Full Text of HB3933 99th General Assembly
HB3933ham003 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Emily McAsey Filed: 4/20/2015
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3933
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3933, AS AMENDED, by | 3 | | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 | | following:
| 5 | | "Section 5. The Access to Justice Act is amended by | 6 | | changing Sections 5, 10, 15, and 20 and by adding Section 7 as | 7 | | follows: | 8 | | (705 ILCS 95/5)
| 9 | | Sec. 5. Findings. | 10 | | (a) The justice system in this State can only function | 11 | | fairly and effectively when there is meaningful access to legal | 12 | | information, resources, and assistance for all litigants, | 13 | | regardless of their income or circumstances.
| 14 | | (b) Increasing numbers of people throughout this State , | 15 | | including an increasing number of active duty service members | 16 | | and veterans, are coming into the courts without legal |
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| 1 | | representation for cases involving important legal matters | 2 | | impacting the basics of life such as health, safety, and | 3 | | shelter. In order for the courts to provide fair and efficient | 4 | | administration of justice in these cases, it is critical that | 5 | | people , and active duty service members and veterans in | 6 | | particular, have better access to varying levels of legal | 7 | | assistance appropriate for their individual circumstances , | 8 | | which will reduce the number of cases the courts must manage | 9 | | and reduce unnecessary backlogs and delays in the court system | 10 | | for the benefit of all litigants .
| 11 | | (c) An increasing number of active duty service members and | 12 | | veterans in this State have a need for legal information and | 13 | | assistance in a variety of matters that are often critical to | 14 | | their safety and independence, yet they are often unable to | 15 | | access that assistance. Providing access to legal advice and a | 16 | | referral system of attorneys for veterans and active duty | 17 | | service members, who often have underlying issues as a result | 18 | | of their military service, increases the efficiency of the | 19 | | court system and advances access to justice for everyone in | 20 | | this State.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 22 | | (705 ILCS 95/7 new) | 23 | | Sec. 7. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 24 | | (a)
"Foundation" means the Illinois Equal Justice | 25 | | Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation created by the |
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| 1 | | Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association | 2 | | and recognized under the Illinois Equal Justice Act. | 3 | | (b) "Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council" or "Council" | 4 | | means a special advisory body created by the Foundation. The | 5 | | Council consists of 7 members, appointed as follows: one by the | 6 | | Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, one by the Chicago Bar | 7 | | Foundation, one by the Illinois Bar Foundation, one by the | 8 | | Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, one by the Illinois | 9 | | Attorney General, and 2 by the Foundation or any successor | 10 | | entities or agencies as designated by the Council. | 11 | | (705 ILCS 95/10)
| 12 | | Sec. 10. Pilot programs. | 13 | | (a) The Illinois Access to Civil Justice Council shall | 14 | | General Assembly encourages the Supreme Court to develop : (i) a | 15 | | pilot program to create a statewide military personnel and | 16 | | veterans' legal assistance hotline and coordinated network of | 17 | | legal support resources ; and (ii) a pilot program to provide | 18 | | court-based legal assistance within a circuit court in each | 19 | | appellate district of this State . | 20 | | (a-5) The Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission may | 21 | | develop a pilot program to provide court-based legal assistance | 22 | | services. | 23 | | (b) The General Assembly recommends that the rules | 24 | | developing the pilot programs: | 25 | | (1) provide intake, screening, and varying levels of |
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| 1 | | legal assistance to ensure that the parties served by these | 2 | | programs have meaningful access to justice; | 3 | | (2) gather information on the outcomes associated with | 4 | | providing the services described in paragraph (1) of this | 5 | | subsection; and | 6 | | (3) guard against the involuntary waiver of rights or | 7 | | disposition by default.
