HB2955 Summary

• Restores the death penalty for first-degree murder of a peace officer killed while performing official duties, creating the Capital Crimes Litigation Act of 2023.

• Establishes the Capital Litigation Trust Fund administered by the State Treasurer to provide funding for prosecution and defense of capital cases, with all money from the abolished Death Penalty Abolition Fund transferred to it.

• Requires courts to appoint qualified trial counsel (not State Appellate Defender) for indigent defendants in capital cases and approve litigation budgets for expenses including investigators, expert witnesses, and mitigation specialists.

• Specifies compensation rates for appointed counsel at $125 per hour (adjusted annually for inflation) and establishes procedures for court review and certification of expenses before payment from the Trust Fund.

• Amends the State Appellate Defender Act to allow the State Appellate Defender to provide support services (investigators, experts, mitigation specialists) to trial counsel in capital cases and to represent defendants in post-conviction proceedings.