TX HB4221

Changes the Texas Indigent Defense Commission's authority over indigent defense policies and standards from permissive ("may") to mandatory ("must"), requiring the commission to establish comprehensive standards for legal representation

Requires performance standards for appointed counsel, qualification standards for attorneys representing indigent defendants (including those with mental illness or noncitizen status), and standards for representing indigent parents and children in child welfare cases

Mandates standards for appropriate caseloads, indigency determination, compensation of appointed counsel, and operation of assigned counsel programs, public defender offices, and managed assigned counsel programs

Requires policies governing child representation offices, parent representation offices, and contract defender programs consistent with nationally recognized standards

Directs the Texas Indigent Defense Commission to revise its existing policies as soon as practicable to comply with the new mandatory requirements, effective September 1, 2025