BILL NUMBER: AB 830 CHAPTERED 10/10/01 CHAPTER 682 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10,2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 27, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 9, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cohn FEBRUARY 22, 2001 An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 9320) to Division 8.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to senior legal services, and making an appropriation therefor. (Approved by Governor October 10, 2001. Filed with Secretary of State October 10, 2001.) I am signing Assembly Bill 830, a bill that will establish a task force to study and recommend innovative measures to improve the delivery of legal services to California's senior citizens. Many California seniors of low and moderate means are in need of legal advice and assistance to help them navigate through complex issues of daily living. The task force will provide the California Department of Aging and the Legislature with valuable insight and advice regarding uniform standards, accountability in service delivery, and local sources of funding for senior legal services. I support the author's efforts to enhance both the quantity and quality of legal services provided to one of California's most vulnerable populations. I am further directing the California Department of Aging to establish the task force within existing resources. GRAY DAVIS, Governor LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 830, Cohn. Senior legal services. Existing law provides for the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, administered by the California Department of Aging, to provide specified services to frail elderly individuals 60 years of age and older. This bill would require the department to establish a task force of specified members to study and make recommendations to the Legislature on issues relating to legal services to seniors. This bill would appropriate $100,000 to the department to establish the task force. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) California senior citizens of low- and moderate means are in great need of legal advice and assistance. (b) Existing nonprofit local legal services that are funded by the federal Older Americans Act through local area agencies on aging are unable to meet the demand of senior citizens who cannot afford private attorneys. (c) There are areas of the state without local legal services for senior citizens. (d) A senior legal hotline, based in Sacramento and funded until 2002 by the Older Americans Act, has provided legal services in all areas of law to thousands of senior citizens in northern California since 1994. However, this senior legal hotline is unable to fully meet the needs of seniors in its northern California service area at current funding levels. (e) There is no similar senior legal hotline in southern California. (f) Due to funding constraints, the California Department of Aging has been unable to allocate sufficient resources for regular communication among the various legal services programs for seniors. (g) Unlike some other states, California does not provide matching funds specifically for legal services programs that serve seniors. SEC. 2. Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 9320) is added to Division 8.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: CHAPTER 6.5. SENIOR LEGAL SERVICES 9320. (a) The department shall establish a task force to study and make recommendations, including action steps and timelines, on the improvement of legal services delivery to senior citizens in California by exploring the following matters: (1) Actions to ensure that all area agencies on aging allocate sufficient funding to local legal assistance providers. Actions may include, but not be limited to, the establishment of a minimum percentage of area agency on aging funding for legal assistance providers in California. (2) Ways to ensure uniformity in the provision of legal services throughout the state, including, but not limited to, possible development of uniform statewide standards for the delivery of legal services in California. (3) Measures to evaluate and monitor local legal assistance programs to ensure compliance with the federal Older Americans Act and its implementing regulations. (4) Establishment of statewide reporting system to assess the effectiveness of legal assistance programs for seniors in the state. (5) The possible establishment of a statewide legal hotline for seniors. (6) Opportunities to enhance communications among the various service providers and to ensure efficient service delivery involving local programs and a statewide hotline, should it come into existence. (7) Opportunities for joint training for senior legal services advocates around the state. (8) Other states' legal services delivery networks. (b) The director shall serve on or appoint a representative to the task force, and shall appoint the following additional members: (1) One member of the Legislature or his or her representative. (2) Three legal services director representatives of existing legal service programs for seniors. (3) The Legal Services Developer at the California Department of Aging. (4) Two area agency on aging directors. (5) Two representatives of senior advocacy organizations. (6) A representative of the State Bar of California. (c) The Member of the Legislature, or his or her representative, shall serve on the task force to the extent that the service is compatible with the duties of a Member of the Legislature. (e) The task force shall report and make its recommendations to the Legislature on or before September 1, 2002. SEC. 3. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the California Department of Aging for the purpose of establishing the task force described in Section 9320 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.