Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 120
02/10/2012 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB255 | |
| HB299 | |
| HB303 | |
| HB216 | |
| HB296 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 216 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 255 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 296 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 299 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 303 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 299 - CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES FUND
1:25:51 PM
CHAIR GATTO announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 299, "An Act allowing appropriations to the civil
legal services fund from court filing fees."
1:26:07 PM
THOMAS STUDLER, Staff, Representative Steve Thompson, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Representative
Thompson, explained that HB 299 [which is proposing to alter
AS 37.05.590] would provide a statutory funding mechanism by
which the legislature may appropriate to the state's civil legal
services fund up to 25 percent of the filing fees received by
the Alaska Court System (ACS) during the previous fiscal year.
Appropriations from the civil legal services fund may then go to
organizations that provide civil legal services to low-income
Alaskans, organizations such as the Alaska Legal Services
Corporation (ALSC), which was established in 1966 to address the
civil-legal-aid needs of low-income Alaskans. The ALSC,
specifically, is a U.S.C. 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that
obtains its funding from a variety of state, federal, and
private sources. Such funding, however, has dwindled over the
years - from $4.2 million in 1987, to less than $3.1 million as
of 2010, with state appropriations decreasing from $1.2 million
in fiscal year 1984 (FY 84), to less than $350,000 [in FY 12] -
and what has not decreased, and has instead even grown, has been
the number of qualified applicants seeking ALSC services.
MR. STUDLER explained that HB 299 aims to correct the resultant
funding shortfall being experienced by the ALSC, thereby helping
to ensure civil legal representation for Alaska's most needy
population. Yearly, of those people the ALSC provides services
to: over 600 are seniors, over 40 percent reside in rural
communities, and over 550 deal with domestic violence (DV).
Last year alone, 2,541 qualified Alaskans received services from
the ALSC, which, due to funding limitations, was only able to
meet the needs of 81 percent of its qualified applicants.
MR. STUDLER, in response to questions, indicated that each year,
it would be up to the legislature, during the budget process, to
determine what percent of received filing fees, if any, to
appropriate to the civil legal services fund, though in no
instance shall it exceed 25 percent. The bill only addresses
funding and services related to civil cases, not criminal cases,
and all funding provided for by AS 37.05.590 - whether existing
or as proposed by HB 299 - comes from the general fund to begin
with. House Bill 299 was introduced to address the funding
shortages [experienced by organizations that provide civil legal
services to low-income Alaskans, such as the ALSC], and it's
estimated that 25 percent of the filing fees received [by the
ACS during the previous fiscal year] would amount to
[approximately] $666,000.
1:34:44 PM
NIKOLE M. NELSON, Executive Director, Alaska Legal Services
Corporation (ALSC), in response to questions, explained that if
the ALSC were to receive the maximum amount provided for under
HB 299, it would represent only a 20 percent increase in the
ALSC's overall budget; that such an increase, if all other
funding sources stayed flat, would allow the ALSC to serve an
additional 500 families - last year the ALSC was forced to turn
away [approximately 2,500] families because of a lack of
resources; that the intent of HB 299 is to increase the
availability of funds in order to meet the civil legal services
needs of Alaska's low-income population; that even with the
additional funding provided for via HB 299, the ALSC would still
be underfunded and thus would still be unable to meet all those
needs; and that the hope is that even with passage of HB 299,
the ALSC would still receive its "regular" legislative
appropriation, with the legislature then being able to give
consideration each year during the budget process to possibly
providing additional funding as outlined under HB 299.
MS. NELSON added that in 2001, the Alaska Supreme Court's Access
to Justice Task Force recommended that the ALSC budget be what
would now - after adjusting for inflation - amount to
approximately $7.5 million, but the ALSC's current budget - from
all sources - amounts to only about $3.5 million. Again, even
with the maximum amount of additional funding that HB 299 could
provide for, the ALSC would still be extremely underfunded -
with a budget far below the aforementioned recommendation - and
thus would still be unable to meet all of the civil legal
services needs of Alaska's low-income population. She then
provided the committee with further information about the
services the ALSC provides to low-income Alaskans and about its
staff, along with some recent statistics, and recounted that
over the last five years, in terms of domestic relations cases,
the ALSC had a 96 percent success rate in helping clients obtain
the results they needed, and that last year the ALSC was on the
forefront of fighting the epidemic of domestic violence that
plagues Alaska. However, and again, last year the ALSC also had
to turn away hundreds of qualified people seeking assistance
simply because it lacked the necessary resources to help; the
ALSC's client base continues to increase every year, but funding
levels have simply not kept pace regardless that the ALSC enjoys
widespread, bipartisan community support throughout Alaska. In
conclusion, she relayed that in terms of enabling access to the
civil justice system regardless of one's financial situation,
the ALSC believes that HB 299 would be part of the solution.
