BILL ANALYSIS
AB 590
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 590 (Feuer) - As Amended: April 30, 2009
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a pilot project to provide legal counsel
to low-income parties in civil cases and funded by an increase
in fees for certain civil matters. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Judicial Council to develop one or more pilot
projects in selected court, pursuant to a competitive grant
process to provide legal services for low-income persons in
civil matters involving basic human needs. The pilot is to
also provide court procedures, personnel, training, and case
management and administration to ensure unrepresented parties
have meaningful access to justice, and to gather information
on the outcomes of providing these services.
2)Limits eligibility to clients with household incomes at or
below 200% of the federal poverty level.
3)Requires each project to be a partnership between the court,
and qualified legal services provider that shall serve as the
lead agency, and other legal services.
4)Authorizes the projects for a three-year period, subject to
renewal for a period to be determined by the Judicial Council.
5)Establishes criteria for selecting cases to be covered by the
counsel funded by the pilot project, and delineates the
contents of an application to the pilot project.
6)Requires the Judicial Council to evaluate, using an
independent evaluator, the effectiveness and continued need
for the pilot program and report to the Legislature by March
1, 2013 and every three years thereafter.
AB 590
Page 2
7)Funds the pilot project with a $10 increase in certain courts
fees that, according the Assembly Judiciary Committee
analysis, are charged only when a party has used the legal
system to their advantage.
8)Makes it unlawful for an entity to use the term "legal aid"
unless referring to a nonprofit organization providing legal
services to the poor without charge.
FISCAL EFFECT
Estimated annual revenues to the Trial Court Trust Fund from the
$10 fee increases is $11 million. The scope and size of the
pilot project, including all of the Judicial Council's
administrative costs will be determined by the actual fee
revenues.
The Council indicates that there could be future savings in
court case-processing costs to the extent the pilot projects
illuminate improved practices and increase case-management
efficiencies.
COMMENTS
Purpose . Due to insufficient funding from all sources, existing
programs providing free services in civil matters to indigent
and disadvantaged persons, especially underserved groups such as
elderly, disabled, children, and non-English-speaking persons,
are not adequate to meet existing needs. Legal services programs
are able to assist less than one-third of California's poor and
lower-income residents.
According to the author, AB 590 reflects a growing national
movement in the legal community to increase access to counsel in
critical civil cases when a party is too poor to afford a
lawyer. A 2007 budget proposal sought to create a demonstration
program funded by the state General Fund, but was not sustained
in the enacted budget. This bill instead would support the
project through a small $10 increase on certain court fees that
are currently low ($15 to $20) and either optional (certifying
AB 590
Page 3
copies of records) or generally charged only when a party has
used the legal system to his or her advantage (e.g., obtaining
an abstract of judgment or certificate of judgment).
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081