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Capital Defender Office 
                          Adjusted      Executive   Legislative                       
                           Approp.        Request       Approp.
                           2000-01        2001-02       2001-02      Change

STATE OPERATIONS
  General Fund          15,546,500      14,706,000   14,706,000          0 
  Total for 
  STATE OPERATIONS:     15,546,500      14,706,000   14,706,000          0
Agency Mission

The Capital Defender Office was established in conjunction with the 1995 death penalty statute and is responsible for providing legal, investigative, and expert services to indigent persons accused of or likely to be prosecuted for capital murder.

Year-to-Year Change

The Executive proposes an overall net decrease of $840,500 or 5.41 percent associated with the elimination of four unfilled positions in the Capital Defender Office.

Legislative Proposals

The Assembly rejects the Governor's proposal to eliminate four unfilled positions. The Assembly affirms that, pursuant to the Capital Defender Statute, the Capital Defender Office is governed by a board of directors and the Capital Defender has the authority, in consultation with its board, to hire attorneys, investigators and other staff as the Capital Defender and the Board deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of the Capital Defender Office, within the amounts appropriated therefore by the Legislature.