07 LC 21
9267
Senate
Resolution 246
By:
Senators Wiles of the 37th, Smith of the 52nd, Johnson of the 1st and Williams
of the 19th
A
RESOLUTION
Creating
the Joint Study Committee on Indigent Defense; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
the representation of those indigent persons charged with crimes in this state
is important to ensure that such individuals are treated fairly and are afforded
all of the rights guaranteed to them by the United States and Georgia
Constitutions; and
WHEREAS,
the provision of indigent defense services is an issue which the General
Assembly has addressed on numerous occasions in the past and has attempted
several different delivery methods with varying degrees of success;
and
WHEREAS,
most recently, the General Assembly created the Georgia Public Defender
Standards Council and established state funded, circuit-wide public defenders
for the state with the intent that such programs would provide an efficient,
appropriate, and cost-effective service delivery model for indigent defense
services; and
WHEREAS,
in the short time that this program has been in existence, it is already
experiencing significant budgetary shortfalls, placing the entire program in
peril; and
WHEREAS,
significant reforms are needed to ensure the economic viability of indigent
defense services in this state to meet the obligations of the state in this
area; and
WHEREAS,
the General Assembly needs to study these issues to determine the causes for the
budgetary shortfalls in the present service delivery model and whether the
present model is best for the state or whether a more efficient system can be
devised to more economically protect the rights of indigents charged with crimes
in this state.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that there is
created the Joint Study Committee on Indigent Defense to be composed of 15
members. Six members shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Four
members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor shall be members of the Senate.
The Lieutenant Governor shall designate one of the members of the Senate to
serve as cochairperson of the committee. One member appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor shall be an attorney in this state with significant experience in
criminal defense matters and one member shall be a county commission chairperson
in this state. Six members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, five of whom shall be members of the House of Representatives.
The Speaker shall designate one of the members from the House of Representatives
to serve as cochairperson of the committee. One member appointed by the Speaker
shall be an attorney in this state with significant experience in criminal
defense matters. One member shall be a district attorney appointed by the
Prosecuting Attorneys´ Council of the State of Georgia. Two members shall
be superior court judges appointed by The Council of Superior Court Judges. The
cochairpersons shall call all meetings of the committee.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the
conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and
recommend any actions or legislation that the committee deems necessary or
appropriate. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such
times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and
effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and
purposes of this resolution. The legislative members of the committee shall
receive the allowances authorized for legislative members of interim legislative
committees but shall receive the same for not more than five days unless
additional days are authorized. The attorneys, the county commission
chairperson, the district attorneys, and the superior court judges shall not
receive any compensation for their service on the committee but shall be
reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in serving on the committee. The
funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from
the funds appropriated to the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the
event that the committee makes a report of its findings and recommendations with
suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, such report shall be made on or
before December 31, 2007. The committee shall stand abolished on December
31, 2007.