ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

 

HB 2044: juvenile dependency; state aid; appropriation

Sponsor: Representative Biasiucci, LD 5

Committee on Appropriations

Overview

Establishes the State Aid for Juvenile Dependency Proceedings Fund (Fund) and appropriates $2,000,000 from the state General Fund (GF) in FY 2023.

History

In juvenile court, a juvenile has a right to be represented by counsel in all proceedings that might result in detention and that involve offenses, dependency or termination of parental rights. If a juvenile, parent or guardian is found to be indigent and is entitled to counsel, the juvenile court must appoint an attorney to represent the juvenile, parent or guardian (A.R.S. § 8-221).

The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) administers the State Aid to County Attorneys Fund (A.R.S. § 11-539). ACJC distributes monies in that fund to counties by September 1 of each year according to a formula that accounts for growth in felony filings and population in the county (A.R.S. § 41-2409).

Provisions

1.   Specifies that the Office of Economic Opportunity rather than the Department of Economic Security provide ACJC with county populations. (Sec. 1)

2.   Directs ACJC to distribute monies in the fund to each eligible county by September 1 of each fiscal year based on the increase of the three-year average juvenile dependency case filings compared to FYs 2013 through 2015. (Sec. 1)

3.   Requires county boards of supervisors to separately account for monies received from the Fund. (Sec. 1)

4.   Designates Fund monies for use in providing state aid to county public defenders, legal defenders and contract indigent defense counsel for the processing of juvenile dependency cases. (Sec. 2)

5.   Provides for the continuous appropriation of monies in the Fund, which are exempt from lapsing. (Sec. 2)

6.   Provides for the State Treasurer to invest and divest monies in the Fund. (Sec. 2)

7.   Appropriates $2,000,000 from the state GF to the Fund and exempts the appropriation from lapsing in FY 2023. (Sec. 3)

8.   ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteMakes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1)

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12.                    HB 2044

13.  Initials AF/MR       Page 0 Appropriations

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