HLS 16RS-5238 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 250
BY REPRESENTATIVE MAGEE
COURTS: Requests a study regarding the need for civil legal aid
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Access to Justice Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association
3 to conduct an economic impact study, regarding the need for civil legal aid and the
4 benefits to this state, and to report its findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later
5 than January 31, 2017.
6 WHEREAS, equal access to justice plays an important role in the perception of
7fairness of the justice system; and
8 WHEREAS, one of the foundations of our legal system is to ensure that all persons
9have access to address their legal needs, regardless of their economic circumstances and their
10ability to pay; and
11 WHEREAS, indigent individuals in civil matters, often with life-altering
12consequences, have no constitutional right to counsel; and
13 WHEREAS, the poverty rate in Louisiana is among the highest in the nation at
14almost twenty percent and an estimated two hundred and thirty thousand poor Louisiana
15citizens will experience a legal need each year; and
16 WHEREAS, in the Louisiana civil justice system, a small group of civil legal service
17and pro bono organizations act as a cornerstone in ensuring equal access to justice for all by
18providing legal representation in merited civil cases to these persons in Louisiana without
19means; and
20 WHEREAS, civil legal aid organizations in Louisiana have sustained a significant
21drop in state and federal funding while poverty in Louisiana has increased significantly over
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HR NO. 250
1the last six years, causing more Louisianan citizens to be in need of civil legal aid, as
2demonstrated by the following:
3 (1) Interest rates on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) funds have declined seventy-
4four percent between 2007 and 2011, resulting in unavoidable cuts in IOLTA funding for
5legal services for the poorest citizens.
6 (2) The three largest civil legal aid providers in Louisiana have experienced a forty
7percent decrease in funding from their major benefactor (the Legal Services Corporation)
8in the past six years, making them less able to meet the overwhelming demand for civil legal
9aid; and
10 (3) Louisiana is one of only three states in the nation in which the state provides no
11statewide appropriation nor statewide dedicated fines or fees to support the civil legal aid
12providers in Louisiana.
13 WHEREAS, decreases in funding combined with the high poverty rate in Louisiana
14overwhelms the limited staff and resources of civil legal aid offices, which undermines the
15ability of low-income citizens to access to civil justice system, burdens state agencies and
16resources, and places the already challenged legal aid system in Louisiana in crisis; and
17 WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders in the justice system of
18Louisiana to ensure access to justice for all; and
19 WHEREAS, in 2014, Louisiana attorneys provided over three million dollars in
20volunteer legal services and out of state attorneys appearing in Louisiana courts contribute
21two hundred dollars per motion to ensure equal access to justice; and
22 WHEREAS, there is recognized value in showing that legal assistance not only has
23an immediate benefit for the recipient of the services, but can also have multi-fold financial
24benefits for the community and state; and
25 WHEREAS, in 2010, Louisiana State University Economics Professor James
26Richardson estimated in a study titled "Legal Services Programs in Louisiana: Their
27Economic Impact on the State of Louisiana," that for every dollar spent on legal services for
28the poor, there is a benefit of up to two dollars and forty cents and that the three legal
29services corporations assisted their clients in either acquiring or retaining over fifty-eight
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HR NO. 250
1million dollars, which initiated a series of economic transactions totaling between seventy
2million dollars and one hundred and seven million dollars for the state; and
3 WHEREAS, the Access to Justice Committee, with representatives from the
4Louisiana Supreme Court, Louisiana State Bar Association, and Louisiana Bar Foundation,
5believes that an updated economic impact study is vital to understanding the full scope of
6the need for civil legal aid in Louisiana and the benefits to be obtained by the state.
7 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
8Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Access to Justice Committee to
9commission an economic impact study regarding the need for civil legal aid and the benefits
10for this state to be funded by the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and that the Access to Justice
11Committee reports its findings to the Louisiana Legislature no later than January 31, 2017.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 250 Original 2016 Regular Session Magee
Requests that the Access to Justice Committee conduct an economic impact study on the
need for civil legal aid and the benefits for this state, and to report its findings to the
legislature no later than Jan. 31, 2017.
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