03/20/2009 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

HB 149 - CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES FUND                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:10:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO. 149, "An  Act allowing appropriations to the civil                                                               
legal services fund from court filing fees."                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 2:10 p.m. to 2:13 p.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  RAMRAS   mentioned  that  the  House   Judiciary  Standing                                                               
Committee is the  sponsor of HB 149, and indicated  that the bill                                                               
is intended to  provide additional funding for  the State's civil                                                               
legal services [fund].                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:14:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JANE W.  PIERSON, Staff, Representative Jay  Ramras, Alaska State                                                               
Legislature, explained that HB 149  was written at the request of                                                               
the  Alaska  Legal  Services  Corporation   (ALSC),  which  is  a                                                               
nonprofit  law firm  that's been  in  business for  40 years  and                                                               
which responds  to the civil  legal needs of  low-income Alaskans                                                               
who would otherwise go without  legal assistance.  The mission of                                                               
the  ALSC  is  to  provide meaningful  access  to  justice  [via]                                                               
resolving  legal problems  for  low-income clients  in the  civil                                                               
justice system, thus promoting family  stability and reducing the                                                               
legal consequences of  poverty.  Although the  ALSC stretches its                                                               
resources in order to help as  many people as possible, there are                                                               
still a large number of unmet  needs.  House Bill 149, therefore,                                                               
would provide [an additional] mechanism  for funding the ALSC, by                                                               
allowing the legislature  to appropriate up to 25  percent of the                                                               
filing  fees paid  to the  Alaska Court  System (ACS)  during the                                                               
previous  year, into  the civil  legal services  fund, which  was                                                               
created last  year.  For example,  in fiscal year (FY)  2008, the                                                               
ACS collected and  turned over to the State of  Alaska a total of                                                               
$2,525,300,  and so  25 percent  of that  amount would  represent                                                               
$631,325  should  the  legislature choose  to  appropriate  those                                                               
funds to the ALSC.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS.  PIERSON relayed  that  over the  last  several years,  while                                                               
still  struggling   to  serve  larger   and  larger   numbers  of                                                               
applicants, the  ALSC's funding has  dwindled, from  $4.2 million                                                               
as  of  1987,   to  $3.1  million  as  of   2007.    Furthermore,                                                               
appropriations from  the State of  Alaska that were once  as high                                                               
as  $1.2 million,  is currently  only $200,000.   House  Bill 149                                                               
aims to correct this lack of  funding and help ensure civil legal                                                               
representation for Alaska's most needy population.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:17:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VANCE A.  SANDERS, Attorney  at Law;  Chair, Board  of Directors,                                                               
Alaska Legal  Services Corporation (ALSC), noted  that he started                                                               
working with  the ALSC back in  1984, and has been  very involved                                                               
in the  program.  He characterized  the ALSC as an  integral part                                                               
of  the justice  delivery system  in Alaska,  noting that  a poor                                                               
person  who is  not  charged with  a crime  does  not have  equal                                                               
access to  justice; the ALSC acts  as a safety net  for a variety                                                               
of people  whom, but for  the ALSC,  wouldn't have any  access to                                                               
justice at all.   Unfortunately, the ALSC is  only receiving some                                                               
federal  funding,  and  so  the ALSC  must  look  for  additional                                                               
funding  from other  sources, such  as various  municipalities in                                                               
the state,  legislative appropriation, which, again,  is now down                                                               
to  $200,000,  and  other  attorneys  via  the  Robert  Hickerson                                                               
Partners in Justice campaign.  Simply  put, the ALSC needs a more                                                               
reliable stream of income, Mr.  Sanders remarked, adding that the                                                               
ALSC  anticipates that  HB  149 would  provide  for such,  though                                                               
funds would  still be subject  to annual appropriation,  and thus                                                               
there aren't any constitutional problems with the bill.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL  asked [which other entities]  have access                                                               
to the State's civil legal services fund.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. SANDERS said he didn't know.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:21:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GRUENBERG sought  assurance that  the ALSC  could                                                               
receive funding from  the State's civil legal  services fund even                                                               
though the ALSC also provides  assistance to persons over the age                                                               
of 60 regardless of their income level.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. SANDERS indicated  that the ALSC could  still receive funding                                                               
from the State's civil legal services fund.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked  whether AS 37.05.590's definition                                                               
