Full Text of HB3933 99th General Assembly
HB3933enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning courts.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Access to Justice Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Sections 5, 10, 15, and 20 and by adding Section 7 as follows: | 6 | | (705 ILCS 95/5)
| 7 | | Sec. 5. Findings. | 8 | | (a) The justice system in this State can only function | 9 | | fairly and effectively when there is meaningful access to legal | 10 | | information, resources, and assistance for all litigants, | 11 | | regardless of their income or circumstances.
| 12 | | (b) Increasing numbers of people throughout this State , | 13 | | including an increasing number of active duty service members | 14 | | and veterans, are coming into the courts without legal | 15 | | representation for cases involving important legal matters | 16 | | impacting the basics of life such as health, safety, and | 17 | | shelter. In order for the courts to provide fair and efficient | 18 | | administration of justice in these cases, it is critical that | 19 | | people , and active duty service members and veterans in | 20 | | particular, have better access to varying levels of legal | 21 | | assistance appropriate for their individual circumstances , | 22 | | which will reduce the number of cases the courts must manage | 23 | | and reduce unnecessary backlogs and delays in the court system |
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| 1 | | for the benefit of all litigants .
| 2 | | (c) An increasing number of active duty service members and | 3 | | veterans in this State have a need for legal information and | 4 | | assistance in a variety of matters that are often critical to | 5 | | their safety and independence, yet they are often unable to | 6 | | access that assistance. Providing access to legal advice and a | 7 | | referral system of attorneys for veterans and active duty | 8 | | service members, who often have underlying issues as a result | 9 | | of their military service, increases the efficiency of the | 10 | | court system and advances access to justice for everyone in | 11 | | this State.
| 12 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 13 | | (705 ILCS 95/7 new) | 14 | | Sec. 7. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 15 | | (a)
"Foundation" means the Illinois Equal Justice | 16 | | Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation created by the | 17 | | Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association | 18 | | and recognized under the Illinois Equal Justice Act. | 19 | | (b) "Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council" or "Council" | 20 | | means a special advisory body created by the Foundation. The | 21 | | Council consists of 7 members, appointed as follows: one by the | 22 | | Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, one by the Chicago Bar | 23 | | Foundation, one by the Illinois Bar Foundation, one by the | 24 | | Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, one by the Illinois | 25 | | Attorney General, and 2 by the Foundation or any successor |
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| 1 | | entities or agencies as designated by the Council. | 2 | | (705 ILCS 95/10)
| 3 | | Sec. 10. Pilot programs. | 4 | | (a) The Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council shall | 5 | | General Assembly encourages the Supreme Court to develop : (i) a | 6 | | pilot program to create a statewide military personnel and | 7 | | veterans' legal assistance hotline and coordinated network of | 8 | | legal support resources ; and (ii) a pilot program to provide | 9 | | court-based legal assistance within a circuit court in each | 10 | | appellate district of this State . | 11 | | (a-5) The Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission may | 12 | | develop a pilot program to provide court-based legal assistance | 13 | | services. | 14 | | (b) The General Assembly recommends that the rules | 15 | | developing the pilot programs: | 16 | | (1) provide intake, screening, and varying levels of | 17 | | legal assistance to ensure that the parties served by these | 18 | | programs have meaningful access to justice; | 19 | | (2) gather information on the outcomes associated with | 20 | | providing the services described in paragraph (1) of this | 21 | | subsection; and | 22 | | (3) guard against the involuntary waiver of rights or | 23 | | disposition by default.
