LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6789 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 30, 2024
BILL NUMBER: SB 179 BILL AMENDED: Jan 25, 2024
SUBJECT: Commission on Court Appointed Attorneys.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Koch BILL STATUS: As Passed Senate
FIRST SPONSOR: Rep. McNamara
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
XDEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill requires the Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC) to conduct
a study on criminal indigency determinations by all Indiana trial courts. It requires the JRAC to submit a
report containing recommendations on specified topics to the Legislative Council before July 1, 2025.
It changes the name of the Indiana Public Defender Commission to the Indiana Commission on Court
Appointed Attorneys (CCAA).
It provides that a county may be reimbursed for 40% of indigent defense services provided for misdemeanors
in a superior or circuit court. (Current law excludes misdemeanors from reimbursement.) It provides that
through June 30, 2029, certain counties may be reimbursed for 100% of indigent defense services provided
for misdemeanors in a superior or circuit court. It requires the Commission to submit a report to the
Legislative Council and the Budget Committee not later than December 1, 2029, concerning the 100%
reimbursement for indigent defense services provided for misdemeanors.
It requires each clerk of the court to make an annual report to the commission concerning certain fees.
It changes the distribution of fees for indigent defendant representation. It increases certain fees if a court
finds a person is able to pay the cost of representation by counsel.
It prohibits the Commission from: (1) receiving additional appropriations from the General Assembly for
misdemeanor reimbursement; or (2) reimbursing certain counties for misdemeanor reimbursement; before
July 1, 2029.
SB 179 1 It provides that each court in certain counties receiving reimbursement from the Public Defense Fund shall
require a person claiming indigency to submit a uniform form, prescribed by the Office of Judicial
Administration, to assist the court in determining whether the person is indigent. It specifies that such courts
shall review or designate a staff member to review the form submitted to ensure accuracy of the information
contained in the form. It also allows such a court to request any additional information needed from the
person to verify the accuracy of the information submitted in the form.
Effective Date: Upon passage; July 1, 2024.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Public Defense Fund - Beginning July 1, 2024, the bill provides that
participating pilot counties may begin requesting reimbursement up to 100% of the county’s or multi-county
public defender’s office’s expenditures for indigent defense services in misdemeanor cases. If additional
claims are approved, OFMA estimates the bill could potentially increase state expenditures from the Public
Defense Fund by approximately $76,761 to $812,313 annually beginning in FY 2025. It also provides that
the expenses of conducting the statewide survey may be paid from the Public Defense Fund. Any increase
in state expenditures from the fund would depend upon authorization by the Commission.
This estimate includes reimbursement at a rate between 80% and 100%, and the additional fee revenue
collected from the County Supplemental Public Defender Services Fund. Also, the bill could potentially
result in cost savings to the Public Defense Fund to the extent the Commission approves reimbursement at
a rate less than 80% of expenditures in misdemeanor cases.
The Commission reimburses counties for the following costs of providing indigent defense services: attorney
fees, investigations, expert witnesses, paralegal, transcript costs, and costs of direct appeals.
Office of Judicial Administration (OJA): The bill requires the OJA to create and make available a uniform
indigency determination form for all trial courts for the purposes of appointing counsel in criminal cases.
However, the bill is silent on the type of format required for the indigency determination form. The bill will
likely increase the workload and/or expenditures of the OJA. Costs will depend upon administrative
decisions. If the form is in a paper format, the cost will likely be minimal to create and distribute the paper
form statewide. If the indigency determination form is built into the Court’s Incite Application or Odyssey
Case Management System, it could cost an estimated $50,000 to $100,000 to develop and implement. After
the initial implementation, it is likely this process can be fully-automated and costs are anticipated to be
minimal over the long-term.
Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC): The bill requires the JRAC to conduct a comprehensive
survey of all trial courts that make indigency determinations for criminal cases. It also requires the JRAC to
submit comprehensive report to the Legislative Council before July 1, 2025. Under current law, the OJA
provides staff support to the JRAC. As a result, this will increase the workload of the OJA and the JRAC to
implement the bill’s requirements.
