(Statehouse) – Legislation authored by State Rep. Alex Zimmerman (R-North Vernon) dealing with public defender residency has passed the House of Representatives.
Zimmerman says House Bill 1025 would help address Indiana’s attorney shortage.
“Public defenders and prosecutors, especially, those offices are having trouble getting qualified attorneys to work for them. So what this bill does is continue the progress we’ve made on removing residency restrictions for other legal offices such as city attorney, and just removes those residency restrictions on public defenders so that they don’t have to live in the county in which they serve,” said Zimmerman on Tuesday’s edition of WRBI’s The Daily Pod.
Zimmerman says the legislation stems from issues in Marion County, which has a residency rule.
“And that’s caused quite a problem for hiring – not just public defenders and the public defender’s office but also staff,” he added. “Folks might not want to live in Marion County but they may want to work in Marion County. The county’s residency restriction should not inhibit somebody from living where they want to live and working where they want to work.”
The bill moves on to the Senate for consideration.
Zimmerman represents House District 67, which includes portions of Ripley, Decatur, Jefferson, and Jennings counties.
