Section 15-12-43
Compensation and expenses.
(a) The public defender shall receive a salary set by the director. The salary shall not exceed the state salary paid to a district attorney and shall be paid in the same manner as employees of the state.
(b) All salary and expenses of a public defender shall be paid by the state out of the Fair Trial Tax Fund or other funds appropriated by the Legislature for such purposes; except, that in counties authorized to impose a court cost for defender services, the county shall fund defender services from the revenues from the court cost, and the state shall pay a reasonable share of the cost of maintaining such office, such reasonable share to be determined by the director.
(Acts 1975, No. 1205, §9-106; Act 2011-678, p. 1862, §6.)