"Georgia House approves indigent defense measure," is written by Dave Williams for the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Georgia lawmakers created a statewide indigent system nine years ago for fear of being sued.
On Monday, the Georgia House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the system’s source of funding for the same reason.
Lawmakers voted 164-1 to ask Georgia voters this fall whether the revenue from court fees should be dedicated to legal services for defendants too poor to afford their own lawyers.
A constitutional amendment is required because under the current Georgia Constitution, all revenues raised by the state must go into the general fund budget.
And:
Faced with tight budgets during the Great Recession, Georgia governors and lawmakers have diverted revenues raised by court fees away from indigent defense to help prop up the general fund, said Rep. Rich Golick, R-Smyrna, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (Non-civil) and the amendment’s chief sponsor. As a result, the system is being under-funded, he said.
Earlier coverage of Georgia indigent defense issues begins at the link.
Comments