During the budget hearing this morning for the Idaho Public Defense Commission, Executive Director Kimberly Simmons told lawmakers that 43 of Idaho’s 44 counties applied for and received grants to boost their public defense efforts; training has been provided; standards have been promulgated, more are in the works, and a workload study is in the works from Boise State University’s Idaho Policy Center.

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, co-chair of the Legislature’s joint budget committee, said, “I hear consistently from my commissioners in Bonner and Boundary County that this program’s not working for them – they want more money or they want the state to take over the system altogether. … I’m hearing a disconnect.”

Simmons said grants are being given out to counties based on a formula that’s set on the basis of what they’ve spent the prior year. “Many counties, not just Bonner and Boundary, have indicated that the current formula for the indigent defense grants is not enough for their county,” she said. “That’s true for some counties. … Some had expended all of their grant funds already halfway into their year; there were some that hadn’t even touched them yet.” The commission is working with the counties to help inform them on how the funds can be used, she said. “We try to do that throughout the year. … We listen,” to determine “what they need in terms of funding.” If the counties need more than the formula will grant them, she said, “We hope that they will tell us that,” so the commission can go back to the Legislature and ask for more.

The counties’ annual grant applications are due by May 1, she said.

The one county that didn’t apply for or receive grants, according to JFAC documents, is Benewah County. In fiscal year 2017, $4.2 million in grants were distributed to counties. Idaho is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from the ACLU charging that its public defense system for indigent defendants doesn’t meet constitutional standards; that helped spark formation of the commission in 2014 and the expansion of its duties and funding in 2016.