North Dakota Public Defenders see Budget Increase With New Biennium

Travis Finck. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota)

(North Dakota Monitor) – New budgets for state agencies and commissions in North Dakota went into effect July 1 and one commission will see a 20% increase over the next two years.

The commission has a budget of nearly $27.2 million through the 2025-27 biennium, a $4.5 million budget increase over its 2023 budget.

Travis Finck, executive director the Legal Counsel for Indigents, said the budget increase is a step in the right direction on fair pay for attorneys that assist defendants who can’t afford to pay for a lawyer.

“We’re still not where we need to be, but we also understand the position the state is in. There was a lot of uncertainty with federal funds and obviously property tax was a big issue this session,” Finck said. “We’re really grateful to legislators. They were listening and understanding of our situation that we’re in and did commit to helping support us and our mission moving forward.”

(North Dakota Monitor) – ENTER STORY HERE. Click the image on the left to replace. Be sure to use MEDIUM size and choose left alignment. Don’t forget to also add the image in featured media and select no image.