Bill Summary

• Protects the Division of Public Defender Services from allotment reductions by requiring the Governor to notify the Chief Public Defender at least five days before proposing any cuts, with a two-thirds committee vote required to reject proposed reductions.

• Establishes indigency-based fee waivers across multiple criminal diversionary programs (drug education, alcohol education, hate crimes diversion, school violence prevention, and family violence education programs) for persons eligible for appointed counsel under section 51-296.

• Simplifies fee waiver procedures by eliminating the requirement for affidavits of indigency and Court Support Services Division confirmation, replacing it with a direct eligibility standard tied to appointed counsel eligibility.

• Extends fee waiver protections to probation-related program costs for both adults in Superior Court criminal cases and children in juvenile matters when their parents or guardians qualify for indigent counsel.

• All sections take effect immediately upon passage.