(a) Each local tripartite governing committee shall propose a plan for the establishment of a state funded local indigent defense program and shall submit the plan to the Georgia Indigent Defense Council for funding.

(b) After approval of the plan by the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, the committee shall implement and manage the local program within the guidelines approved and promulgated by the Supreme Court.

(c) The plan proposed by the local committee shall comply with the guidelines approved and promulgated by the Supreme Court and shall provide for:

(1) The independence of counsel;

(2) Reasonable early entry by counsel into a case;

(3) A procedure to determine whether or not persons seeking assistance are eligible as indigents;

(4) A procedure for determining that attorneys representing indigents are competent in the practice of criminal law; and

(5) A rate of compensation and schedule of allowable expenses to be paid for indigent defense services.

(d) The Georgia Indigent Defense Council shall include in its response to a proposal from a local tripartite governing committee a budget statement which specifies the maximum cost to the county or counties participating in operating the proposed program, such budget to be made binding by contract between the council and the county or counties participating, upon acceptance by the county or counties.

(e) Each committee shall meet at least semiannually and at such other times and places as it deems necessary or convenient to perform its duties. Each committee shall annually elect a chairman and such other officers as it deems necessary and shall adopt such rules for the transaction of its business as it desires. The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of a committee. Reimbursement shall be paid from funds made available to the local program for that purpose.