of a "low-income individual" is still accurate.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  SANDERS  indicated that  it  is.    In response  to  another                                                               
question,  he   indicated  that  that  definition   doesn't  need                                                               
revision because  the percentage  listed therein  is tied  to the                                                               
federal poverty  threshold, which changes annually.   In response                                                               
to a further  question, he indicated that it might  be helpful to                                                               
specify  in the  bill that  it is  not intended  to reduce  other                                                               
funding.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR RAMRAS expressed disfavor with doing so.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:26:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ANDY  HARRINGTON, Attorney  at  Law;  Executive Director,  Alaska                                                               
Legal  Services Corporation  (ALSC),  relayed that  in 2008,  the                                                               
ALSC  provided  direct  representation  services  to  over  1,500                                                               
families; approximately 1,800 people  attended ALSC workshops and                                                               
clinics;  and about  43,000 people  obtained assistance  from the                                                               
ALSC's  web site.   The  ALSC has  done a  lot of  good work,  he                                                               
remarked, but  due to  insufficient resources,  had to  turn away                                                               
two out of every three families  that sought the ALSC's help, and                                                               
another 700  people seeking help  were referred elsewhere  due to                                                               
staff limitations.   The Alaska  Supreme Court's Access  to Civil                                                               
Justice  Task  Force  estimates   that  there  are  about  33,000                                                               
indigent Alaskans facing a legal need  during any given year.  He                                                               
opined that the  cost effectiveness with which  the ALSC delivers                                                               
these  services stems  from two  factors:   the ALSC's  volunteer                                                               
support program, which recruits  private attorneys to donate time                                                               
handling  cases  for  low-income  Alaskans, and  the  much  lower                                                               
salaries of the ALSC's attorneys.   He mentioned that the ALSC is                                                               
struggling to  maintain delivery  of services  in rural  areas of                                                               
the state; that the ALSC has nine  offices, one of which is a new                                                               
office in Kenai;  and that funding is obtained from  a variety of                                                               
sources.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.  HARRINGTON,   in  response   to  a  question,   offered  his                                                               
understanding  that  currently there  are  two  groups which  can                                                               
obtain funding  from the State's  civil legal services  fund, one                                                               
being the ALSC, and the other  being the Alaska Pro Bono Program,                                                               
Inc. (APBP),  which uses  the same  income and  asset eligibility                                                               
guidelines  as the  ALSC.   Should  other, similar  organizations                                                               
change  their income  and asset  eligibility  criteria to  mirror                                                               
those of the  ALSC and the APBP, he added,  then they, too, could                                                               
obtain funding from the State's civil legal services fund.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  RAMRAS  mentioned that  the  Department  of Revenue  (DOR)                                                               
would be submitting  a zero fiscal note with the  bill.  He then,                                                               
after ascertaining  that no  one else  wished to  testify, closed                                                               
public testimony on HB 149.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO - referring  to the aforementioned figure of                                                               
$631,325 - offered his understanding  that passage of the bill is                                                               
going to result  in the ALSC receiving a  substantial increase in                                                               
State funding.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  pointed out that the  bill merely gives                                                               
the legislature  the authority to  appropriate up to  [25 percent                                                               
of  the filing  fees  received  by the  ACS  during the  previous                                                               
fiscal year]  - those funds  would still have to  be appropriated                                                               
by the legislature every year.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO  offered his belief  that the bill  would be                                                               
giving  the  ALSC  a preference  over  all  other  organizations,                                                               
indicating that  for that reason he  would be voting "no"  on the                                                               
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  COGHILL concurred  with Representative  Gruenberg                                                               
that the  legislature would  still have  to appropriate  any such                                                               
funding  every year,  and indicated  that he  is amenable  to the                                                               
bill and its proposed additional funding source.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:35:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  COGHILL  then  moved  to report  HB  149  out  of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations  and the  forthcoming                                                               
zero fiscal note.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR RAMRAS relayed that there was an objection to the motion.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
A roll  call vote  was taken.   Representatives  Lynn, Gruenberg,                                                               
Holmes, Coghill,  and Ramras voted  in favor of reporting  HB 149                                                               
from  committee.     Representative   Gatto  voted   against  it.                                                               
Therefore,  HB  149  was  reported out  of  the  House  Judiciary                                                               
Standing Committee by a vote of 5-1.