1:41:51 PM
RICHARD ALLEN, Director, Anchorage Office, Office of Public
Advocacy (OPA), Department of Administration (DOA), explained
that the OPA's indeterminate fiscal note for HB 299 reflects
that there is still a question about whether the OPA would be
required to represent the opposing party in situations where
someone is being represented by the ALSC. Regardless that that
question has yet to be addressed, he opined, the ALSC does a lot
of good for a lot of vulnerable Alaskans, and is the appropriate
agency to handle the civil legal services needs of low-income
Alaskans.
1:43:27 PM
QUINLAN STEINER, Director, Central Office, Public Defender
Agency (PDA), Department of Administration (DOA), said simply
that HB 299 would have no impact on the PDA.
1:43:44 PM
MONICA LOONEY recounted that she and her son, victims of
domestic violence, sought and received civil legal assistance
from the ALSC, allowing the two of them to once again feel safe
and no longer in jeopardy from the perpetrator, at least for the
time being. In conclusion, she expressed support [for the
ALSC], adding that she felt lucky to have been chosen to receive
civil legal services from the ALSC given its overwhelming
caseload.
1:47:58 PM
MICHELE SHARPE recounted that she and her three children,
victims of domestic violence, sought and received civil legal
services from the ALSC, allowing the four of them to escape from
the violence. In conclusion, she expressed her gratitude for
the ALSC's assistance, adding that she wanted to stress the
importance of that assistance, both to her family and the many
others in desperate need of such assistance.
1:51:39 PM
J. KATE BURKHART, Executive Director, Alaska Mental Health
Board, Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), Department of Health
and Social Services (DHSS), explained that the Alaska Mental
Health Board supports the passage of HB 299 because the ALSC is
the civil legal services agency that most often represents the
Alaska Mental Health Board's clients, who often live in poverty.
Furthermore, the ALSC employs attorneys who have specialized
training and experience in addressing the issues most often
faced by those with mental illness. She then disclosed that in
the past, she has worked for the ALSC as an attorney. In
conclusion, she opined that it is very important for the clients
of the Alaska Mental Health Board to have access to the services
provided by the ALSC and to be represented by competent and
compassionate attorneys, such as those working for the ALSC.
1:54:56 PM
MARIE DARLIN, Coordinator, AARP Capital City Task Force, said
that the AARP receives many calls from older Alaskans with legal
questions and problems who simply don't know where to turn for
assistance, and the AARP can refer those who qualify to the
ALSC, trusting that the ALSC can be relied upon to do a good
job. The number of such calls is only going to increase as
Alaska's population ages, she predicted, with more and more
elderly Alaskans seeking assistance with all the various issues
they face. In conclusion, she said the AARP urges the committee
to support HB 299's proposal to provide additional funds to
address the civil-legal-aid needs of Alaska's low-income
population.
CHAIR GATTO, after ascertaining that no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 299.
1:56:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to adopt Conceptual
Amendment 1, to add an immediate effective date to HB 299. He
ventured that adoption of Amendment 1 might enable the
legislature to consider appropriating funds as allowed under the
bill during the current legislative budget process. There being
no objection, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES, remarking upon how difficult, daunting,
and terrifying it can be to try to navigate the legal system on
one's own, and how such efforts can complicate and slow down the
civil justice system, characterized HB 299 as a good bill.
CHAIR GATTO mentioned that members' packets contain letters of
support and two fiscal notes, and offered his understanding of
some of the types of cases that the ALSC addresses, those it is
prohibited from addressing, and the amount of filing fees the
ACS received [during the previous fiscal year].
2:02:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES moved to report HB 299, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 299(JUD) was
reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 255 Legislative Legal Services Memo.pdf |
HJUD 2/10/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 255 |
| HB 255 CS X version.pdf |
HJUD 2/10/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 255 |
| CSHB 255(JUD) Amendment X 1.pdf |
HJUD 2/10/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 255 |
| HB 216 AM CS (JUD)_T2.pdf |
HJUD 2/10/2012 1:00:00 PM |
HB 216 |