House Bill 869 requires that defense attorneys sign detailed cost estimates in advance of taking on cases; that private investigators and others hired by the defense teams give advance disclosure of their hourly rates; and that the court in the case verify "reasonable and necessary expenses'' for travel and lodging.

The law also gives the state treasurer's office the power to question bills submitted to the fund and return them to the court unpaid for further review.

The tax-supported fund was set up in 2000 after revelations that innocent men had been sentenced to death in Illinois. It was designed to ensure that all death penalty trials are properly funded, allowing defense attorneys and others to tap the fund for their trial expenses.

The push for reforms to the fund arose in response to a Post-Dispatch investigation last year that found systematic waste and abuse of the fund by attorneys and others. The newspaper documented cases in which out-of-state private investigators charged the taxpayers hundreds of dollars an hour for their time driving or flying to and from Illinois. One investigator's travel time alone cost the fund more than $11,000.