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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Swisstack

DATE TYPED 1/27/05

HB 408

SHORT TITLE Public Defender Department

SB

ANALYST Medina

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$1,220.1

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Partially Duplicates Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

Relates to HB 406

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Public Defender Department

Response Received From

Public Defender Department (PDD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 408 appropriates $1,220,100 from the general fund to the Public Defender Depart-

ment for the purpose of providing parity salary adjustments for attorneys.

Significant Issues

The bill calls for salary increases for attorneys in the Public Defender Department to achieve pay

parity at all attorney classifications with other state-employed attorneys including those em-

ployed by the executive branch, the Office of the Attorney General and the Administrative Of-

fice of the Courts. The following table summarizes the cost of pay parity with benefits for the

public defenders.

House Bill 408 -- Page 2

Attorney Classification

Cost with Benefits

Public defender I and II (entry-level)

$426.0

Public defender III (mid-level)

$468.0

Public defender IV (mid-level)

$284.0

Public defender V (advanced-level)

$42.0

Total Cost for Public Defender Parity

$1,220.0

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1,220,100 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall revert

to the general fund.

The LFC FY06 appropriation recommendation is balanced between revenues and expenditures

and any increase in recurring funding must be offset by reductions in other areas of the recom-

mendation. The Legislature must consider all priorities and funding requirements to find reve-

nue to support this legislation.

RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 406 is an appropriation of $2,602,200 to the Administrative Office of the District At-

torneys for parity salary adjustments in the offices of the district attorneys.

ALTERNATIVES

During the interim, the LFC heard joint testimony from the district attorneys and the Public De-

fender Department regarding the agencies’ challenges in recruiting and retaining attorneys. Sub-

sequently, the LFC has recommended that $154.6 thousand be appropriated to the Public De-

fender Department to administer a special 2 percent compensation increase for entry- and mid-

level attorneys in addition to the increase appropriated for all state employees. The entry- and

mid-level attorney positions, public defender I through public defender IV, are the positions with

which the district attorney offices experience the most problems with recruitment and retention.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL.

Staff attorneys in the Public Defender Department will continue to be compensated at the current

levels.

DXM/yr