FISCAL NOTE

Date Requested: March 15, 2021
Time Requested: 11:48 AM
Agency: Public Defender Services
CBD Number: Version: Bill Number: Resolution Number:
2031 Introduced HB3155
CBD Subject: Courts


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. Currently, Public Defender Services’ governing statute provides that attorneys may be reimbursed for the expenses of an investigator at the rate of $30 an hour. W. Va. Code §29-21-13a(l)(7). This legislation would increase the allowable reimbursement to $65 an hour. Notably, this hourly rate is more than attorneys are compensated for out-of-court work, i.e., $60. W. Va. Code §29-21-13a(j)(1). PDS would anticipate an increase in the reimbursement of investigative expenses by the amount of $671,765 annually if the legislation passed.



Fiscal Note Detail


Effect of Proposal Fiscal Year
2021
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
2022
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation)
1. Estmated Total Cost 671,765 671,765 671,765
Personal Services 0 0 0
Current Expenses 671,765 671,765 671,765
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. The fee of an investigator is an expense that Public Defender Services reimburses at a rate of $30 an hour if approved by the court. The Executive Director of Public Defender Services has used his statutory discretion to permit the submission of these expenses to the agency for direct payment to the service provider in recognition that most panel attorneys who take court appointments cannot afford to pay such expenses out of pocket and then await reimbursement until after the case has been closed and the attorney’s voucher has been submitted to the agency. W. Va. Code §29-21-13a(h). In FY2017, the total amount of payments related to investigative services, either to the attorney or directly to the investigator, was $316,225. In FY2018, the total amount was $295,236. In FY2019, the total amount was $317,248. Based on these three fiscal years, the average expenditure by Public Defender Services on an annual basis has been $309,569 for investigative services. The figures for FY2020 are not to be used for this analysis due to the anomaly of the pandemic and the resulting judicial emergencies delaying the prosecution of cases. The proposed increase in the hourly rate for reimbursement from $30 to $65 is a 217% increase. Accordingly, the increase in annual expenditures would be 217% of the three-year average of $309,569 which is $671,765.



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. Effective July 1, 2019, the rate of compensation of attorneys for out-of-court work was increased by 33-1/3%, from $45 to $60. A 217% increase in the hourly rate for investigators means that investigators would be compensated higher than attorneys for out-of-court work. The resulting irony could be attorneys submitting their investigative work as an investigate expense rather than as a legal service.



    Person submitting Fiscal Note: Dana F. Eddy
    Email Address: Dana.F.Eddy@wv.gov