132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1796		LR 2473(02)
	An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services to Clarify the Types of Cases for Which the Commission Is Responsible for Providing Counsel
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Judiciary
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
			FY 2025-26	FY 2026-27	Projections  FY 2027-28	Projections  FY 2028-29
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$59,826	$59,826	$59,826	$59,826
Appropriations/Allocations
	General Fund		$59,826	$59,826	$59,826	$59,826
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The Judicial Branch will require ongoing General Fund appropriations of $159,826 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $159,826 in fiscal year 2026-27 to implement the recommendations outlined in the bill. The Judicial Branch will be responsible for paying reasonable compensation to and reimbursing the reasonable expenses of an attorney if a court appoints an attorney to represent a party who has a right to counsel at public expense, a minor or an indigent party in a proceeding under the Maine Uniform Probate Code.  The average number of adoption, guardianship and termination of parental rights cases where counsel was court-appointed between 2020 and 2024 was 52.8 cases per year.
	The bill includes General Fund deappropriations to the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services of $100,000 beginning in fiscal year 2025-26 for attorney's fees for certain court proceedings where the Judiciary will appoint counsel for indigent defendants.