State Public Defender: indigent defense: study.

Existing law authorizes the State Public Defender to represent any person financially unable to employ counsel in specified matters. The State Public Defender is authorized to employ deputies and other employees, and establish and operate offices, as they may need for the proper performance of their duties, and to contract with county public defenders, private attorneys, and nonprofit corporations for participation in the representation of eligible persons. This bill would, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, require the State Public Defender, in consultation with the California Public Defenders Association and other subject matter experts, to undertake a study to assess appropriate workloads for public defenders and indigent defense attorneys and submit a report with their findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2024.