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Ohio Public Defender urges sustained funding in HB 96, proposes Northwest Regional Hub pilot and cap changes for appointed counsel
Summary
State Public Defender Elizabeth Miller told the Senate Finance Committee that House Bill 96’s funding and statutory provisions are critical to addressing attorney shortages, support a Northwest Regional Hub pilot, raise reimbursement levels to counties and remove caps on appointed‑counsel hourly rates to help underserved rural counties.
Elizabeth Miller, state public defender and head of the Ohio Public Defender (OPD), asked senators on April 8 to support the OPD’s operating budget and statutory changes included in Sub House Bill 96 that the office says are needed to address attorney shortages and improve indigent defense delivery.
"The OPD employs approximately 200 employees. We're small but mighty," Miller said, opening her remarks and outlining the OPD’s five budget components: central operating costs, multi‑county branch offices, reimbursement to counties, pass‑through funding for the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, and a new component for a pilot Northwest Regional Hub.
Miller emphasized the operating budget in the executive proposal — $40 million over the biennium — and said that amount would fund about 84% of OPD payroll. "If our operating budget was to see a cut, it would result in a cut to our people," she said.
On county reimbursements, Miller told the committee that reimbursement rates have risen in recent budgets from an average of about 37% historically to roughly 83% in fiscal 2025, but she asked the legislature to maintain and increase the reimbursement appropriation. Sub House Bill 96 would add about $21 million each fiscal year for reimbursement, the OPD said in testimony, which the OPD projects would maintain reimbursements in the high‑80 to 90% range if monthly claims remain in the $19–$21 million range.
Miller described the Northwest Regional Hub pilot, which would base a primary public defender office in Allen County to serve Allen, Putnam and Hardin counties. The hub would combine OPD employees and appointed counsel in a hybrid model, and the pilot is designed so that at least 20% of cases handled from the hub would go to appointed counsel to preserve local bar participation.
Miller also pressed for a statutory change to remove the state reimbursement cap for appointed counsel and noted practical strains in rural counties that have raised rates above the state $75 per hour cap to attract attorneys. "Some counties, especially the more rural counties, are struggling to find attorneys to do the work. So they have raised, 7 counties pay more than $75 an hour," Miller said. Under current statute the OPD cannot reimburse amounts above the state rate; Miller asked the committee to remove the cap to treat those counties more equitably.
On supervision‑revocation hearings, Miller told senators OPD faces rising caseloads: where the office handled about 200 such hearings in 2012, it now sees more than 1,200 annually, creating staffing pressure. She also supported a statewide performance audit of indigent defense by the state auditor.
During questions, senators asked about appeals screening, contractor mixes, use of hubs, and national models. Miller said state‑run, state‑funded systems are the most successful nationally and that hubs are one strategy to stabilize delivery in rural areas. Executive Director Angie Lloyd of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation also testified about funding volatility for civil legal aid that depends largely on interest on lawyers’ trust accounts and filing‑fee surcharges.