| 8 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 9 | | (705 ILCS 95/15)
| 10 | | Sec. 15. Access to Justice Fund. | 11 | | (a) The Access to Justice Fund is created as a special fund | 12 | | in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of fees collected | 13 | | under Section 27.3g of the Clerks of Courts Act. Moneys Subject | 14 | | to appropriation, moneys in the Access to Justice Fund shall be | 15 | | directed to and used by the Attorney General for grants to the | 16 | | Foundation Supreme Court for the administration of the pilot | 17 | | programs created under this Act. Grants made under this Act to | 18 | | the Foundation are subject to the requirements of the Illinois | 19 | | Grant Funds Recovery Act. | 20 | | (b) In accordance with the requirements of the Illinois | 21 | | Equal Justice Act, the Foundation may make grants, enter into | 22 | | contracts, and take other actions recommended by the Council to | 23 | | effectuate the pilot programs and comply with the other | 24 | | requirements of this Act. | 25 | | (c) The governing board of the Foundation must prepare and |
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| 1 | | submit an annual report to the Governor, the President of the | 2 | | Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the | 3 | | House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of | 4 | | Representatives, and the Justices of the Illinois Supreme | 5 | | Court. The report must include: (i) a statement of the total | 6 | | receipts and a breakdown by source during each of the previous | 7 | | 2 calendar years; (ii) a list of the names and addresses of the | 8 | | recipients that are currently receiving funds and that received | 9 | | funds in the previous year and the amounts committed to | 10 | | recipients for the current year and paid in the previous year; | 11 | | (iii) a breakdown of the amounts paid during the previous year | 12 | | to recipients and the amounts committed to each recipient for | 13 | | the current year; (iv) a breakdown of the Foundation's costs in | 14 | | administering the Fund; (v) a statement of the Fund balance at | 15 | | the start and at the close of the previous year and the | 16 | | interest earned during the previous year; and (vi) any notices | 17 | | the Foundation issued denying applications for moneys under | 18 | | this Act. The report, in its entirety, is a public record, and | 19 | | the Foundation and the Governor shall make the report available | 20 | | for inspection upon request. | 21 | | (d) The Foundation may annually retain a portion of the | 22 | | amounts it receives under this Section to reimburse the | 23 | | Foundation for the actual cost of administering the Council and | 24 | | for making the grants and distributions pursuant to this Act | 25 | | during that year. | 26 | | (e) No moneys distributed from the Access to Justice Fund |
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| 1 | | may be directly or indirectly used for lobbying activities, as | 2 | | defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist Registration Act or as | 3 | | defined in any ordinance or resolution of a municipality, | 4 | | county, or other unit of local government in Illinois.
| 5 | | (f) The Foundation may make, enter into, and execute | 6 | | contracts, agreements, leases, and other instruments with any | 7 | | person, including without limitation any federal, State, or | 8 | | local governmental agency, and may take other actions that may | 9 | | be necessary or convenient to accomplish any purpose authorized | 10 | | by this Act. | 11 | | (g) The Foundation has the authority to receive and accept | 12 | | any and all grants, loans, subsidies, matching funds, | 13 | | reimbursements, federal grant moneys, fees for services, and | 14 | | other things of value from the federal or State government or | 15 | | any agency of any other state or from any institution, person, | 16 | | firm, or corporation, public or private, to be used to carry | 17 | | out the purposes of this Act. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 19 | | (705 ILCS 95/20)
| 20 | | Sec. 20. Evaluation. The Council Supreme Court shall study | 21 | | the effectiveness of the pilot programs implemented under this | 22 | | Act and submit a report to the Supreme Court, Governor, and | 23 | | General Assembly by June 1, 2021 2017 . The report shall include | 24 | | the number of people served by the veteran and active military | 25 | | legal hotline and pro bono program and data on how the pilot |
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| 1 | | programs expanded access to justice and the impact on | 2 | | government programs and community resources in each pilot | 3 | | program and data on the impact of varying levels of legal | 4 | | assistance on access to justice, the effect on fair and | 5 | | efficient court administration, and the impact on government | 6 | | programs and community resources . This report shall describe | 7 | | the benefits of providing legal assistance to those who were | 8 | | previously unrepresented, both for the clients , the military | 9 | | and veteran service organizations, and civil legal aid | 10 | | programs, and the courts, and shall describe strategies and | 11 | | recommendations for maximizing the benefit of that | 12 | | representation in the future. The report shall include an | 13 | | assessment of the continuing unmet needs and, if available, | 14 | | data regarding those unmet needs.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.) | 16 | | Section 10. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by changing | 17 | | Section 27.3g as follows: | 18 | | (705 ILCS 105/27.3g) | 19 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on August 15, 2018) | 20 | | Sec. 27.3g. Pilot program; Access to Justice Act. | 21 | | (a) On and after September 1, 2015 If the Supreme Court | 22 | | develops a pilot program to provide court-based legal | 23 | | assistance in accordance with Section 10 of the Access to | 24 | | Justice Act , all clerks of the circuit court shall charge and |
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| 1 | | collect at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or | 2 | | other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, in | 3 | | addition to any other fees, a fee of $2 $10 , but no additional | 4 | | fee shall be required if more than one party is represented in | 5 | | a single pleading, paper, or other appearance. Fees received by | 6 | | the clerk of the circuit court under this Section shall be | 7 | | remitted by the clerk of the circuit court to the Attorney | 8 | | General , within one month after receipt, to the Supreme Court | 9 | | for deposit into the Access to Justice Fund created under | 10 | | Section 15 of the Access to Justice Act. | 11 | | (b) This Section is repealed on September 1, 2020 5 years | 12 | | after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th | 13 | | General Assembly .
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 98-351, eff. 8-15-13.)
| 15 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 16 | | becoming law.".
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