SENATE BILL NO. 62 "An Act allowing appropriations to the civil legal services fund from court filing fees." 9:24:50 AM Senator McGuire stated that although the constitution did not provide a dedicated fund [for the Alaska Legal Services Corporation], the civil legal services fund was set up to allow for appropriations and deposits by the legislature. SB 62 added language to existing statute that would allow the legislature to appropriate up to 25 percent of filing fees paid to the Alaska Court System during the previous fiscal year into the civil legal services fund. Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC) was a nonprofit association that helped seniors, children, and any Alaskan that was below 125 percent of the Alaska poverty ceiling. She drew the committee's attention to a letter in the packet from the Alaska Commission on Aging and stated that seniors were especially susceptible to fraud and identity theft, and that they needed help from the ALSC with guardianship and conservatorship issues. Due to lack of funding, ALSC was only able to help 1 out of every 5 people who called them for assistance. She mentioned the governor's "choose respect" campaign regarding domestic violence and referenced a letter in the packet from the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (ANDVSA). The letter from ANDVSA showed that women who choose to leave an abusive situation often did not have the resources to seek legal assistance and they came to ALSC for help with things like custody, temporary housing, or lease issues; the current lack of funding forced ALSC to turn away many of those families. She stressed that children were present in 80 percent of the households that had come to ALSC for assistance and stated that the legislation and ALSC's cause was important to her. 9:27:35 AM Senator McGuire stated that currently, ALSC had offices in Anchorage, Bethel, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kotzebue, Nome, and Palmer; there were only 20 attorneys servicing those locations. Appropriations to the ALSC from the legislature were at an all-time high in FY 84 at $1.2 million, but funding had since dwindled to just over $350,000. She spoke of her efforts over 12 years in the legislature to get consistent funding back into ALSC. She stated that ALSC also assisted the court system by streamlining the process and saving costs. When Alaskans come in to court without legal-council they end up being a drain on the legal system. The bill added to the existing Title 37 language and would give the legislature discretionary power to appropriate any funds it so desired from the general fund to the civil legal services fund, but it also allowed for an amount from the general fund that was up to 25 percent of the filing fees received from the Alaska Court System to be deposited into the fund. In 2011, the court fees totaled $2.6669 million; 25 percent of that figure would be $666,725. She stated that an appropriation under the operating budget would be required, but that the consistent funding would "build the office back up again". Senator Olson queried how many more lawyers the additional funding would provide. Senator McGuire stated that ALSC wanted more lawyers, but that they had not yet allocated a specific amount for that purpose. She deferred to Nikole Nelson for further explanation. 9:30:38 AM Co-Chair Stedman discussed a zero fiscal note from the Department of Law, a zero fiscal note from the Alaska Court System, and an indeterminate fiscal note from the Department of Administration, Office of Public Advocacy. NIKOLE NELSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION, responding to an earlier question by Senator Olson, stated that ALSC anticipated that the filing fees would represent about a 20 percent budget increase and would enable them to serve an additional 500 families. In response to an earlier question, she stated that ALSC's attorneys cost about $77,000 per year and indicated that this was about nine attorneys. ALSC was a nonprofit law firm that had been doing business in Alaska for the last 40 years and had made a big difference in the lives of the low income community. In the last year ALSC had been on the forefront of the fight against domestic violence and had served over 550 victims; 78 percent of these cases had children in the household. ALSC was the largest provider of civil legal services to victims of domestic violence. Over the last year ALSC had helped 600 seniors with financial and physical abuse issues, wills, probates, Power of Attorney issues, and other end of life aging issues. In the prior year ALSC had also assisted 300 disabled individuals gain access to healthcare coverage and social security benefits, and prevented homelessness for over 350 families. She related ALSC's dedication to providing service to rural Alaska and stated that over 40 percent of their clients were in rural Alaskan communities. Over the past year ALSC had provided direct representation to over 2500 families, served "countless" individuals through their website materials, and had nearly 2000 individuals attend their clinics. She indicated that ALSC staff was paid way below the market rate. She stated that a staff attorney starting for their firm in Anchorage would make about $38,000 per year, while a first year attorney general or district attorney made about $68,000 per year. She said that ALSC had a strong base of volunteer attorneys, a volunteer board, as well as widespread community support and local financial contributions which helped ALSC "stretch their dollars". 9:34:30 AM Ms. Nelson stated that the "bad news" was that the prior year ALSC had turned away hundreds of families who were seeking help regarding issues like abuse, losing their homes, and healthcare access; the cases were turned away not because they lacked merit, but because ALSC did not have the staff and resources to help. She reported that ALSC was a very effective organization and that they had been successful in 96 percent of the cases where they had represented victims of domestic violence. She related how heartbreaking it was to turn people away from services when it was known that ALSC was so effective and that attorneys could be hired well below the market rate. ALSC's client base had been growing each year and funding had not kept pace. There were an estimated 88,000 Alaskans living in poverty and an Alaska Supreme Court task force estimated that of the 88,000 impoverished Alaskans, 33,000 of them would encounter a civil legal need in a given year. She stated that the "indicators were grim" and urged the need to bridge the gap between those who had access to ALSC's services and those who were able to get them. She believed that SB 62 would go a "long way" to bridging the gap by allowing the legislature to appropriate up to 25 percent of the Alaska Court System's filing fees to ALSC. NANCY MEADE, GENERAL COUNCIL, ALASKA COURT SYSTEM, introduced herself for the record. Co-Chair Stedman queried if the filing fees that were collected were general funds. Ms. Meade responded in the affirmative and that the filing fees were deposited into the general fund. Co-Chair Stedman clarified that the fees were already general funds and were being used as general funds. Ms. Meade stated that he was correct. 9:37:43 AM FREDRICK NIELSEN, DILLINGHAM (via teleconference), spoke in support of SB 62 and related a personal story about how ALSC helped him save his house and property. SUNNY RADEBAUGH, WASILLA (via teleconference), expressed support of SB 62 and spoke about how ALSC had helped her deal with a permanent disability and other issues. 9:40:59 AM NANCY TEITJE, KETCHIKAN (via teleconference), voiced support of SB 62 and spoke about the services ALSC provided for seniors. 9:44:30 AM FRANCES DEGNAN, UNALAKLEET (via teleconference), stressed her support of SB 62 and observed the need for more lawyers. She related how necessary ALSC's services were to the remote communities of Alaska. PEGGY BROCKMAN, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), expressed support of SB 62 and told a personal story about how ALSC had helped her resolve two legal issues. 9:49:03 AM MONICA M LOONEY, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in support of SB 62. She related a personal story about being abused by her husband and how ALSC had assisted her with a divorce, child custody, and a long-term violence protective order. 9:51:58 AM SB 62 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.