May 27, 2009 – The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 on Friday to expand financial eligibility for Public Defender representation to 115% of the federal poverty level. The increased eligibility levels are effective at the end of the next biennium, on June 30, 2011.
The committee also approved 32 new staff attorneys and 17 support positions to accommodate the anticipated increase in the State Public Defender’s caseload. Because the changes are not effective until the last day of the next biennium, they have no fiscal effect on the next state biennial budget.
The changes adopted by Joint Finance are essentially identical to 2007 Assembly Bill 576 and 2007 Senate Bill 321 from the last legislative session, neither of which passed the legislature. Those bills would have increased the eligibility limits for a public defender from the antiquated 1987 AFDC limits to current W-2 limits, which generally are 115% percent of the federal poverty level. The State Bar has a long-standing position in favor of using federal poverty guidelines as minimum financial criteria for determining indigence and eligibility for constitutionally mandated appointment of counsel.
Unfortunately, Joint Finance did not approve any increase in the $40 per hour rate paid to private bar attorneys who take SPD cases, nor did it make whole the current deficit in the private bar appropriation used to pay private bar attorneys. The state budget as approved by Joint Finance also significantly reduces funding for assistant district attorney positions. However, on May 23 Joint Finance approved a motion to create a $1 million appropriation in the Department of Justice to provide annual raises of about $1700 to approximately 600 assistant public defenders and assistant district attorneys. The raises would range from about 3.5% for new staff attorneys to 1.5% for senior non-management staff. The appropriation would be funded by existing revenue sources in the DOJ budget.
On May 26, Joint Finance also approved a welcome and significant increase in state funding for civil legal services for the indigent, adding $2.38 million to the $1.25 million increase proposed by Governor Doyle. If approved by the full Legislature, state funding for indigent civil legal services would be increased by $3.63 million for a total of $4.63 during the biennium starting July 1. The Legislature first appropriated state money to fund civil legal services for low-income individuals in the 2007-2009 state budget, a move long-supported by the State Bar of Wisconsin. Under the proposal approved by Joint Finance, the money would be used to provide grant funding for civil legal services through the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Inc. (WisTAF).
In other budget news, additional cuts in state programs and a mix of other tax and fee adjustments – but no expansion of the sales tax base – were proposed last week by Gov. Jim Doyle and legislative leaders. Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairs Mark Pocan and Mark Miller joined the governor at a May 21 news conference to outline steps they propose to resolve $1.6 billion in additional state revenue shortfalls for the upcoming biennium projected on May 11 by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Highlights of the plan include an additional 5% state agency budget reduction and 2.5% cuts in school aids and shared revenue payments. Other steps include adjustments to the Medicaid/hospital assessment, reallocation of cell phone fees, deferral of tax credit expansions and debt restructuring.
Doyle said the 5% agency budget reductions will be across-the-board and predicted that 1000 state employees are likely to be laid off and that another 400 are at risk if represented employees refuse to reopen labor contracts and roll back a planned 2% pay increase.
The State Bar has joined with other professional associations to resist rumored plans to expand the sales tax to include various services, including legal services. State Bar President Diane Diel has also expressed the Bar’s opposition to such a step.
The Joint Finance Committee will continue to meet through May to complete its work on the proposed state budget before sending the bill to the Assembly and then the Senate for floor action. Legislative leaders have said they hope to complete the budget by June 30.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s summary of AB 75, the proposed state budget, can be found online. A more detailed summary of the Joint Finance Committee’s procedures in reviewing the Governor’s proposed budget is available in the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's informational paper entitled, "State Budget Process.”
Continue to monitor WisBar.org and visit the Bar’s Government Relations page for updated budget information.
Related articles:
Governor and legislative leaders outline new deficit reduction plan – May 22, 2009
State budget crisis deepens – May 13, 2009
Joint Finance Committee Approves Budget for Courts, Related Agencies – April 22, 2009
State Bar update on 2009-11 state budget – April 8, 2009
State agency briefings address Governor’s budget proposal – March 25, 2009
Joint Finance Co-Chairs announce public hearing schedule for budget bill – March 10, 2009
State Bar of Wisconsin responds to Governor Doyle’s budget – February 25, 2009
State Bar President praises initiatives in Governor’s budget proposal – February 17, 2009
Rotunda Report is a new newsletter, issued once every two weeks, from the State Bar of Wisconsin that highlights legislative, judicial and administrative developments that impact the legal profession and the justice system. It is produced by the Bar’s Government Relations Team and is distributed free to attorneys, public officials and others who help shape public policy in Wisconsin. We invite your suggestions to make the Rotunda Report more informative and useful and we encourage you to visit our website for the most current information about justice-related issues.
© 2009, State Bar of Wisconsin
