In 1972 when Kentucky's state-wide public defender system was established the hourly rates were $20 per hour for out-of-court work and $30 per hour for in-court work with a $500 maximum for a misdemeanor case and $1,000 maximum for a felony case. The statutory rates today are $25 in-court and $35 out-of-court. The statutory maximums of $500 for a misdemeanor and $1,250 for a felony were eliminated by HB 337 in 1998. The following indicates what the 1972 hourly rates and case maximums would be in various years if they had kept pace with inflation. From 1972-1997 the inflation rate was 284.5%.
 

1972	1992	1994	1995	1996	1997
$ 20	$ 62.27	$ 71.06	$72.96	$ 75.12	$ 76.89
$  30	$ 100.90	$ 106.58	$ 109.44	$ 112.68	$ 115.33
$ 500	$ 1681.80	$ 1776.40	$ 1824.00	$ 1877.99	$ 1922.25
$ 1000	$ 3363.59	$ 3552.80	$ 3648.00	$ 3755.98	$ 3844.50

In 1998, HB 337 authorized DPA to set hourly rates and case maximums. In 1998, the rate for a capital case is $50 per hour with a maximum fee of $ 12,500.