Judicial Council seeks streamlined approvals for indigent defense costs and translation services

The Judicial Council asked the Finance - Division I committee to rewrite provisions in House Bill 2 to streamline payments and approvals for services in indigent defense cases.

Jay Buckey of the Judicial Council described a multi-step, paper-driven approval process for routine non-counsel expenses (for example, translation services) that often requires judicial review even for low-dollar items. Buckey said the council—s proposal would keep judicial review for high-dollar or discretionary requests—Buckey described the threshold as roughly $1,500—but route routine bills and translation requests through the Judicial Council for administrative review to speed payment and reduce the trial-court workload.

Buckey also described a similar approach for counsel compensation: bills that fall under the Supreme Court—s presumptive fee cap would be administratively reviewed by the council, with judges retaining oversight on higher or exceptional bills. The council asked authority to contract with a broader array of providers (translation services, expert evaluators) to negotiate rates and improve timeliness and reliability of payments, rather than paying on a one-off basis.

Legislators broadly supported streamlining. Representative Muntz asked whether the executive director could decline to process an invoice; Buckey said that language acts as a fail-safe so problematic or duplicative bills can be sent to a judge for review. Representative Vivian said efforts to reduce administrative burden "should save money and and time."

The committee accepted sections 125 through 127 of House Bill 2, which encompass the Judicial Council—s requested changes, by unanimous voice vote.