criteria. If a person is the subject of a legal proceeding for which he or she has the right to appointed counsel if he or she cannot afford counsel, and the person offers proof that he or she cannot afford counsel, the court must independently review the person's circumstances. If the court finds that the person cannot afford counsel and does not meet the criteria for SPD appointment, the court must appoint counsel and the county in which the court sits must pay the appointed counsel.

Who's behind it

15 senators are its authors⁠. 13 are Democrats and 2 are Republicans.

32 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From SPD

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.

• Amendment AA1-SB263
• Amendment SA1-SB263
• Amendment SA2-SB263
• LC Amendment Memo