06 LC 29
2108
Senate
Bill 503
By:
Senators Hamrick of the 30th and Hill of the 4th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 21A of Title 15, Title 17, and Code Section 42-8-34.1 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating respectively to judicial
accounting, criminal procedure, and to legal defense for indigents, requirements
for revocation of probated or suspended sentence, so as to change certain
provisions relating to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council and the
provision of legal services to indigent persons; to clarify that the application
fee for indigent defense services is not a prerequisite to obtaining legal
services; to provide that such fee may be paid as a condition of probation; to
provide that failure to pay such fee shall not serve as the sole basis of a
probation revocation; to provide for staggered terms for the councilmembers of
the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council; to specify the types of standards
that shall be submitted to the General Oversight Committee for the Georgia
Public Defender Standards Council; to change certain provisions relating to the
budget of the council; to change certain provisions relating to contracting with
the Department of Administrative Services for personnel paid by local
governments; to change certain provisions relating to the budget for the Office
of the Georgia Capital Defender; to provide for related matters; to provide for
an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
21A of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to judicial
accounting, is amended by striking Code Section 15-21A-6, relating to additional
filling fees and application fee for free legal services, and inserting in lieu
thereof the following:
∀15-21A-6.
(a)
In addition to all other legal costs there shall be charged to the filing party
and collected by the clerk an additional filing fee of $15.00 in each civil
action or case filed in the superior, state, probate,
recordeŕs,
mayoŕs,
and magistrate courts except that municipalities, counties, and political
subdivisions shall be exempt from such fee. Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, such fee shall apply to all adoptions, certiorari, applications
by personal representatives for leave to sell or reinvest, trade name
registrations, applications for change of name, and all other proceedings of a
civil nature. Any matter which is docketed upon the official dockets of the
enumerated courts and to which a number is assigned shall be subject to such
fee, whether such matter is contested or not.
(b)
Any person who applies for or receives legal defense services under Chapter 12
of Title 17 shall pay the entity providing the services a single fee of $50.00
for the application for, receipt of, or application for and receipt of such
services. The application fee may not be imposed if the payment of the fee is
waived by the court. The court shall waive the fee if it finds that the
applicant is unable to pay the fee or that hardship will result if the fee is
charged. If
the application fee required by this subsection has not been paid or waived at
the time the defendant is sentenced, the court shall impose such fee as a
condition of probation.
(c)
Each clerk of court, each indigent defense program, or any other officer or
agent of any court receiving any funds subject to this Code section shall
collect the additional fees provided in this Code section and shall pay such
moneys over to the authority by the last day of the month after the month of
collection, to be deposited by the authority into the general fund of the state
treasury.
(d)
It is the intent of the General Assembly that all funds derived under this Code
section shall be made available through the general appropriations process and
may be appropriated for purposes of funding indigent defense.
(e)
A public entity other than an entity providing legal defense services under
Chapter 12 of Title 17 may charge, in addition to any other fee or surcharge
authorized by law, a $50.00 application fee unless waived by the court for
inability to pay or hardship.
If the
application fee required by this subsection has not been paid or waived at the
time the defendant is sentenced, the court shall impose such fee as a condition
of probation. Any such fee shall be
retained by the entity providing the services or used as otherwise provided by
law and shall not be subject to payment to the authority or deposit into the
state
treasury.∀
SECTION
2.
Title
17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, is
amended in Chapter 10, relating to sentence and punishment, by adding a new Code
section to read as follows:
∀17-10-8.1.
In
any case in which a defendant receives legal defense services pursuant to
Chapter 12 of Title 17 where the defendant has not paid the application fee
required by Code Section 15-21A-6 and the court has not waived such fee at the
time of sentencing, the court shall impose such fee as a condition of
probation.∀
SECTION
3.
Said
title is further amended by striking Code Section 17-12-3, relating to the
Georgia Public Defender Standards
Counciĺs
creation and membership, and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
∀17-12-3.
(a)
There is created the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council to be composed of
11 members.
(b)
Ten
members
The
membership of the council shall be
appointed as follows:
(1)
Two members shall be appointed by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of Georgia, and the Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals as further set
forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection. The members of the council shall be
individuals with significant experience working in the criminal justice system
or who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the provision of adequate and
effective representation of indigent defendants.
The
These
members shall serve terms of four
years;
provided, however, that the members appointed from the even-numbered judicial
administration circuits shall serve initial terms of six years and thereafter
shall serve terms of four
years;
(2)
The members appointed pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be
chosen so that each of the ten judicial administration districts in the state is
represented and so that each appointing authority shall rotate the particular
judicial administration district for which he or she is responsible for
appointing. The appointments shall be as follows:
(A)
For the initial appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 1 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
2;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 3 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 4;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 5 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 6;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 7 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 8; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 9 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 10;
(B)
For the first subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 3 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
4;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 5 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 6;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 7 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 8;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 9 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 10; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 1 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 2;
(C)
For the second subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 5 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
6;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 7 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 8;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 9 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 10;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 1 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 2; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 3 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 4;
(D)
For the third subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 7 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
8;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 9 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 10;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 1 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 2;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 3 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 4; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 5 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 6; and
(E)
For the fourth subsequent council appointments:
(i)
The Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial administration
district 9 and one person who resides in judicial administration district
10;
(ii)
The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one person who resides in judicial
administration district 1 and one person who resides in judicial administration
district 2;
(iii)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one person who resides
in judicial administration district 3 and one person who resides in judicial
administration district 4;
(iv)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 5 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 6; and
(v)
The Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals shall appoint one person who
resides in judicial administration district 7 and one person who resides in
judicial administration district 8.
