HB3111 EngrossedLRB098 10885 HEP 41444 b

1    AN ACT concerning legal assistance.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access
5to Justice Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings.
7    (a) The justice system in this State can only function
8fairly and effectively when there is meaningful access to legal
9information, resources, and assistance for all litigants,
10regardless of their income or circumstances.
11    (b) Increasing numbers of people throughout this State are
12coming into the courts without legal representation for cases
13involving important legal matters impacting the basics of life
14such as health, safety, and shelter. In order for the courts to
15provide fair and efficient administration of justice in these
16cases, it is critical that people have better access to varying
17levels of legal assistance appropriate for their individual
18circumstances.
19    (c) An increasing number of active duty service members and
20veterans in this State have a need for legal information and
21assistance in a variety of matters that are often critical to
22their safety and independence, yet they are often unable to
23access that assistance.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. Pilot programs.
2    (a) The General Assembly encourages the Supreme Court to
3develop: (i) a pilot program to create a statewide military
4personnel and veterans' legal assistance hotline and
5coordinated network of legal support resources; and (ii) a
6pilot program to provide court-based legal assistance within a
7circuit court in each appellate district of this State.
8    (b) The General Assembly recommends that the rules
9developing the pilot programs:
10        (1) provide intake, screening, and varying levels of
11    legal assistance to ensure that the parties served by these
12    programs have meaningful access to justice;
13        (2) gather information on the outcomes associated with
14    providing the services described in paragraph (1) of this
15    subsection; and
16        (3) guard against the involuntary waiver of rights or
17    disposition by default.
 
18    Section 15. Access to Justice Fund. The Access to Justice
19Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. The
20Fund shall consist of fees collected under Section 27.3g of the
21Clerks of Courts Act. There is hereby appropriated, on a
22continuing annual basis in each fiscal year, from the Access to
23Justice Fund, the amount, if any, of funds received into the
24Access to Justice Fund to the Supreme Court for the

 

 

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1administration of the pilot programs created under this Act.
 
2    Section 20. Evaluation. The Supreme Court shall study the
3effectiveness of the pilot programs implemented under this Act
4and submit a report to the General Assembly by June 1, 2017.
5The report shall include the number of people served in each
6pilot program and data on the impact of varying levels of legal
7assistance on access to justice, the effect on fair and
8efficient court administration, and the impact on government
9programs and community resources. This report shall describe
10the benefits of providing legal assistance to those who were
11previously unrepresented, both for the clients and the courts,
12and shall describe strategies and recommendations for
13maximizing the benefit of that representation in the future.
14The report shall include an assessment of the continuing unmet
15needs and, if available, data regarding those unmet needs.
 
16    Section 25. Statutory Court Fee Task Force.
17    (a) There is hereby created the Statutory Court Fee Task
18Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to conduct a thorough
19review of the various statutory fees imposed or assessed on
20criminal defendants and civil litigants.
21    (b) The Task Force shall consist of 15 members, appointed
22as follows: one each by the Speaker of the House of
23Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
24Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Minority

 

 

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1Leader of the Senate; 2 by the association representing circuit
2court clerks; 2 by the Governor, and 7 by the Supreme Court.
3    (c) At the direction of the Supreme Court, the
4Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts shall provide
5administrative support to the Task Force.
6    (d) The Task Force shall submit a report containing its
7findings and any recommendations to the Supreme Court and the
8General Assembly by June 1, 2014.
 
9    Section 30. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
10Section 5.826 as follows:
 
11    (30 ILCS 105/5.826 new)
12    Sec. 5.826. The Access to Justice Fund.
 
13    Section 35. The Counties Code is amended by changing
14Section 5-39001 as follows:
 
15    (55 ILCS 5/5-39001)  (from Ch. 34, par. 5-39001)
16    Sec. 5-39001. Establishment and use; fee. The county board
17of any county may establish and maintain a county law library,
18to be located in any county building or privately or publicly
19owned building at the county seat of government. The term
20"county building" includes premises leased by the county from a
21public building commission created under the Public Building
22Commission Act. After August 2, 1976, the county board of any

 

 

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1county may establish and maintain a county law library at the
2county seat of government and, in addition, branch law
3libraries in other locations within that county as the county
4board deems necessary.
5    The facilities of those libraries shall be freely available
6to all licensed Illinois attorneys, judges, other public
7officers of the county, and all members of the public, whenever
8the court house is open, and may include self-help centers and
9other legal assistance programs for the public as part of the
10services it provides on-site and online.
11    The expense of establishing and maintaining those
12libraries shall be borne by the county. To defray that expense,
13including the expense of any attendant self-help centers and
14legal assistance programs, in any county having established a
15county law library or libraries, the clerk of all trial courts
16located at the county seat of government shall charge and
17collect a county law library fee of $2, and the county board
18may authorize a county law library fee of not to exceed (i) $18
19in 2009, (ii) $19 in 2010, and (iii) $21 in 2011 and
20thereafter, to be charged and collected by the clerks of all
21trial courts located in the county. The fee shall be paid at
22the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or other
23appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, but no
24additional fee shall be required if more than one party is
25represented in a single pleading, paper, or other appearance.
26    Each clerk shall commence those charges and collections

