To "thunderous applause," Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue today signed into law a bill that overhauls the state's indigent defense system .

Two years in the making, the Georgia Indigent Defense Act seeks to ensure equal justice for poor people facing criminal charges. Public defender offices will be set up in each of the state's 49 judicial districts, replacing an overwhelmed system that has been judged incapable of protecting the rights of indigents.

There's only one catch: No source of funding has been obtained for the bill.

The state now hands out $6.3 million in grants to fund county programs, a fraction of the overall cost. During this past General Assembly, lawmakers approved a $2 million increase, to $8.3 million next year. But the new public defender system will cost substantially more than that. Perdue estimated the system could cost $50 million to $70 million a year.

Still, the Governor and legislators are promising to find funding:

"For too long, we have turned our heads away from a real and growing statewide issue," Perdue said of Georgia's indigent defense system. "We have not provided the resources and tools necessary to uphold our moral obligation of providing criminal defendants with adequate legal counsel."