Section 203-F - . Indigent defense advisory committee.(a) Establishment.--The Indigent Defense Advisory Committee is established within the commission.(b) Composition.--The committee shall consist of a chairperson and the following members to be selected as follows: (1) The executive director of the interbranch commission for gender, racial and ethnic fairness, or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting member.(2) The executive director of the public defender association of Pennsylvania or a designee.(3) The executive director of the Pennsylvania commission on sentencing, or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting member.(4) The executive director of the Pennsylvania district attorneys association, or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting member.(5) The commonwealth victim advocate, or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting member.(6) The executive director of the Pennsylvania chiefs of police association, or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting member.(7) The executive director of the juvenile court judges' commission, or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting member.(8) An individual appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate.(9) An individual appointed by the minority leader of the senate.(10) An individual appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.(11) An individual appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives.(12) The following members appointed by the governor: (I) One representative of public defenders appointed from a list of three qualified attorneys recommended by the defender association of Philadelphia.(II) One criminal defense attorney with public defender experience appointed from a list of three qualified individuals recommended by the Pennsylvania association of criminal defense lawyers.(III) One attorney with experience defending juveniles in delinquency proceedings, appointed from a list of three qualified individuals recommended by the juvenile defenders association of Pennsylvania.(IV) One member from the law school academic community with a background in public defense or legal services appointed from a list of qualified individuals recommended by each law school in this commonwealth.(V) One attorney with capital case indigent defense trial, appellate or postconviction experience associated with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project at Temple University Beasley School of Law.(VI) One representative of county government from the second class or second class a counties appointed from a list of three qualified individuals recommended by the county commissioners association of Pennsylvania.(VII) One representative of county government from the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth class counties appointed from a list of three qualified individuals recommended by the county commissioners association of Pennsylvania.(VIII) One advocate for current and former prison inmates appointed from a list of three individuals recommended by the Pennsylvania prison society.(13) Three judges who routinely preside over criminal or juvenile cases and are representative of the geographic and demographic diversity of the commonwealth, appointed by the chief justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court.(14) The following members appointed by the chief Justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court: (I) One county chief public defender from a list of three recommendations from the public defender association of Pennsylvania.(II) One public defender from the second class or second class a counties from a list of four recommendations from the public defender association of Pennsylvania.(III) One public defender from the third or fourth class counties from a list of four recommendations from the public defender association of Pennsylvania.(IV) Two public defenders from the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth class counties from a list of four recommendations from the public defender association of Pennsylvania.(c) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The chairperson of the committee shall be selected by the governor from among the voting members of the committee. A vice chairperson shall be designated by the chairperson of the committee from among the voting members of the committee to preside at meetings in the absence of the chairperson.(d) Term.--Members of the committee shall serve a four-year term. Members are eligible for reappointment for no more than two consecutive terms. Members appointed under subsection (b) (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) shall serve by virtue of the member's office, and the term shall be concurrent with the member's service in the office. Vacancies on the committee shall be filled by the appointing authority within 60 days of the vacancy. For the purposes of this subsection, a vacancy occurs when a member resigns from the committee or no longer holds the employment that originally qualified the member for the appointment.(e)Quorum.--A majority of the voting members of the committee shall constitute a quorum and a quorum shall be required for all actions. A vote of the majority of the voting members of the committee present shall be sufficient for all actions taken by the committee.(f) Meetings.--The committee shall hold its first meeting no later than 60 days from the effective date of this subsection. Except for the first meeting, meetings related to the implementation and operation of the indigent defense grant program established under subsection (k) and meetings related to committee duties under subsection (i)(13), members appointed under subsection (b)(4), (5) and (6) may not participate in meetings and committee work related to committee duties under subsection (i)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11) and (12), unless requested by a majority of the voting members.(g) Compensation and expenses.--The committee members shall not receive a salary or per diem allowance for serving as board members, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of duties as members of the committee. Expenses may include reimbursement of travel and living expenses while engaged in committee business.(h)Staff.--Staff support shall be made available to the committee by the executive director of the commission in order to adequately assist the committee in carrying out its duties and responsibilities.