AR SB67

Appropriates $3,973,857 from the State Central Services Fund for the Arkansas Public Defender Commission State Operations, authorizing 22 regular employees and 3 temporary/part-time extra help positions for fiscal year 2025-2026

Appropriates $35,596,803 for the Trial Public Defender Office, supporting 316 regular employees including 182 Public Defender III positions, 35 Chief Public Defender II positions, and 47 legal support specialists

Appropriates $4,780,925 for the Commission for Parent Counsel, including $3,630,231 for parent counsel reimbursements to contract with attorneys representing indigent parents in dependency-neglect cases, with authorization for 7 regular employees and 14 extra help positions

Appropriates $80,491 for the Ombudsman Program, funding 1 Public Defender Ombudsman Coordinator position

Includes special provisions allowing transfers between line items with Chief Fiscal Officer approval, exempting extra help positions from hour limitations (up to 1,800 hours), and authorizing public defender attorneys to be paid up to maximum salary grades to maintain equity with prosecutors