Additional Information - Indiana Commission on Court Appointed Attorneys (CCAA): The bill will increase
the workload of the CCAA to fulfill the bill’s requirements. The CCAA shall submit a report concerning how
the misdemeanor reimbursement pilot project has impacted attorney rates, jail population, trial rates, and case
outcomes in the pilot counties. The report must be submitted no later than December 1, 2029, to the
Legislative Council and the Indiana Budget Committee. If a county opts out of participating in the pilot
project, the CCAA must publish on its website the replacement county.
SB 179 2 Name Change: This provision will have no fiscal impact on the Commission.
Explanation of State Revenues: County Supplemental Public Defender Services Fund: The bill requires
the clerk of the court to transfer 50% of the County Supplemental Public Defender Services Fee revenue to
the Public Defense Fund. It also increases the county public defense fee. As a result, the bill will increase
revenue to the fund by at least $1.63 M annually. The actual revenue increase will depend on the county
public defense fee collections. This estimate is based on a five-year average of revenue collected from the
fee.
The following table shows the amount of revenue deposited in the fund.
Revenue Deposited in the County Supplemental Public Defender Services Fund 2017 - 2021
Year CY 2017 CY 2018 CY 2019 CY 2020 CY 2021
Revenue $3.21 M $ 3.34 M $3.38 M $2.85 M $3.59 M
Potential Savings: The additional revenue to the Public Defense Fund could offset the cost of the
misdemeanor reimbursement pilot program. If the Commission approves reimbursement at a rate less than
80%, the additional fee will result in a revenue increase to the fund.
Explanation of Local Expenditures: The bill could reduce local expenditures to the extent pilot counties
are eligible to recoup cost incurred for misdemeanor defense services. To the extent the Commission
reimburses misdemeanor expenses at a rate of 100%, OFMA estimates that local expenditure could
potentially be reduced by approximately $2.0 M to $2.45 M annually. However, the actual fiscal impact will
depend on the participating counties.
The following counties are participating in the pilot project: Adams, Allen, Clark, DeKalb, Hendricks,
Lawrence, and Pulaski Counties.
The selected pilot counties shall quarterly report to the CCAA regarding reimbursements requested and
received from the fund for the county’s expenditures for indigent defense services. This provision will
increase the workload of participating pilot counties.
Uniform Indigency Determination Form: To the extent a pilot county does not review indigency
determinations before issuing a final determination, the bill could potentially increase the workload of a pilot
county to review the submitted indigency form in a timely manner. Any increase will likely be minimal.
Also, it is very unlikely that the bill will delay proceedings or attorney appointments while the defendant is
awaiting for the court to make an indigency determination. Under current law, the court may review
indigency determinations throughout the case to determine a defendants ability to pay for their own defense
services.
Explanation of Local Revenues: The bill will reduce county and municipal revenue from the County
Supplemental Public Defender Services Fund. It will also increase the public defense fee in misdemeanor
cases from $50 to $100 and in felony cases from $100 to $200. Therefore, any reduction in revenue will
likely be offset to the extent additional revenue is collected from the increased public defense fee.(See
Explanation of State Revenues.)
SB 179 3 The clerk of the court shall deposit the first $100 in a felony case and the first $50 in a misdemeanor case
of the fees collected in the County’s Supplemental Public Defender Services Fund.
State Agencies Affected: Public Defender Commission; Legislative Council; Budget Committee; Office of
Judicial Administration; Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council.
Local Agencies Affected: County public defenders; county auditors; trial courts.
Information Sources: Indiana Supreme Court, Office of Judicial Administration; Indiana Public Defender
Commission, Funding and Reimbursement History,
https://www.in.gov/publicdefender/funding-and-reimbursement-history/; Indiana Supreme Court, Reports
& Statistics, https://www.in.gov/courts/publications/reports/.
Fiscal Analyst: Corrin Harvey, 317-234-9438.
SB 179 4