Overview

• The supplemental budget raises bar advocate rates from $65 to $75 on August 1 and to $85 on August 1, 2026.
• Lawmakers allocated $40 million to the Committee for Public Counsel Services to recruit about 320 additional staff public defenders by fiscal 2027.
• Private attorneys had demanded a $35-an-hour boost this year and $25 next, criticizing the legislative offer as inadequate.
• Under the Lavallee protocol, judges have dismissed over 120 criminal cases and released hundreds of defendants after they went more than 45 days without counsel.
• New contract terms warn that any future collective refusal to accept assignments could be treated as an antitrust violation.