1. A. The chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System shall be the Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the Board and serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Executive Director shall be an attorney who has been licensed to practice law in this state for at least four (4) years preceding the appointment and shall have experience in the representation of persons accused or convicted of crimes.
2. B. The Executive Director shall perform administrative functions which serve the Board.

3. C. The Executive Director shall have the following powers and duties:

   1. 1. To prepare and administer a master budget to be submitted to the Board and to process claims for the System, subject to approval by the Board;
   2. 2. To enter into contracts, as necessary, with individuals to provide counsel in cases in which the defendant is indigent and unable to employ counsel and to approve or disapprove the provisions of any such contract;
   3. 3. To review and approve or disapprove claims for expenditures of monies from whatever source, on a monthly basis;
   4. 4. To take such actions as shall strengthen the criminal justice system in this state;
   5. 5. To provide a professional organization for the education, training, and coordination of technical efforts of all attorneys representing indigent criminal defendants;
   6. 6. To maintain and improve defense efficiency and effectiveness in guaranteeing effective representation for the indigent criminal defendant;
   7. 7. To employ personnel as necessary to carry out the duties imposed upon the System by law;
   8. 8. To solicit and maintain a current list of attorneys licensed to practice law in this state who are willing to accept court appointments and who meet any other qualifications as set by the Board;
   9. 9. To solicit and maintain a separate list of persons eligible for appointment to capital cases, who meet the qualifications set by the Board;
   10. 10. To establish reasonable hourly rates of compensation for attorneys appointed in accordance with the Indigent Defense Act in any county, subject to approval by the Board;
   11. 11. To establish maximum caseloads for attorneys employed by the System, subject to approval by the Board;
   12. 12. To reduce caseloads through reassignment of cases to private attorneys, as necessary;
   13. 13. To approve the sharing of office space, equipment, or personnel among the separate indigent defense programs within the System;
   14. 14. To prepare and submit to the Board an annual report of expenditures of funds, cases, and status of cases for the preceding fiscal year, and file that report with the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and the Presiding Judge of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals;
   15. 15. To conduct regional or statewide conferences and training seminars for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Indigent Defense Act;
   16. 16. To serve in an advisory capacity to the indigent defenders and defense attorneys who represent indigents pursuant to contract or who volunteer to represent indigents of this state;
   17. 17. To gather and disseminate information to indigent defenders relative to their official duties, including, but not limited to, changes in the law relative to their office;
   18. 18. To recommend additional legislation necessary to upgrade the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System or to improve the justice system; and

   19. 19. To operate a cost effective system by:

       1. a. implementing procedures to track System expenditures to show costs by case and client and to track time and expenses by attorney if the attorney is employed by the System,
       2. b. adopting written policies regarding when employees are to be in travel status and making efforts to pool trips to reduce costs, and
       3. c. reviewing assignment of indigency status to identify clients who have available resources and collecting costs of representation when feasible.

4. D.

   1. 1. The Executive Director is hereby authorized to develop, establish, and maintain lists of approved contractors that will be available to provide expert services. An attorney appointed in accordance with the Indigent Defense Act may select and have preapproved an expert or experts from the list of experts maintained by the Executive Director. An attorney may request to contract for expert services from one or more experts not on the list only when there is no expert on the list capable of providing the specific services needed and only with the prior approval of the Executive Director. The list shall include any expert who desires to furnish services to the agency and who has filed a schedule of fees for services with, and on a form approved by, the Executive Director. An attorney may agree to deviate from the schedule of fees only with the prior written approval of the Executive Director.
   2. 2. Attorneys appointed in accordance with the Indigent Defense Act may request and must have preapproved investigative or other nonexpert witness services from the Executive Director on a form provided by the Executive Director. The Director may, subject to funds budgeted and available to the System, authorize such services at a reasonable hourly rate of compensation.
   3. 3. Services obtained under this section may be obtained as sole source contracts and are specifically exempt from the requirements of soliciting no less than three quotations found in paragraph 7 of subsection A of Section 85.45j of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
5. E. Each individual performing the services provided for in subsection D of this section may, with the approval of the Executive Director, be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses up to the amount permitted by the State Travel Reimbursement Act.'
6. F. Requests for expenses not included in subsections D and E of this section shall require preapproval by the Executive Director.
7. G. If there is a vacancy or extended absence in the Office of Executive Director, the Board shall perform the duties or appoint an interim director to perform such duties until a new Executive Director is appointed.

Laws 1991, c. 238, § 5, eff. July 1, 1991; Amended by Laws 1992, c. 303, § 5, eff. July 1, 1992; Amended by Laws 1994, c. 328, § 3, eff. July 1, 1994; Amended by Laws 1996, c. 301, § 4, eff. July 1, 1996; Amended by Laws 1997, c. 326, § 1, eff. November 1, 1997 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 1999, c. 197, § 1, emerg. eff. May 24, 1999 (superseded document available ).