AZ HB2415

Establishes the state aid for juvenile dependency proceedings fund to provide state aid to county public defenders, legal defenders, and contract indigent defense counsel for processing juvenile dependency cases.

Designates the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to administer the fund, which is continuously appropriated and exempt from lapsing appropriations under section 35-190.

Requires the commission to distribute fund monies to each county by September 1 of each fiscal year based on a formula using the three-year average of total juvenile dependency case filings in each county divided by the statewide three-year average.

Requires county boards of supervisors to separately account for the monies and expend them only for juvenile dependency proceedings purposes, with the county treasurer investing the monies and crediting earned interest back to the fund.

Appropriates $1,500,000 from the state general fund in fiscal year 2018-2019 to establish the state aid for juvenile dependency proceedings fund.