Title
Title
Equal Access Fund | Distribution of Funds for IOLTA-Formula Grants and Partnership Grants (Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
The Legal Services Trust Fund Commission recommends approving the distribution of up to $40,487,700 to the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission of the State Bar of California for the Equal Access Fund Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts-Formula Grants and Partnership Grants as authorized by the Budget Act of 2025 (Stats. 2025, ch. 4). The commission will distribute the funds as grants to legal services providers and support centers to be used for legal services in civil matters for indigent people and self-represented litigants to improve equal access and the fair administration of justice, as authorized by the Budget Act.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
The Legal Services Trust Fund Commission recommends that the Judicial Council, effective October 24, 2025:
1. Approve the distribution of up to $40,487,700 to the State Bar of California for the Equal Access Fund Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA)-Formula Grants and Partnership Grants (Link A), as authorized by the Budget Act of 2025 (Stats. 2025, ch. 4), including:
• Up to $772,600 for administration of the program by the State Bar;
• Up to $386,300 for retention by the Judicial Council for administration of the grant;
• 90 percent of the total after administrative costs, or up to $35,743,590, to be allocated through IOLTA-Formula Grants to provide legal services in civil matters for indigent persons, and 15 percent of the allocation to support centers that provide technical and legal assistance to the legal services providers;
• 10 percent of the total after administrative costs, or $3,971,510, to be allocated through Partnership Grants to legal services providers for projects conducted jointly with the courts to provide legal assistance to self-represented litigants; and
2. Approve the grant awards recommended by the commission. The proposed IOLTA-Formula Grant and Partnership Grant recipients are in Attachments A6 and A8, respectively, of the commission’s distribution report, which is included as Attachment A to this report.
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