HB3111eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3111 Engrossed LRB098 10885 HEP 41444 b

AN ACT concerning legal assistance.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access to Justice Act.

Section 5. Findings.

(a) The justice system in this State can only function fairly and effectively when there is meaningful access to legal information, resources, and assistance for all litigants, regardless of their income or circumstances.

(b) Increasing numbers of people throughout this State are coming into the courts without legal representation for cases involving important legal matters impacting the basics of life such as health, safety, and shelter. In order for the courts to provide fair and efficient administration of justice in these cases, it is critical that people have better access to varying levels of legal assistance appropriate for their individual circumstances.

(c) An increasing number of active duty service members and veterans in this State have a need for legal information and assistance in a variety of matters that are often critical to their safety and independence, yet they are often unable to access that assistance.

Section 10. Pilot programs.

(a) The General Assembly encourages the Supreme Court to develop: (i) a pilot program to create a statewide military personnel and veterans' legal assistance hotline and coordinated network of legal support resources; and (ii) a pilot program to provide court-based legal assistance within a circuit court in each appellate district of this State.

(b) The General Assembly recommends that the rules developing the pilot programs:

(1) provide intake, screening, and varying levels of legal assistance to ensure that the parties served by these programs have meaningful access to justice;

(2) gather information on the outcomes associated with providing the services described in paragraph (1) of this subsection; and

(3) guard against the involuntary waiver of rights or disposition by default.

Section 15. Access to Justice Fund. The Access to Justice Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of fees collected under Section 27.3g of the Clerks of Courts Act. There is hereby appropriated, on a continuing annual basis in each fiscal year, from the Access to Justice Fund, the amount, if any, of funds received into the Access to Justice Fund to the Supreme Court for the administration of the pilot programs created under this Act.

Section 20. Evaluation. The Supreme Court shall study the effectiveness of the pilot programs implemented under this Act and submit a report to the General Assembly by June 1, 2017. The report shall include the number of people served in each pilot program and data on the impact of varying levels of legal assistance on access to justice, the effect on fair and efficient court administration, and the impact on government programs and community resources. This report shall describe the benefits of providing legal assistance to those who were previously unrepresented, both for the clients and the courts, and shall describe strategies and recommendations for maximizing the benefit of that representation in the future. The report shall include an assessment of the continuing unmet needs and, if available, data regarding those unmet needs.

Section 25. Statutory Court Fee Task Force.

(a) There is hereby created the Statutory Court Fee Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to conduct a thorough review of the various statutory fees imposed or assessed on criminal defendants and civil litigants.

(b) The Task Force shall consist of 15 members, appointed as follows: one each by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate; 2 by the association representing circuit court clerks; 2 by the Governor, and 7 by the Supreme Court.

(c) At the direction of the Supreme Court, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts shall provide administrative support to the Task Force.

(d) The Task Force shall submit a report containing its findings and any recommendations to the Supreme Court and the General Assembly by June 1, 2014.

Section 30. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.826 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.826 new)

Sec. 5.826. The Access to Justice Fund.

Section 35. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section 5-39001 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/5-39001) (from Ch. 34, par. 5-39001)

Sec. 5-39001. Establishment and use; fee. The county board of any county may establish and maintain a county law library, to be located in any county building or privately or publicly owned building at the county seat of government. The term "county building" includes premises leased by the county from a public building commission created under the Public Building Commission Act. After August 2, 1976, the county board of any county may establish and maintain a county law library at the county seat of government and, in addition, branch law libraries in other locations within that county as the county board deems necessary.

The facilities of those libraries shall be freely available to all licensed Illinois attorneys, judges, other public officers of the county, and all members of the public, whenever the court house is open, and may include self-help centers and other legal assistance programs for the public as part of the services it provides on-site and online.

The expense of establishing and maintaining those libraries shall be borne by the county. To defray that expense, including the expense of any attendant self-help centers and legal assistance programs, in any county having established a county law library or libraries, the clerk of all trial courts located at the county seat of government shall charge and collect a county law library fee of $2, and the county board may authorize a county law library fee of not to exceed (i) $18 in 2009, (ii) $19 in 2010, and (iii) $21 in 2011 and thereafter, to be charged and collected by the clerks of all trial courts located in the county. The fee shall be paid at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, but no additional fee shall be required if more than one party is represented in a single pleading, paper, or other appearance.

