Joint Budget Committee approves Office of the State Public Defender increase after 4‑2 vote

DENVER — After debate over retention pressures and parity with other judicial offices, the Joint Budget Committee narrowly approved staff’s recommended pay action for the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD).

The committee approved the staff recommendation to provide a total compensation increase for OSPD that effectively brings the office to a 3.5% overall salary increase this year, rather than the 5.7% the office requested. Staff said the office’s original request layered a 3.5% step increase on top of the 2.5% across‑the‑board increase, producing the larger number; staff recommended a smaller step increase so the total would be 3.5%.

Why it mattered: OSPD told the committee it faces retention issues and that a targeted compensation plan was intended to keep junior staff. Committee members split on whether public defenders should receive a larger increase than other judicial employees.

Votes and outcome - Motion: Move staff recommendation for the OSPD requested increase. - Result: Motion passed, 4‑2. Representative Taggart and Senator Kirkmeyer objected.

Key points from the meeting - "I appreciate that this is a lot less than what they were asking for, but it's still an increase," said Representative Taggart as he announced his opposition, adding he wanted to see the forecast and the broader tradeoffs before supporting additional increases. - Mr. Burmeister, the Joint Budget Committee staff presenter, said the recommended step adjustment would bring OSPD to 3.5% total and that the department had documented retention concerns among employees who have been at the office less than five years.

Budget impact: Staff estimated that reducing the office’s request from 5.7% to 3.5% saved roughly $3.2 million in general fund compared with the higher request.

Next steps: Staff will incorporate the committee’s decision into the figure‑setting document and departmental line‑item detail for the long bill.