Legislature(2023 - 2024)DAVIS 106
04/26/2023 03:30 PM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community Justice Worker Program | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS
April 26, 2023
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative CJ McCormick, Chair
Representative Sarah Vance
Representative Jamie Allard
Representative Maxine Dibert
Representative Jennie Armstrong
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Josiah Patkotak
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): ALASKA LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION COMMUNITY
JUSTICE WORKER PROGRAM
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
NIKOLE NELSON, President
Alaska Legal Services Corporation
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave the Alaska Legal Services Corporation
Community Justice Worker Program presentation.
JOE NELSON, Chair
Alaska Legal Services Corporation
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony during the Alaska
Legal Services Corporation Community Justice Worker Program
presentation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:31:08 PM
CHAIR CJ MCCORMICK called the House Special Committee on Tribal
Affairs meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. Representatives Vance,
Allard, Armstrong, and McCormick were present at the call to
order. Representative Dibert arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
The committee took an at-ease from 3:31 p.m. to 3:32 p.m.
^PRESENTATION(S): Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community
Justice Worker Program
PRESENTATION(S): Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community
Justice Worker Program
3:34:30 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK announced that the only order of business would
be the Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community Justice
Worker Program presentation.
3:34:56 PM
NIKOLE NELSON, President, Alaska Legal Services Corporation
(ALSC), began the Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community
Justice Worker Program presentation via PowerPoint [hardcopy
included in the committee packet], on slide 2, which explained a
brief history of the corporation and its mission to all
Alaskans.
3:37:30 PM
MS. NELSON moved to slide 3, which further elaborated on ALSC's
goal and expanse as a corporation in Alaska. She continued to
slide 4, which displayed a map of Alaska depicting the location
of each ALSC office aside a list of quick facts related to ALSC.
She explained how ALSC is funded, how many staff it has as a
whole, and its annual caseload as a corporation.
3:43:49 PM
MS. NELSON continued to describe ALSC's legal role and rights as
a corporation by explaining that it is prohibited from taking up
certain cases concerning federal regulation. She cited abortion
and euthanasia issues as cases that ALSC would not be allowed to
address and said ALSC can do only "bread and butter cases."
3:46:26 PM
MS. NELSON resumed the presentation on slide 5, which explained
how ALSC is a cost-effective corporation that achieves positive
results in over 86 percent of the cases that it takes up. She
moved to slide 6, which emphasized how the limited access to
legal help for many people is a barrier for justice and
explained how ALSC is working to relieve that barrier to
justice.
3:50:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked how ALSC decides whether or not
to take up a case.
MS. NELSON answered that priorities are set by each office for
each community it is in, most often determined by what issue is
the most pertinent for each community.
3:51:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked how much money ALSC would need so
as not to have to turn any cases away.
MS. NELSON answered that ALSC doesn't know the full amount
needed for full funding and shared an estimate of $100,000 per
182 people served as a metric to be used for a full funding
estimate.
3:53:13 PM
MS. NELSON resumed the presentation on slide 7, which displayed
an image of a crevasse in a glacier as a means to emphasize the
growing gap in accessibility to justice for many Alaskans. She
continued to slide 8, which displayed a graphic that visualized
the convoluted legal landscape of the justice system in Alaska.
3:56:50 PM
MS. NELSON, in response to a series of questions from
Representative Allard, confirmed that ALSC is a nonprofit
organization. It has been funded by the state and received
$281,000 in the previous fiscal year. She said that ALSC raised
$7 million in the past fiscal year and does receive donations
from Alaska Native corporations.
4:02:40 PM
MS. NELSON, in response to Representative Vance, confirmed that
there is an attorney shortage. She said ALSC has attorneys on
staff, as well as volunteers, and she mentioned a community
justice program.
4:04:43 PM
MS. NELSON resumed the presentation on slide 8, where she
elaborated on the legal structures and services that are
available to Alaskans. She continued to slide 9, which
displayed four separate maps of Alaska that conveyed available
medical providers, information service providers, legal
providers, and social service providers in specific regions of
Alaska. She moved to slide 10, which displayed a graphic that
illustrated the pressures an individual could face on top of
their already stressful legal problems as a means to emphasize
the effect that a lack of access to legal services has on
Alaskans. She continued to slide 11, which used a graph to
highlight the overlap between access to legal services and good
overall public health.
4:09:18 PM
MS. NELSON moved to slide 12, which explained how a locally
sourced community justice workforce could benefit Alaskans. She
continued to slide 13, which displayed a graph of law advocates
in Alaska, their associated affiliations, and their type of
practice as a means to highlight the current available legal
services in Alaska. Slide 14 displayed a table that outlined
the specific number of community justice workers by their
associated practice area. She continued to slide 15, which
explained the Alaska Bar Rule 43.5 Waiver and the role that it
plays in allowing more Alaskans access to legal services.
4:16:44 PM
MS. NELSON concluded the presentation on slide 17, which
displayed a series of images of legal services that are part of
the community justice worker system.
4:17:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT asked how attorneys and community justice
workers are able to deliver their services to communities.
MS. NELSON answered that ALSC has offices statewide and most
services are delivered by phone or broadband. She said that
remote communities have limited access to legal services and
explained how the physical inaccessibility of those places
limits access to legal services.
4:20:54 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK invite Joe Nelson to speak.
4:21:11 PM
JOE NELSON, Board Chair, Alaska Legal Services Corporation,
began his testimony by explaining his background in community
legal services and his history of legal practice in Alaska. He
said that the ALSC board is entirely volunteer and explained how
Alaska's legal landscape is unique due to its culture, size,
languages, and geographic challenges. He advised that Alaska
needs to fundamentally change its system of legal services to
allow for more free and fair access to justice.
4:25:47 PM
MS. NELSON proffered that part of the community justice plan is
to develop a community justice resource center at hub locations
around Alaska. She said that these resource centers would offer
apprenticeships in community justice and said that the first two
locations would be in Bethel and Kodiak.
4:26:53 PM
CHAIR MCCORMICK said that people struggle with legal issues in
rural Alaska because of its inaccessibility. His expressed
appreciation for the information given the committee.
4:28:23 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Tribal Affairs meeting was adjourned at
4:28 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HTRB Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community Justice Worker Presentation to House Tribal Affairs 04.26.23.pdf |
HTRB 4/26/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Alaska Legal Services Presentation |
| HTRB Introduction to Proposed Bar Rule 43.5 04.26.23.pdf |
HTRB 4/26/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Alaska Legal Services Corporation Presentation |
| HTRB Alaska Legal Services Corporation Community Justice Worker Program Map Handout 04.26.23.pdf |
HTRB 4/26/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Alaska Legal Services Corporation Presentation |
| HTRB SCO 1994 - Adopting Bar Rule 43.5 concerning waivers for non-lawyers trained and supervised by Alaska Legal Services Corporation 04.26.23.pdf |
HTRB 4/26/2023 3:30:00 PM |
Alaska Legal Services Corporation Presentation |