All
subsequent appointments shall continue on, with the entire cycle starting over
again as specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
(3)
In addition,
there
the eleventh
member shall be one circuit public
defender who shall serve on the council. After the initial appointments as set
forth in paragraph (4) of this subsection, the circuit public defender to serve
on the council shall be elected by a majority vote of all the circuit public
defenders. The circuit public defender councilmember shall serve terms of two
years;
(4)
All initial appointments shall be made to become members of the council on July
1, 2003, and their successors shall become members of the council on July 1
following their appointment.
The initial
appointees from the even-numbered judicial administration circuits shall serve
until June 30, 2009. Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection, the initial member representing
the circuit public defenders shall be made by the Supreme Court of Georgia. The
person representing the circuit defender position on the initial council shall
be engaged on a full-time basis in the provision of criminal defense to the
indigent;
(5)
Any vacancy for a member appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subsection shall be filled by the appointing
authority, and
such appointee shall serve the balance of the vacating
membeŕs
unexpired term; and
(6)
Any vacancy for a member appointed pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection
shall be the successor to the circuit public defender as set forth in subsection
(d) of Code Section 17-12-20.
(c)
In making these appointments, the appointing authorities shall seek to identify
and appoint persons who represent a diversity of backgrounds and experience and
shall solicit suggestions from the State Bar of Georgia, state and local bar
associations, the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the councils
representing the various categories of state court judges in Georgia, and the
Prosecuting
Attorneyś
Council of the State of Georgia, as well as from the public and other interested
organizations and individuals within the state. The appointing authorities
shall not appoint a prosecuting attorney as defined in paragraph (6) of Code
Section 19-13-51, any employee of a prosecuting
attorneýs
office, or an employee of the Prosecuting
Attorneyś
Council of the State of Georgia to serve on the council.
(d)
This Code section shall become effective on July 1, 2003, for purposes of making
the initial appointments to the
council.∀
SECTION
4.
Said
title is further amended by striking subsection (c) of Code Section 17-12-8,
relating to submission to and ratification by the General Assembly of standards
having a fiscal impact, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
∀(c)
The initial minimum standards promulgated by the council pursuant to this Code
section which are determined by the General Oversight Committee for the Georgia
Public Defender Standards Council to have a fiscal impact shall be submitted by
the council to the General Assembly at the regular session for 2005 and shall
become effective only when ratified by joint resolution of the General Assembly
and upon the approval of the resolution by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval. The power of the council to promulgate such initial
minimum standards shall be deemed to be dependent upon such ratification;
provided, however, the minimum standards promulgated by the council shall be
utilized as a guideline prior to ratification. Any subsequent amendments or
additions to the initial minimum standards promulgated by the council pursuant
to this Code section which are determined by the General Oversight Committee for
the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council to have a
significant
fiscal impact shall be ratified at the next regular session of the General
Assembly and shall become effective only when ratified by joint resolution of
the General Assembly and upon the approval of the resolution by the Governor or
upon its becoming law without such
approval.∀
SECTION
5.
Said
title is further amended by striking subsection (a) of Code Section 17-12-24,
relating to guidelines for determining indigency, and inserting in lieu thereof
the following:
∀(a)
The council shall establish
guidelines
standards
for determining the financial eligibility of persons claiming indigence, and the
circuit public defender and any other person or entity providing indigent
defense services shall use the
guidelines
standards
to determine the financial eligibility of any person or juvenile arrested,
detained, or charged in any manner that would entitle him or her to
representation under this article.
Any person
claiming indigence shall not be denied legal representation on the basis of the
persońs
failure to pay the application fee required by Code Section
15-21A-6.∀
SECTION
6.
Said
title is further amended by striking subsection (b) of Code Section 17-12-26,
relating to the budget of the council, and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
∀(b)
The budget of the council shall include the budget of all circuit public
defenders and other offices and entities, including conflict defender offices
and appointed attorneys providing indigent defense representation under the
authority of this article and the
multicounty
public defender office
Office of the
Georgia Capital Defender and the office of
the mental health
advocate.∀
SECTION
7.
Said
title is further amended by striking Code Section 17-12-32, relating to
contracting with the Department of Administrative Services for personnel paid by
local governments, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
∀17-12-32.
The
governing authority of any county or municipality within the judicial circuit
which provides additional personnel for the office of circuit public defender
may contract with the
Department
of Administrative Services
council
to provide such additional personnel in the same manner as is provided for state
paid personnel in this article. Any such personnel shall be considered state
employees and shall be entitled to the same fringe benefits as other state paid
personnel employed by the circuit public defender pursuant to this article. The
governing authority of such county or municipality shall transfer to the
department
council
such funds as may be necessary to cover the compensation, benefits, travel, and
other expenses for such
personnel.∀
SECTION
8.
Said
title is further amended by striking Code Section 17-12-124, relating to the
budget for the Office of the Georgia Capital Defender, and inserting in lieu
thereof the following:
∀17-12-124.
The
council shall prepare an annual budget showing all anticipated expenses of the
office for the following fiscal year, which shall be the same as the fiscal year
of this state. The budget shall be submitted by the capital defender to the
council and for Fiscal Year 2005
and
thereafter shall include the proposed
budget for representation of all indigent persons accused of a capital felony
for which the death penalty is or is likely to be
sought.∀
SECTION
9.
Code
Section 42-8-34.1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
requirements for revocation of probated or suspended sentence, is amended by
adding a new subsection to read as follows:
∀(h)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, an alleged violation
of probation for failure to pay the application fee pursuant to Code Section
15-21A-6 shall not serve as a sole basis for a probation revocation and the
court shall not revoke probation for such failure to
pay.∀
SECTION
10.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
11.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.