FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 08, 2024
Time Requested: 08:47 AM |
| Agency: |
Public Defender Services |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2794 |
Introduced |
HB5065 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Courts; Juveniles |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0226
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
Summarize in a clear and concise manner what impact this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The proposed legislation (i) adds “multi-disciplinary team (‘MDT’) meetings” as an “in-court” legal service, thus increasing the rate of compensation for this service by twenty dollars ($20) an hour, and (ii) increases the rate of compensation for the legal services of attorneys appointed as “guardians ad litem” in child abuse and neglect proceedings by forty-five dollars ($45) an hour.
These changes to the existing code will increase the expenditure of general revenue by four million five hundred forty-seven thousand and thirty-eight dollars ($4,547,038) annually.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2024
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2025
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
4,547,038 |
4,547,038 |
4,547,038 |
| Personal Services |
4,547,038 |
4,547,038 |
4,547,038 |
| 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):
Please explain increases and decreases in personal services, current expenses, repairs and alterations, assets, other costs and revenues, including assumptions and data sources and delineation between start-up and ongoing costs. Please also include a long-range schedule of costs and revenues if fiscal impact is expected to vary in future years.
For the three-year period of July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, 284,311.43 hours of legal services were billed by counsel appointed to be guardians ad litem in child abuse and neglect proceedings. Accordingly, the annual average of the hours billed by “guardians ad litem” was 94,770 hours. An increase of forty-five dollars ($45) an hour in the rate of compensation for these services would require an additional annual expenditure in the amount of $4,264,650.
Additionally, the legislation adds “meetings” to the list of in-court legal services and is presumed to mean “multi-disciplinary team” meetings. The effect is that the time spent in a “multi-disciplinary” meeting, typically an hour, would increase the compensation for attendance at a meeting by an additional twenty dollars ($20) an hour, which is the difference between the in-court and out-of-court rates of compensation. In Fiscal Year 2023, attorneys billed 14,199.4 hours for attendance at multi-disciplinary meetings. This means that an additional amount of $282,388 would be expended annually if this revision were enacted.
For the purposes of this fiscal note, the total estimated increase in general revenue expenditure would be $4,547,038.
Memorandum
Please identify any areas of vagueness, technical defects, reasons a bill would not have a fiscal impact, and/or any special issues not captured elsewhere on this form.
A concern caused by the increase in rates for “guardians ad litem” is the potential drain of the pool of attorneys for other legal services that will not be compensated as highly. Judges throughout the state are struggling to find attorneys willing to take appointments in criminal or post-conviction proceedings or to represent parents in child abuse and neglect proceedings.
A second area of concern is the inclusion of “meetings” as in-court time. This requires further definition as a “multi-disciplinary team” meeting. Otherwise, attorneys will bill any discussion with anyone at the higher rate of compensation because it is a “meeting.”
Notably, the increase in the rate for attending meetings applies to all attorneys, not just guardians ad litem.
Finally, the legislation addresses the educational requirements of attorneys who serve as guardians ad litem, which is the province of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and is not a cost incurred by Public Defender Services. And the legislation sets a rate of compensation for attorneys serving as guardians ad litem in infant summary proceedings which does not affect Public Defender Services.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Dana F. Eddy
Email Address: Dana.F.Eddy@wv.gov