State funds legal counsel as lawmakers consider a public defender study

The law provides $27,153,882 for the commission’s expenses, including $25,104,666 from the state general fund. The money is for the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents. The appropriation covers July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.

The commission may ask the Office of Management and Budget to move money from the position pool to its main budget line. This rule applies to money appropriated to the commission in the new and vacant position pool. The commission may not spend money directly from the pool. Transfers must follow the guidelines and reporting rules in House Bill 1015.

Legislative Management must consider studying whether to place the North Dakota Public Defenders Office under the commission’s authority. The study would consider the potential effects of making the Public Defenders Office an agency under the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents. Legislative Management must report its findings and recommendations, along with any legislation needed to carry them out, to the seventieth legislative assembly. The study is for the 2025–26 interim, and the report is due to the seventieth legislative assembly.

The law lists attorneys employed by the commission as a category of state service positions. The category covers attorneys employed by the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents.