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Ranking member urges full funding for private‑attorney panel after Public Defender Service says request is undercounted
Summary
The Public Defender Service Corporation told senators the private‑attorney panel (PAP) is underfunded in the substitute FY2026 budget; senators said the bill's $168,000 appropriation covers roughly 10% of an estimated $1.5 million annual need and announced an amendment.
Legislators and oversight chairs pressed budget staff and Judiciary representatives after the Public Defender Service Corporation said the substitute FY2026 budget underfunds the private‑attorney panel (PAP), which provides court‑appointed counsel when the public defender cannot represent a client.
Attorney Stephen Hatori, director of the Public Defender Service Corporation, said the PAP cannot remain under the judiciary without adequate independent funding and provided a cost estimate. Hatori wrote that recent case loads and historical expenditures indicate a need in the range of $1.5 million annually for private‑attorney legal fees, investigators and related costs. The substitute budget, he said, appropriates roughly $168,000 — about 10% of the estimated need.
Ranking Member Tina Muñoz Barnes told the committee she filed an amendment to restore full PAP funding and urged colleagues to consider the constitutional guarantee of counsel when weighing the request. BBMR and other staff confirmed the EBR request and the bill appropriation figures: the governor's executive budget included a $168,000 request for the PAP and the committee bill reflects that same amount.
Committee discussion clarified that the Public Defender Service Corporation is not in the executive branch and therefore not eligible for use of the governor's transfer authority; senators said that makes a legislative appropriation the primary available remedy. Several senators said they will pursue an amendment in the next round to add the roughly $1.5 million needed to fund the PAP without shifting other critical services.
The committee took no final vote on the request during the hearing. Lawmakers signaled they will return to the PAP funding line during later amendment rounds and asked BBMR and Judiciary staff to provide documentation supporting Hatori's estimate.