(i)Duties and responsibilities.--With the review and approval of the commission, the committee shall have the following duties and responsibilities:(1) Propose minimum standards for the delivery of effective indigent defense services throughout this commonwealth that are consistent with the requirements of the constitution of the united states and the constitution of Pennsylvania.(2) Propose minimum standards for attorneys providing indigent defense services to ensure that the ability, training and experience of the attorneys match the cases assigned to the attorneys.(3) Submit proposed standards to the Pennsylvania supreme court for adoption through a manner prescribed by the supreme court.(4) Identify, develop or provide appropriate statewide continuing legal education courses, practical training programs and skill development resources, including preservice training for newly hired public defenders, public defender staff attorneys, assigned counsel and contract public defenders and other counsel who provide indigent defense services.(5) Identify, develop or provide appropriate programs for capital case defense skills training, adult criminal defense training, juvenile delinquency defense training and management and leadership training for chief defenders and public defender office leaders and other counsel who provide indigent defense services.(6) Establish a virtual defender training library consisting of all programs approved by the committee.(7) Adopt standards by which counties shall collect and report, at a minimum, the following to the committee: (I) The caseload and workload of each attorney in the county's public defender office.(II) The caseload and workload of attorneys who are assigned to represent an indigent defendant as conflict counsel or contract counsel in the county.(III) The total expenditures and per capita spending for indigent criminal defense services in the county.(8) Adopt standards for the use of case management systems or software by county public defender offices.(9) Develop, in partnership with the administrative office of Pennsylvania courts and the juvenile court judges' commission, data requests that include, at a minimum, the following: (I) The total number of criminal cases involving a public defender by category of criminal offense and by county.(II) The total number of criminal cases adjudicated or closed involving a public defender by category of disposition type and by county.(III) The total number of juvenile delinquency cases involving a public defender by category of offense and by county.(IV) The total number of juvenile delinquency cases adjudicated or closed involving a public defender by category of disposition type and by county.(V) The total number of criminal cases with a court appointed attorney, not a public defender.(VI) The total number of juvenile delinquency cases with a court appointed attorney, not a public defender.(VII) The total number of criminal and juvenile delinquency cases appealed involving a public defender by county.(10) Partner with other departments or agencies for the collection of data related to the delivery of indigent defense services, as may be required by the committee.(11) Analyze the data to identify trends and overall effectiveness of indigent defense services in the state and the impact of the standards adopted on the effectiveness of indigent defense services in the future.(12) Prepare a report which includes, at a minimum, the actions of the committee, details of grants awarded, summaries of data collected with statistics regarding the delivery of indigent defense services and recommendations for improvement of the indigent defense system in this commonwealth. The report shall be submitted two years from the effective date of this section and biennially thereafter. The report shall be published on the commission's publicly accessible internet website. A copy of the report shall be submitted to the governor, the chair and minority chair of the judiciary committee of the senate, the chair and minority chair of the judiciary committee of the house of representatives, the chair and minority chair of the appropriations committee of the senate, the chair and minority chair of the appropriations committee of the house of representatives and the Pennsylvania supreme court.(13) Perform functions related to the direct approval and disbursement of grants under the indigent defense grant program established under subsection (k) in an advisory capacity only.(j) Confidentiality of data.--County-specific data received and collected by the committee shall remain confidential. The committee may release aggregate data at the committee's discretion when preparing and submitting its biennial report.(k) Indigent defense grant program.--The indigent defense grant program is established in the commission. The following shall apply:(1) Money available to the program shall include appropriations and transfers from the general fund, special funds, federal funds and other sources of revenue made available to the program and the commission.(2) Program funding may only be used for the grant and training activities authorized under this section, and no money may be transferred or diverted to any other purpose by administrative action.(3) The committee shall have the opportunity to review and comment on grant applications and shall ensure that grant funding or services provided under the program are geographically dispersed throughout this commonwealth.(4) Grant money allocated through the program shall be used to supplement and not supplant existing county spending on indigent defense services.(5) Nothing shall preclude a grant recipient from making an application in a subsequent year for the same purpose and amount awarded in a prior year.(6) Grants awarded shall be consistent with the standards established by the committee and the standards adopted by the Pennsylvania supreme court.(7) The commission may randomly audit and monitor grant recipients to ensure the appropriate use of grant funds and compliance with the provisions of this section.(8) The commission may use up to 10% of the money appropriated each year for the costs of supporting the committee and administering the program, which may include the costs relating to the employment of personnel, providing technical assistance to grantees and evaluating the impact of initiatives supported by the grants.Added by P.L. TBD 2023 No. 34,§ 2, eff. 12/13/2023.