BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office and Public Defenders were both at the Capitol on Wednesday, saying they don't have enough money for their offices.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 59, sponsored by State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, through committee, requiring money to be allocated to the Public Defender's Office.

Still, some aren't so sure that mandating city-parish spending is the right way to fix the problem.

District Attorney Hillar Moore sat next to Marcelle and Chief Public Defender Kyla Romanach in front of Wednesday's Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice. The group echoed that current funding systems for the public defender's office aren't enough to manage case loads and pay attorneys.

Currently, municipalities are required to fund DAs' offices, but not public defenders' offices, leaving them asking for more money every year.

"I can't hire people if I don't know if I'm going to get any local funding next year," Romanach said.

The low funding and staffing affect those moving through the justice system as well. Checo Yancy, who was formerly incarcerated, works with Voice of the Experienced, an advocacy group for people like himself.

"Everyone needs effective counsel," Yancy said.

Romanach says that's what this legislation will provide and ensure: where there's a prosecution, there will also be a defense.

None of the mayors in East Baton Rouge Parish attended the committee hearing.

Central Mayor Wade Evans said he doesn't support the legislation.

"It's bad government to not address the root cause of the problem, which is adequately funding the constitutional office," Evans said.