(CNN) Sen. Kamala Harris, who spent her entire legal career as a prosecutor, will introduce legislation Wednesday aimed at helping the other side of the legal scale -- publicly funded defense attorneys.

Harris' bill seeks to level the playing field between prosecutor and public defender. The bill would set workload limits for full-time public defenders and, within five years, make pay equal between public defenders and prosecutors, funded by a $250 million federal grant program. Dubbed the 'Ensuring Quality Access to Legal Defense' (EQUAL) Act, the bill also authorizes funds for training public defenders and reauthorizing student loan repayment programs.

According to a copy of Harris' bill previewed by CNN, the purpose of the legislation is "to protect the rights of defendants in criminal cases to due process and a fair trial under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution."

"After spending my career around the criminal justice system, I've seen up close how it can fail to ensure that poor defendants receive a fair trial and due process, as guaranteed to all of us in our Constitution," Harris said in a statement provided by her Senate office."All too often, our public defenders are overworked and lack sufficient resources. This makes public defense unsustainable over the long haul. And the person who suffers is the defendant, whose liberty is on the line. It's wrong, and it's the opposite of justice."

Advocates say the California Democrat's bill could help correct one of the core inequities of the criminal justice system.

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