Committee approves multiple supplemental and enhancement requests for State Public Defender office, including contract rate increase

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 a combined vote of 15 ayes and 5 nays across both committees.

- A $390,200 one‑time general‑fund appropriation for court‑ordered transcript costs after the Idaho Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Blasek, which the governor recommended; this motion passed unanimously, 20‑0.

- A $3,799,900 one‑time general‑fund supplemental to cover additional personnel and contracting costs, including raising the contracted‑attorney rate for the remainder of fiscal 2025 to $125 per hour (reduced from the agency request and governor’s recommendation); that motion passed with a combined vote of 13 ayes and 7 nays.

Representative Manwaring, who moved several of the items, said the rate increase is intended to bring contracted attorneys back to work in counties that lost providers after the state assumed public defense responsibilities. “The request was for $150 an hour and this brings that down to $125 an hour,” Representative Manwaring said, noting the change reduces the fiscal‑year cost by more than $1 million compared with the agency’s original request.

The committee also approved an enhancement package for fiscal year 2026 that seeks $31,082,100 from the general fund and $1,300,000 from dedicated funds — a total motioned as $32,382,100 and 17.96 full‑time equivalent positions. Enhancements included aligning the Child Protective Act appropriation ongoing, increasing the operating budget for contracted services and capital litigation costs, adding new institutional offices in multiple counties, ongoing transcript costs, personnel costs, and increasing the standard contracted‑attorney rate to $125 an hour. The enhancement motion passed with a combined vote of 12 ayes and 8 nays.

Representative Miller and others criticized the transition process from county to state administration, citing communication problems with several counties, unexecuted memoranda of understanding, and losses of contract attorneys in some jurisdictions; Miller said funding alone would not fix the structural issues and recorded a no vote on some motions.

Committee staff and lawmakers said some items reflect a court decision and ongoing policy work in a pending bill (referenced in committee as Senate Bill 1181) intended to require reporting and analysis on the efficiency of contracting versus state employment for public defense services. Staff also noted some funding items are one‑time and others are ongoing; several motions included intent or reporting language to guide future implementation.

All approved motions were recorded as due‑pass recommendations to the full legislature.