ENROLLED
2016 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2
BY REPRESENTATIVE MAGEE
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Access to Justice Commission of the Louisiana State Bar
Association to conduct an economic impact study regarding the need for civil legal
aid and the benefits to this state, and to report its findings to the Louisiana
Legislature no later than January 31, 2017.
WHEREAS, equal access to justice plays an important role in the perception of
fairness of the justice system; and
WHEREAS, one of the foundations of our legal system is to ensure that all persons
have access to address their legal needs, regardless of their economic circumstances and their
ability to pay; and
WHEREAS, indigent individuals in civil matters, often with life-altering
consequences, have no constitutional right to counsel; and
WHEREAS, the poverty rate in Louisiana is among the highest in the nation at
almost twenty percent and an estimated two hundred thirty thousand poor Louisiana citizens
will experience a legal need each year; and
WHEREAS, in the Louisiana civil justice system, a small group of civil legal service
and pro bono organizations act as a cornerstone in ensuring equal access to justice for all by
providing legal representation in merited civil cases to these persons in Louisiana without
means; and
WHEREAS, civil legal aid organizations in Louisiana have sustained a significant
drop in state and federal funding while poverty in Louisiana has increased significantly over
the last six years, causing more Louisianan citizens to be in need of civil legal aid, as
demonstrated by the following:
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(1) Interest rates on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) funds have declined seventy-
four percent between 2007 and 2011, resulting in unavoidable cuts in IOLTA funding for
legal services for the poorest citizens; and
(2) The three largest civil legal aid providers in Louisiana have experienced a forty
percent decrease in funding from their major benefactor (the Legal Services Corporation)
in the past six years, making them less able to meet the overwhelming demand for civil legal
aid; and
(3) Louisiana is one of only three states in the nation in which the state provides no
statewide appropriation nor statewide dedicated fines or fees to support the civil legal aid
providers in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, decreases in funding combined with the high poverty rate in Louisiana
overwhelms the limited staff and resources of civil legal aid offices, which undermines the
ability of low-income citizens to access the civil justice system, burdens state agencies and
resources, and places the already challenged legal aid system in Louisiana in crisis; and
WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders in the justice system of
Louisiana to ensure access to justice for all; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, Louisiana attorneys provided over three million dollars in
volunteer legal services, and out of state attorneys appearing in Louisiana courts contribute
two hundred dollars per motion to ensure equal access to justice; and
WHEREAS, there is recognized value in showing that legal assistance not only has
an immediate benefit for the recipient of the services, but can also have multi-fold financial
benefits for the community and state; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, Louisiana State University economics Professor James
Richardson estimated in a study titled "Legal Services Programs in Louisiana: Their
Economic Impact on the State of Louisiana," that for every dollar spent on legal services for
the poor, there is a benefit of up to two dollars and forty cents, and that the three legal
services corporations assisted their clients in either acquiring or retaining over fifty-eight
million dollars, which initiated a series of economic transactions totaling between seventy
million dollars and one hundred and seven million dollars for the state; and
WHEREAS, the Access to Justice Commission, with representatives from the
Louisiana Supreme Court, Louisiana State Bar Association, and Louisiana Bar Foundation,
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believes that an updated economic impact study is vital to understanding the full scope of
the need for civil legal aid in Louisiana and the benefits to be obtained by the state.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Access to Justice Commission to
commission an economic impact study regarding the need for civil legal aid and the benefits
for this state to be funded by the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and that the Access to Justice
Commission report its findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later than January 31, 2017.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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