AZ HB2277

Amends Arizona Revised Statutes Section 11-588 to clarify that the sole purpose of the state aid to indigent defense fund is to provide state aid for processing criminal cases through county public defenders, legal defenders, and contract indigent defense counsel.

Requires the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to distribute (rather than allocate) monies from the fund to each county annually pursuant to Section 41-2409, subsection C, for the sole purpose specified in the statute.

Mandates that all monies distributed from the fund supplement, not supplant, county funding at fiscal year 1997-1998 levels for processing criminal cases by public and contract indigent defense counsel.

Maintains existing provisions exempting fund monies from lapsing appropriations rules, allowing investment of funds, and subjecting monies from certain allocations to legislative appropriation while permitting state general fund monies to be spent without further appropriation.