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Committee approves multiple supplemental and enhancement requests for State Public Defender office, including contract rate increase
Summary
Lawmakers approved several supplementals and a multi‑million dollar enhancement package for the Office of the State Public Defender, including one‑time funding for Child Protective Act representation, transcript costs after State v. Blasek, and an ongoing plan that raises contracted attorney rates to $125 an hour and adds personnel and offices.
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee approved a series of fiscal actions Monday for the Office of the State Public Defender, including one‑time supplementals and a larger ongoing enhancement package to staff new offices and raise contracted‑attorney rates.
Committee staff told lawmakers the State Public Defender is a new agency created in Title 19, Chapter 60, Section 3 of Idaho Code and is charged with providing qualified defenders and related support services across judicial districts. The agency presented three supplementals for the current fiscal year and several enhancements for fiscal 2026.
Supplemental motions the committee approved included:
- A $2,500,000 one‑time addition from the Public Defense Fund to align the Child Protective Act appropriation to cash transfers authorized in Section 57‑8‑11 of Idaho Code; the motion passed with…
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