Each clerk shall commence those charges and collections upon receipt of written notice from the chairman of the county board that the board has acted under this Division to establish and maintain a law library.

The fees shall be in addition to all other fees and charges of the clerks, assessable as costs, remitted by the clerks monthly to the county treasurer, and retained by the county treasurer in a special fund designated as the County Law Library Fund. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, disbursements from the fund shall be by the county treasurer, on order of a majority of the resident circuit judges of the circuit court of the county. In any county with more than 2,000,000 inhabitants, the county board shall order disbursements from the fund and the presiding officer of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, may appoint a library committee of not less than 9 members, who, by majority vote, may recommend to the county board as to disbursements of the fund and the operation of the library. In single county circuits with 2,000,000 or fewer inhabitants, disbursements from the County Law Library Fund shall be made by the county treasurer on the order of the chief judge of the circuit court of the county. In those single county circuits, the number of personnel necessary to operate and maintain the county law library shall be set by and those personnel shall be appointed by the chief judge. The county law library personnel shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The salaries of those personnel shall be fixed by the county board of the county. Orders shall be pre-audited, funds shall be audited by the county auditor, and a report of the orders and funds shall be rendered to the county board and to the judges.

Fees shall not be charged in any criminal or quasi-criminal case, in any matter coming to the clerk on change of venue, or in any proceeding to review the decision of any administrative officer, agency, or body.

(Source: P.A. 96-227, eff. 8-11-09.)

Section 40. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by adding Section 27.3g as follows:

(705 ILCS 105/27.3g new)

Sec. 27.3g. Pilot program; Access to Justice Act.

(a) If the Supreme Court develops a pilot program to provide court-based legal assistance in accordance with Section 10 of the Access to Justice Act, all clerks of the circuit court shall charge and collect at the time of filing the first pleading, paper, or other appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, in addition to any other fees, a fee of $10, but no additional fee shall be required if more than one party is represented in a single pleading, paper, or other appearance. Fees received by the clerk of the circuit court under this Section shall be remitted, within one month after receipt, to the State Treasurer for deposit into the Access to Justice Fund created under Section 15 of the Access to Justice Act.

(b) This Section is repealed 5 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.

Section 45. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by changing Section 5-105.5 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/5-105.5)

Sec. 5-105.5. Representation by civil legal services provider.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Civil legal services" means legal services in noncriminal matters provided without charge to indigent persons who have been found eligible under financial eligibility guidelines established by the civil legal services provider.

"Civil legal services provider" means a not-for-profit corporation that (i) employs one or more attorneys who are licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and who directly provide free civil legal services or (ii) is established for the purpose of providing free civil legal services by an organized panel of pro bono attorneys.

"Court-sponsored pro bono program" means a pro bono program established by or in partnership with a court in this State for the purpose of providing free civil legal services by an organized panel of pro bono attorneys.

"Eligible client" means an indigent person who has been found eligible for civil legal services by a civil legal services provider or court-sponsored pro bono program.

"Indigent person" means a person whose income is 125% or less of the current official federal poverty income guidelines or who is otherwise eligible to receive civil legal services under the eligibility guidelines of the civil legal services provider or court-sponsored pro bono program Legal Services Corporation Act of 1974.

(b) When a party is represented in a civil action by a civil legal services provider or attorney in a court-sponsored pro bono program, all fees and costs relating to filing, appearing, transcripts on appeal, and service of process shall be waived without the necessity of a motion for that purpose, and the case shall be given an index number or other appropriate filing number, provided that (i) a determination has been made by the civil legal services provider or attorney in a court-sponsored pro bono program that the party is an indigent person and (ii) an attorney's certification that that determination has been made is filed with the clerk of the court along with the complaint, the appearance, or any other paper that would otherwise require payment of a fee.

(c) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly apply to all actions commenced on or after July 1, 2013. The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly also apply to all actions pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, but only with respect to fees and costs that become due in those actions after July 1, 2013.

(Source: P.A. 88-41.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.