Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
New Idaho State Public Defender office seeks millions to cover transcript, contract and personnel costs
Summary
The newly established State Public Defender office outlined multiple supplemental and ongoing funding requests at the JFAC hearing, including use of a $39 million cash transfer into a dedicated state public defense fund, requests for supplemental transcript and contract funding, and staff additions and county onboarding costs.
The Office of the State Public Defender outlined multiple supplemental and ongoing budget requests during a Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee hearing, asking lawmakers to provide authority to spend a large cash transfer, pay transcript costs after a state high‑court ruling and fund additional staff and contract rates as the new agency absorbs counties.
Christopher Lahoset, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, said the office is a newly created agency under "title 19 chapter 60 section 3 of Idaho Code" and that the agency’s base appropriation is just under $49 million after initial startup enhancements. He told the committee that a state controller transfer of $39 million from the tax relief fund into a new state public defense fund is a primary funding source for the agency.
Lahoset outlined several requests the agency has made to the governor and the Legislature: a one‑time supplemental of $2.5 million in FY25 to fully utilize the $39 million transfer; a…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
