0001| HOUSE BILL 116
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0002| 42ND LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION,
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0003| 1996
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0004| INTRODUCED BY
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0005| CISCO MCSORLEY
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0006|
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0007|
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0008|
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0009| FOR THE COURTS, CORRECTIONS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE
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0010|
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0011| AN ACT
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0012| RELATING TO PUBLIC DEFENDERS; ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM FUNDING
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0013| LEVEL FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENDER DEPARTMENT; INCREASING THE LEVEL
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0014| OF REIMBURSEMENT TO COUNSEL FOR SERVICES PROVIDED TO INDIGENT
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0015| CLIENTS; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; MAKING AN
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0016| APPROPRIATION.
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0017|
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0018| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0019| Section 1. Section 31-15-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,
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0020| Chapter 14, Section 1) is amended to read:
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0021| "31-15-5. PUBLIC DEFENDER DEPARTMENT--CREATION--ADMINISTRATION--FINANCE--MINIMUM FUNDING LEVEL.--
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0022| A. There is created the "public defender
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0023| department". The headquarters of the department shall be
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0024| maintained at Santa Fe. The chief shall be the administrative
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0025| head of the department. The department is administratively
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0001| attached to the [criminal justice] corrections department.
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0002| B. All salaries and other expenses of the department
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0003| shall be paid by warrants of the secretary of finance and
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0004| administration, supported by vouchers signed by the chief or his
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0005| authorized representative and in accordance with budgets
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0006| approved by the state budget division of the department of
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0007| finance and administration.
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0008| C. Beginning with fiscal year 1997, the general
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0009| fund appropriation to the public defender department shall be
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0010| not less than seventy-five percent of the sum of general fund
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0011| appropriations to:
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0012| (1) all district attorneys' offices in the
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0013| state; and
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0014| (2) the criminal appeals division of the office
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0015| of the attorney general."
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0016| Section 2. Section 31-15-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
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0017| Chapter 156, Section 9) is amended to read:
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0018| "31-15-9. DUTY OF CHIEF PUBLIC DEFENDER TO ESTABLISH
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0019| DISTRICT PUBLIC DEFENDER OFFICE--APPOINTMENT OF DISTRICT PUBLIC
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0020| DEFENDER.--
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0021| A. The chief shall designate one or more public
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0022| defender districts having boundaries coextensive with the
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0023| boundaries of one or more judicial districts of this state. The
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0024| chief shall consider the demand for legal services provided
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0025| under the Public Defender Act, criminal case load statistics,
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0001| population, geographical characteristics and any other relevant
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0002| factor in the designation of public defender districts.
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0003| B. The chief may review the designation of districts
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0004| at any time. The review shall be based on the same factors
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0005| enumerated in Subsection A of this section. On the basis of the
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0006| review, the chief may change the designation of any district so
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0007| long as the new designation has boundaries coextensive with the
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0008| boundaries of one or more judicial districts of this state.
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0009| C. The chief shall appoint a district public
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0010| defender in each district. The district public defender shall
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0011| administer the operation of the district and shall serve at the
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0012| pleasure of the chief. Each district public defender shall be an
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0013| attorney licensed to practice law in the highest courts of this
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0014| state and a resident of this state.
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0015| D. Beginning with fiscal year 1997, the level of
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0016| general fund money distributed to public defender districts
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0017| shall be not less than seventy-five percent of the level of
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0018| general fund money appropriated to district attorneys' offices
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0019| located in judicial districts served by the public defender
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0020| districts."
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0021| Section 3. Section 31-16-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1968,
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0022| Chapter 69, Section 65) is amended to read:
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0023| "31-16-8. PAYMENT OF COSTS, EXPENSES AND ATTORNEY FEES.--
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0024| A. [Payments] Payment of costs, expenses and
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0025| attorney fees under the Indigent Defense Act shall be made from:
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0001| (1) funds appropriated to the supreme court
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0002| with respect to habeas corpus matters initiated in that court;
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0003| and
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0004| (2) funds appropriated to the district court
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0005| with respect to all stages of proceedings initiated in the
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0006| district court.
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0007| B. The court assigning counsel under the Indigent
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0008| Defense Act shall pay costs, including the costs of transcripts
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0009| where appropriate, shall reimburse counsel for direct expenses
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0010| the court determines to have been properly incurred by him and
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0011| shall pay to counsel fees:
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0012| (1) for services in magistrate, [courts]
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0013| metropolitan and district courts where the proceedings are
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0014| terminated prior to trial in the district court, a sum fixed by
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0015| the court at not less than one dollar ($1.00) [nor] or more
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0016| than [three hundred dollars ($300)] eight hundred dollars
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0017| ($800);
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0018| (2) for services in magistrate, [courts]
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0019| metropolitan and district courts [which] that include
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0020| trial in the district court and, where appropriate, filing
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0021| notice of appeal, a sum fixed by the court at not less than one
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0022| dollar ($1.00) [nor] or more than [four hundred dollars
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($400)] two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);
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0024| (3) for services in postconviction remedy
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0025| proceedings in the district court, a sum fixed by the court at
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0001| not less than one dollar ($1.00) [nor] or more than [one
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hundred fifty dollars ($150)] five hundred dollars ($500);
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0003| (4) for services in prosecuting any appeal or
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0004| review in the court of appeals or the supreme court, a sum fixed
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0005| by the court at not less than one dollar ($1.00) [nor] or
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0006| more than [five hundred dollars ($500)] one thousand two
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0007| hundred dollars ($1,200);
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0008| (5) for services in habeas corpus proceedings in
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0009| the supreme court, a sum fixed by the court at not less than one
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0010| dollar ($1.00) [nor] or more than [one hundred fifty
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dollars ($150)] six hundred dollars ($600); and
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0012| (6) for services in any case involving a capital
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0013| offense, a sum fixed by the court."
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0014| Section 4. APPROPRIATION.--Six million dollars ($6,000,000)
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0015| is appropriated from the general fund to the public defender
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0016| department for expenditure in fiscal year 1997 for the purpose
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0017| of increasing the general fund appropriation to the public
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0018| defender department to ensure that the general fund
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0019| appropriation to the public defender department is not less than
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0020| seventy-five percent of the sum of general fund appropriations
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0021| made to all district attorneys' offices in the state and the
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0022| criminal appeals division of the office of the attorney general.
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0023| Any unexpected or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of
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0024| fiscal year 1997 shall revert to the general fund.
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0025| Section 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
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0001| provisions of this act is July 1, 1996.
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