For the operation of the committee for public counsel services, as authorized by
chapter 211D of the General Laws; provided, that the committee shall maintain a system in which not less than 20 per cent of indigent clients shall be represented by public defenders; provided further, that the committee shall provide a report to the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means, no later than November 14, 2024, that shall include, but not be limited to, the expected surplus or deficiency for fiscal year 2024 of items
0321-1500,
0321-1510 and
0321-1520; and provided further, that the committee shall submit a report to the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means, no later than November 14, 2024, that shall include, but not be limited to, the following: in a cumulative manner, compared with data from fiscal years 2022 and 2023, (i) the number of cases handled by the committee, delineated by public defender and private bar advocate representation; (ii) the average number of hours spent per case by public defenders; (iii) the number of cases assigned to private bar advocates; (iv) the average number of hours billed by private bar advocates by type of case; (v) the number of public defenders currently employed by the committee and the total number employed by the committee at the end of the prior fiscal year, delineated by type of case and geographic location; (vi) the number of public defender vacancies to be filled; (vii) the average cost for public defender services rendered per case, delineated by type of case and geographic location in the prior fiscal year; (viii) the total number of support staff, investigators, attorneys in charge and management personnel currently employed by the committee and the total number employed by the committee at the end of each fiscal year for the previous two fiscal years; (ix) the average cost for private bar advocate services rendered per case, delineated by type of case and geographic location; (x) the billable hours of private counsel, delineated by travel time, time spent in court, including wait time and trial preparation time, including interview time, investigating time and research time; (xi) any changes to the private bar billing system; and (xii) a summary of all spending for psychologists, psychiatrists and investigators with the total number of hours billed, the number of unique vendors and the average number of counsel fees paid to the courts by clients for services rendered, delineated by type of case and geographic location
