Governor Spitzer’s First Budget Includes Funding for Civil Legal Services

February 1, 2007

Author: Anne Erickson

We are extremely pleased to report that for the first time, the Executive Budget includes state funding for the general delivery of civil legal services.  Clearly Governor Eliot Spitzer understands the critical role that legal services plays in ensuring a level playing field and expanding access to justice for those most in need.

For the past 14 years, it has only been through the efforts of the Legislature, under the leadership and determination of Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Judiciary Chair Helene Weinstein that any general fund support for core legal services has been included in the state budget. 

We are very optimistic that this year will be the turning point, when the Assembly Majority finds active partners in the Senate, the Judiciary and the new Executive administration in creating a permanent stable funding stream for the delivery of civil legal services in New York State.

Recognizing that this would be a pivotal year, Empire Justice began working with the legal services community in a much more formal way this summer.  While we have always organized the efforts to restore funding to the state budget, this year we envisioned a much more pro-active approach.  We have entered into formal agreements with the legal services programs outside New York City and have joined with our colleagues in New York City in a new Statewide Campaign for Civil Legal Services.

The aim of all these efforts is to secure general state funding for the general delivery of legal assistance to those in need.

Background

Currently, there are three core funding streams that support the general delivery of legal services:

• The federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC)
• The Interest on Lawyers Account (IOLA)
• The State Funding - provided through the Assembly majority as line items and as part of the Legal Services Assistance Fund (LSAF)

Clearly, not all legal services programs receive funding from each of these funding streams, but together they provide the financial underpinnings for support the delivery of legal assistance.

A Review of the Executive Budget Proposals

Governor Spitzer’s first Executive Budget includes a number of extremely positive new investments.  Details still need to be worked out in a number of areas, but the overall approach is to make investments in civil legal services part of the base state budget for the first time.

There is an appropriation of $4.6 million for civil legal services currently “placed” in the IOLA fund.   According to the budget language accompanying the appropriation, these funds “will not be available until a plan for their administration has been approved by the director of the budget.”  This plan, according to the budget, will include a competitive process.

The Executive Budget also outlines a number of proposed uses of the Legal Services Assistance Fund, including $5 million of funding from the Legal Services Assistance Fund (LSAF) within the Judiciary budget as proposed by the Office of Court Administration (OCA).  While there is little description in the budget on how these funds will be used, the accompanying narrative indicates they will be used for civil legal services.

The Executive Budget also proposes that the criminal record search fee that supports the LSAF be increased by $8, with $6 of that increase targeted to the LSAF.  If accepted, this would direct $15 of each $60 fee to the Legal Services Assistance Fund. 

The Executive Budget also increases the authorization for IOLA to increase its grant making by $4 million.  This means that if interest rate activity generates that level of new income IOLA will have the needed authority to distribute those funds in its next round of grants.

Recommendations for Moving Forward

Working with the legal services community, we have made a number of recommendations, including:

Maximize and coordinate the state’s investment in civil legal services.  New state funding commitments to legal services should be consolidated into a singe new funding stream.  The $4.6 million now “placed” in IOLA and the $5 million proposed in the OCA budget generally for civil legal services should be consolidated into a single dedicated appropriation.

Furthermore, the $4.6 million recommended by the Executive Budget to support legal services cannot supplant the current commitment in the state budget.  This funding needs to be in addition to – not instead of – the current funding.  We urge the Senate to join with the Assembly in ensuring that the current base funding is maintained so that the funds proposed by the Executive Budget will indeed be an expanded investment in civil legal services.  

Do no harm.  The organizations currently receiving state funding through the Assembly form the backbone of the legal services delivery system, delivering critical services on a daily basis.  These services should not be disrupted as the state moves to a more programmatic approach to service delivery.  There should be agreement to maintain stable funding while a new, transparent process for distribution of funding is developed so that these core programs can continue to serve clients during this transition process.

Create appropriate allocation and distribution mechanisms for new funding.  Funding should be allocated equitably across the state and distributed to qualified legal services providers.  The statewide allocation of funds should be based on a county-by-county formula driven by the federal census of poverty.  This would give a formula-based allocation mechanism that ensures equitable distribution of funding across the state.

While such an allocation methodology will ensure statewide distribution of funding, the actual receipt of state funding by any organization should be based on the highest standards of quality and accountability.  Local need and local planning should drive the distribution of funding to the greatest extent possible.  Similar to the other core funding streams – LSC and IOLA – funding should be available to meet the legal needs of each community and should not be restricted to particular services or particular populations.

Ensure an appropriate mix of services.  The bulk of the funding should be directed to front-line representation and service to clients.  However, there should also be a clear allowance for training, backup and technical assistance.  This is especially important in New York State since neither LSC nor IOLA currently fund backup and training services which provide critical support to the community.

Create appropriate oversight and administration of the funds.  The community has called for the creation of an Office of Civil Justice to be created within the executive branch in order to ensure that there is clear executive responsibility for civil legal services.  Currently, there is no one in state government with this responsibility.  While we have a Division of Criminal Justice Services, there is no office, department, agency, or bureau that is charged with ensuring that civil legal services are included as a policy matter within the state’s infrastructure.  We clearly envision a process that will ensure quality of service delivery and appropriate oversight.

Much work needs to be done between now the  final adoption of the state budget, but at least the starting point this year is one of including – not eliminating – funding for civil legal services.