| 24 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) |
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| 1 | | (705 ILCS 95/15)
| 2 | | Sec. 15. Access to Justice Fund. | 3 | | (a) The Access to Justice Fund is created as a special fund | 4 | | in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of fees collected | 5 | | under Section 27.3g of the Clerks of Courts Act. Moneys Subject | 6 | | to appropriation, moneys in the Access to Justice Fund shall be | 7 | | appropriated to the Attorney General for disbursements to the | 8 | | Foundation. The Foundation shall use the moneys to make grants | 9 | | and distributions used by the Supreme Court for the | 10 | | administration of the pilot programs created under this Act. | 11 | | Grants or distributions made under this Act to the Foundation | 12 | | are subject to the requirements of the Illinois Grant Funds | 13 | | Recovery Act. | 14 | | (b) In accordance with the requirements of the Illinois | 15 | | Equal Justice Act, the Foundation may make grants, enter into | 16 | | contracts, and take other actions recommended by the Council to | 17 | | effectuate the pilot programs and comply with the other | 18 | | requirements of this Act. | 19 | | (c) The governing board of the Foundation must prepare and | 20 | | submit an annual report to the Governor, the President of the | 21 | | Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the | 22 | | House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of | 23 | | Representatives, and the Justices of the Illinois Supreme | 24 | | Court. The report must include: (i) a statement of the total | 25 | | receipts and a breakdown by source during each of the previous | 26 | | 2 calendar years; (ii) a list of the names and addresses of the |
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| 1 | | recipients that are currently receiving grants or | 2 | | distributions and that received grants or distributions in the | 3 | | previous year and the amounts committed to recipients for the | 4 | | current year and paid in the previous year; (iii) a breakdown | 5 | | of the amounts of grants or distributions paid during the | 6 | | previous year to recipients and the amounts committed to each | 7 | | recipient for the current year; (iv) a breakdown of the | 8 | | Foundation's costs in administering the Fund; (v) a statement | 9 | | of the Fund balance at the start and at the close of the | 10 | | previous year and the interest earned during the previous year; | 11 | | and (vi) any notices the Foundation issued denying applications | 12 | | for grants or distributions under this Act. The report, in its | 13 | | entirety, is a public record, and the Foundation and the | 14 | | Governor shall make the report available for inspection upon | 15 | | request. | 16 | | (d) The Foundation may annually retain a portion of the | 17 | | disbursements it receives under this Section to reimburse the | 18 | | Foundation for the actual cost of administering the Council and | 19 | | for making the grants and distributions pursuant to this Act | 20 | | during that year. | 21 | | (e) No moneys distributed by the Foundation from the Access | 22 | | to Justice Fund may be directly or indirectly used for lobbying | 23 | | activities, as defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist | 24 | | Registration Act or as defined in any ordinance or resolution | 25 | | of a municipality, county, or other unit of local government in | 26 | | Illinois.
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| 1 | | (f) The Foundation may make, enter into, and execute | 2 | | contracts, agreements, leases, and other instruments with any | 3 | | person, including without limitation any federal, State, or | 4 | | local governmental agency, and may take other actions that may | 5 | | be necessary or convenient to accomplish any purpose authorized | 6 | | by this Act. | 7 | | (g) The Foundation has the authority to receive and accept | 8 | | any and all grants, loans, subsidies, matching funds, | 9 | | reimbursements, federal grant moneys, fees for services, and | 10 | | other things of value from the federal or State government or | 11 | | any agency of any other state or from any institution, person, | 12 | | firm, or corporation, public or private, to be used to carry | 13 | | out the purposes of this Act. | 14 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 15 | | (705 ILCS 95/20)
| 16 | | Sec. 20. Evaluation. The Council Supreme Court shall study | 17 | | the effectiveness of the pilot programs implemented under this | 18 | | Act and submit a report to the Supreme Court, Governor, and | 19 | | General Assembly by June 1, 2021 2017 . The report shall include | 20 | | the number of people served by the veteran and active military | 21 | | legal hotline and pro bono program and data on how the pilot | 22 | | programs expanded access to justice and the impact on | 23 | | government programs and community resources in each pilot | 24 | | program and data on the impact of varying levels of legal | 25 | | assistance on access to justice, the effect on fair and |
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| 1 | | efficient court administration, and the impact on government | 2 | | programs and community resources . This report shall describe | 3 | | the benefits of providing legal assistance to those who were | 4 | | previously unrepresented, both for the clients , the military | 5 | | and veteran service organizations, and civil legal aid | 6 | | programs, and the courts, and shall describe strategies and | 7 | | recommendations for maximizing the benefit of that | 8 | | representation in the future. The report shall include an | 9 | | assessment of the continuing unmet needs and, if available, | 10 | | data regarding those unmet needs.
| 11 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 12 | | Section 10. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing | 13 | | Section 27.3g as follows: | 14 | | (705 ILCS 105/27.3g) | 15 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on August 15, 2018) | 16 | | Sec. 27.3g. Pilot program; Access to Justice Act. | 17 | | (a) On and after September 1, 2015 If the Supreme Court | 18 | | develops a pilot program to provide court-based legal | 19 | | assistance in accordance with Section 10 of the Access to | 20 | | Justice Act , all clerks of the circuit court shall charge and | 21 | | collect at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or | 22 | | other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, in | 23 | | addition to any other fees, a fee of $2 $10 , but no additional | 24 | | fee shall be required if more than one party is represented in |
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| 1 | | a single pleading, paper, or other appearance. Fees received by | 2 | | the clerk of the circuit court under this Section shall be | 3 | | remitted by the clerk of the circuit court to the State | 4 | | Treasurer , within one month after receipt, to the Supreme Court | 5 | | for deposit into the Access to Justice Fund created under | 6 | | Section 15 of the Access to Justice Act. | 7 | | (b) This Section is repealed on September 1, 2020 5 years | 8 | | after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th | 9 | | General Assembly .
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
| 11 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 12 | | becoming law.
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