A bill that AWC supports was amended to specifically include cities in the funding mechanism.

HB 1592 bill shifts a portion of public defense funding onto the state, aiming to relieve public defense financial pressure on local governments, while ensuring adequate legal representation for indigent defendants.

As amended to help cities, HB 1592 now includes:

• Cost sharing between cities and the state: Reallocates funding responsibility for public defense services between the state and cities so that beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2026;
  • 50% public defense costs for cities: The state is responsible for 50% of the cost of public defense services based on an average of public defense services paid for by eligible cities for the previous five years looking back from FY 2024; and
  • 100% over the five-year average: The state is responsible for all public defense services costs that exceed the five-year average.
• OPD appropriation: Requires the state to appropriate enough funds to the Office of Public Defense (OPD) to help comply with the reallocation of funding responsibility between the state and cities.
• Funding based on caseloads: Eliminates the grants-based distribution of city moneys and instead requires the OPD to distribute the city moneys to eligible cities on a pro rata basis based upon the annual number of misdemeanor criminal cases for which a public defender was assigned, and which were filed in courts under a city's jurisdiction or for which a city is financially responsible.

The bill also would require the state to pay for all of the increased costs due to any new caseload limits. The Washington State Supreme Court has still not issued its decision on the proposed court rules implementing new caseload limits following last fall’s hearings on the proposed rules.

County-supported public defense funding bill gets first hearing

February 3, 2025

HB 1592, sponsored by Rep. Strom Peterson (D–Edmonds) seeks to boost public defense funding for counties and has a hearing this week. It also has a companion bill, SB 5404, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D–Tacoma).

This bill shifts a portion (50%) of public defense funding from counties onto the state, aiming to relieve public defense financial pressure on local governments, while ensuring adequate legal representation for indigent defendants.

The bill also would require the state to pay for all of the increased costs due to new caseload limits. The Washington State Supreme Court has not issued its decision on the proposed court rules implementing new caseload limits following last fall’s hearings on the proposed rules.

This Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC)-supported legislation is a good step toward improving access to indigent legal defense services for our communities and addressing concerns about increased costs to local governments if caseload limits are reduced. We are working with the counties and Legislature to expand the bill so that it provides more funding for cities. We encourage cities to support the bill.

Dates to remember

HB 1592 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee on February 4 at 10:30 am.