The governor’s proposed budget may provide a boost to a bill working its way through the Senate that would fund public defender offices and bring the state into compliance with constitutional mandates.
The current version of Senate Bill 371 – sponsored by Sens. Lisa Baker, R-Dallas, and Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia – would establish an Indigent Defense Advisory Committee to determine county standards and a grant program to fund services. Both would fall under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
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