FISCAL NOTE
FUND(S):
0226
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
A New Program
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
This bill requires the Executive Director of West Virginia Public Defender Services to establish a new program to assume full managerial authority and control of twenty-three (23) existing public defender offices throughout West Virginia. These offices are currently funded by WVPDS, but are managed and controlled on a day-to-day basis by individual Boards of Directors and Chief Public Defenders.
This bill requires WVPDS to monitor and administer the day-to-day operations of each of these offices. Current staffing within this office is substantially insufficient to effecuate this task. To fulfill the purposes of the bill, WVPDS would require a sizable increase in staff with all associated costs (salaries, equipment, benefits, etc.)
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2011
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2012
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
3,592,000 |
3,592,000 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
3,592,000 |
3,592,000 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The primary impact upon WVPDS of the bill would be the necessity of substantial staff increases in order to meet the bill's stated purposes. Functions currently handled by the public defender offices (bookkeeping, administrative, purchasing, supervisory, etc.) would be assumed by WVPDS at the state level.
Staff levels at WVPDS would be expected to increase by at least 36 FTE's in order to administer these offices on a day-to-day basis. The additional positions would include at least one (1) attorney supervisor and one (1) admininstrative staffer for each of the eighteen (18) judicial circuits currently served by public defender offices. This note does not include potential costs to those offices for office space and associated costs.
The new staff positions would increase incrementally should additional public defender offices be activated in succeeding fiscal years.
Memorandum
Because the language of the bill imposes a mandatory duty on the Executive Director of WVPDS to create and admininster a new program, this fiscal note was prepared under the assumption that the plain language of the bill requires the Executive Director to assume complete day-to-day control over the current public defender system. Thus, we have strived to provide our best estimate as to the total cost of this new program.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Russell S. Cook
Email Address: Russell.S.Cook@wv.gov