Below is more information about the agency, including who leads it, how many staff the department employs and what it does.
FAST FACTS
Budget: Gov. Ron DeSantis has recommended a total budget of $1.3 billion for the commission for Fiscal Year 2025-26. For FY 2024-25, the estimated IT budget is $49.3 million.
Leadership: Alton L. “Rip” Colvin Jr., is the commission’s executive director. Mausumi Das is the commission's IT director.
Staff: According to the governor’s recommendations, the agency has 10,575 positions.
MORE ABOUT THE AGENCY
The JAC was created in 1965 after the U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, which required states to provide legal counsel to indigent defendants in criminal cases.
“Early on, the JAC provided administrative services to the state courts, state attorneys, public defenders and court reporters,” according to a document on the commission’s website.
Now, the commission provides administrative support, financial oversight, financial compliance, financial reporting and other services for offices of the State Attorney, Public Defender, Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program.
DeSantis is recommending the following funding for JAC IT:
- $80,000 for IT infrastructure replacement for the third regional conflict counsel
- $77,000 for IT critical needs for the commission’s executive direction and support services
- $43,182 for IT critical needs for the second regional conflict counsel
- $33,552 for IT critical needs for the middle regional counsel
- $16,752 for online Westlaw access for legal research for the fourth regional conflict counsel
- $15,492 for IT critical needs for the southern regional counsel
- $14,763 for software maintenance for the northern regional counsel
