FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 14, 2017
Time Requested: 02:01 PM |
| Agency: |
Public Defender Services |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2384 |
Introduced |
SB315 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
|
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0226
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Neither Program nor Fund
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The legislation proposes an increase of thirty (30) dollars in the hourly rate of compensation for attorneys in private practice who are appointed by the circuit courts to represent indigent parties in child abuse and neglect proceedings or who are appointed to act as guardians ad litem for the children involved in such proceedings. Public Defender Services (“PDS”) calculates that the increase in expenditures from general revenue during a fiscal year if the legislation is enacted would be $5,479,950.
The legislation also proposes that attorneys who attend the eight hours of training over a two-year period that is required for such representation be compensated at the rate of ninety-five (95) dollars an hour for attending the training. PDS estimates that the total amount to be expended from general revenue in a fiscal year for such compensation would be $89,300.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2017
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2018
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
5,569,250 |
556,920 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
556,920 |
556,920 |
0 |
| 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):
In Fiscal Year 2016, 182,665 hours of service were reported as constituting representation in child abuse and neglect proceedings. See Public Defender Services Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2016 (“2016 AR”), p. 72. The total compensation paid for the hours of service was $8,851,748. See 2016 AR, p. 52.
The legislation proposes an increase of thirty (30) dollars in the hourly rates of compensation for the services of an attorney in child abuse and neglect proceedings, including services performed as guardian ad litem for children involved in such proceedings. Based on the reported hours of services related to such proceedings in Fiscal Year 2016, the increase in compensation to the attorneys during a fiscal year would be $5,479,950.
With respect to the payment for the eight hours of training, PDS does not currently compensate attorneys for time expended in continuing legal education. PDS provides at a subsidized cost continuing legal education programs, but it is the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia which provides training specifically related to child abuse and neglect proceedings. Accordingly, PDS does not have any information related to the number of attorneys who take such training.
The hours of service reported by court-appointed counsel relating to child abuse and neglect proceedings represents 38.06% of the total hours of service reported by court-appointed counsel. See 2016 AR, p. 52. PDS processed claims for payment from six hundred and sixteen (“616”) attorneys in Fiscal Year 2016. Using the percentage of 38.06%, two hundred and thirty-five (235) attorneys might require such training. Assuming four hours of training annually, the total hours of training would be nine hundred and forty (940) hours. At ninety-five (95) dollars an hour, the total additional funds to be expended from general revenue for compensation to court-appointed attorneys attending such training would be $89,300.
Memorandum
The legislation also increases the maximum level of compensation in a child abuse and neglect proceeding from three thousand (3,000) dollars to five thousand (5,000) dollars. Fees can exceed the statutory maximum if the appointing court finds that good cause has been shown, which is routinely found. This increase should not have any impact, therefore, on the calculations in this fiscal note because, again, exceeding the statutory limits does not generally result in the nonpayment of an attorney’s claim for fees.
The legislation references the provisions of the West Virginia Code relating to training requirements for representation in child abuse and neglect proceedings as section two, article six, chapter forty-nine of the Code, W. Va. Code §49-6-2. This code section was recently repealed and the provisions are codified in present code as section six hundred and one, article four, chapter forty-nine of the Code, W. Va. Code §49-4-601.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Dana F. Eddy
Email Address: Dana.F.Eddy@wv.gov