Indigent Defense

Indigent defense expenditures are one of the major uncontrollable cost drivers in county budgets. The state should fully fund this unfunded mandate.

Key Points

Texas counties are responsible for the costs of appointed counsel for indigent defendants.
Counties are authorized to deliver indigent defense services through a system that best meets local needs.
Providing court appointed counsel for indigent defendants is a major uncontrollable expense in county budgets.
Since passage of the Fair Defense Act, indigent defense costs have increased 228% from $91.4 million in 2001 to $299.9 million in 2019.
In FY 2019, the state funded only about $28.5 million of the total statewide indigent defense costs, while counties contributed approximately $271.4 million (about 90% of the total costs).
Additional state funding in the next legislative session would assist counties and their taxpayers in offsetting the costs of this significant unfunded mandate.