A bill headed to Gov. Jeff Landry’s desk would guarantee Baton Rouge’s public defender $1 million a year from the city-parish budget, but its author, State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, says one of the measure’s biggest accomplishments never made it into the legislation.
“What you didn’t see in the bill, is what we also were able to accomplish with the cities of Central, St. George and Baker,” Marcelle said.
Separate from the money from the city-parish, the cities of St. George, Central and Baker have agreed to contribute a total of $400,000 to the public defender’s office. The deal comes amid broader debates about how parishwide constitutional offices should be paid for after St. George’s incorporation…