Subcommittee hears day 3 of Public Defense Commission budget; agency cites caseload, contracting and hourly-rate pressures

SALEM, Ore. — The Public Safety Subcommittee on Wednesday continued its multi-day informational hearing on House Bill 50031, the Oregon Public Defense Commission’s (OPDC) primary budget measure, focusing on rising demand for court-appointed counsel, contract changes the commission is proposing, and pressure on hourly rates and expense programs.

Senator Broadman, budget co-chair for public safety, opened the day by saying the subcommittee intends to “leave this session with a budget and a plan for the agency to fulfill the core statutory purpose of OPDC,” and added that he plans additional accountability hearings after phase one of the review. “The agency does have the statutory obligation to provide representation to every qualified defendant within the budget constraints that the legislature sets for it,” he said.

Jessica Kamphy, director of the Oregon Public Defense Commission, and Susan Mandeburg, vice chair of the commission, provided the day’s presentation and answered members’ questions about contract structure, staffing, and several programs the commission uses to fill appointment gaps.

Nut graf: The commission told lawmakers it is updating contractor terms and enforcement tools, proposing a lower first‑year caseload expectation for new attorneys, tracking a large unrepresented persons backlog concentrated in six judicial districts, and paying roughly $52.7 million so far through a temporary enhanced hourly program for in-custody cases. The presentation highlighted tradeoffs between cost efficiency, local capacity, and rising hourly and expert expenses that the governor’s budget proposes to reduce.

Most of the hearing focused on how OPDC buys representation and how it manages workload. Kamphy said OPDC purchases representation in units called MACs, which she defined as “MAC means maximum attorney caseload.” A full-time contract position equals one…