 

 

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1upon receipt of written notice from the chairman of the county
2board that the board has acted under this Division to establish
3and maintain a law library.
4    The fees shall be in addition to all other fees and charges
5of the clerks, assessable as costs, remitted by the clerks
6monthly to the county treasurer, and retained by the county
7treasurer in a special fund designated as the County Law
8Library Fund. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph,
9disbursements from the fund shall be by the county treasurer,
10on order of a majority of the resident circuit judges of the
11circuit court of the county. In any county with more than
122,000,000 inhabitants, the county board shall order
13disbursements from the fund and the presiding officer of the
14county board, with the advice and consent of the county board,
15may appoint a library committee of not less than 9 members,
16who, by majority vote, may recommend to the county board as to
17disbursements of the fund and the operation of the library. In
18single county circuits with 2,000,000 or fewer inhabitants,
19disbursements from the County Law Library Fund shall be made by
20the county treasurer on the order of the chief judge of the
21circuit court of the county. In those single county circuits,
22the number of personnel necessary to operate and maintain the
23county law library shall be set by and those personnel shall be
24appointed by the chief judge. The county law library personnel
25shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The
26salaries of those personnel shall be fixed by the county board

 

 

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1of the county. Orders shall be pre-audited, funds shall be
2audited by the county auditor, and a report of the orders and
3funds shall be rendered to the county board and to the judges.
4    Fees shall not be charged in any criminal or quasi-criminal
5case, in any matter coming to the clerk on change of venue, or
6in any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative
7officer, agency, or body.
8(Source: P.A. 96-227, eff. 8-11-09.)
 
9    Section 40. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by adding
10Section 27.3g as follows:
 
11    (705 ILCS 105/27.3g new)
12    Sec. 27.3g. Pilot program; Access to Justice Act.
13    (a) If the Supreme Court develops a pilot program to
14provide court-based legal assistance in accordance with
15Section 10 of the Access to Justice Act, all clerks of the
16circuit court shall charge and collect at the time of filing
17the first pleading, paper, or other appearance filed by each
18party in all civil cases, in addition to any other fees, a fee
19of $10, but no additional fee shall be required if more than
20one party is represented in a single pleading, paper, or other
21appearance. Fees received by the clerk of the circuit court
22under this Section shall be remitted, within one month after
23receipt, to the State Treasurer for deposit into the Access to
24Justice Fund created under Section 15 of the Access to Justice

 

 

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1Act.
2    (b) This Section is repealed 5 years after the effective
3date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
 
4    Section 45. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5changing Section 5-105.5 as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/5-105.5)
7    Sec. 5-105.5. Representation by civil legal services
8provider.
9    (a) As used in this Section:
10    "Civil legal services" means legal services in noncriminal
11matters provided without charge to indigent persons who have
12been found eligible under financial eligibility guidelines
13established by the civil legal services provider.
14    "Civil legal services provider" means a not-for-profit
15corporation that (i) employs one or more attorneys who are
16licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and who
17directly provide free civil legal services or (ii) is
18established for the purpose of providing free civil legal
19services by an organized panel of pro bono attorneys.
20    "Court-sponsored pro bono program" means a pro bono program
21established by or in partnership with a court in this State for
22the purpose of providing free civil legal services by an
23organized panel of pro bono attorneys.
24    "Eligible client" means an indigent person who has been

 

 

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1found eligible for civil legal services by a civil legal
2services provider or court-sponsored pro bono program.
3    "Indigent person" means a person whose income is 125% or
4less of the current official federal poverty income guidelines
5or who is otherwise eligible to receive civil legal services
6under the eligibility guidelines of the civil legal services
7provider or court-sponsored pro bono program Legal Services
8Corporation Act of 1974.
9    (b) When a party is represented in a civil action by a
10civil legal services provider or attorney in a court-sponsored
11pro bono program, all fees and costs relating to filing,
12appearing, transcripts on appeal, and service of process shall
13be waived without the necessity of a motion for that purpose,
14and the case shall be given an index number or other
15appropriate filing number, provided that (i) a determination
16has been made by the civil legal services provider or attorney
17in a court-sponsored pro bono program that the party is an
18indigent person and (ii) an attorney's certification that that
19determination has been made is filed with the clerk of the
20court along with the complaint, the appearance, or any other
21paper that would otherwise require payment of a fee.
22    (c) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act
23of the 98th General Assembly apply to all actions commenced on
24or after July 1, 2013. The changes made to this Section by this
25amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly also apply to all
26actions pending on or after the effective date of this

 

 

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1amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, but only with
2respect to fees and costs that become due in those actions
3after July 1, 2013.
4(Source: P.A. 88-41.)
 
5    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6becoming law.