Title
Title
Equal Access Fund | Distribution of Funds for IOLTA-Formula Grants and Partnership Grants (Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
Judicial Council staff recommend 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 (IOLTA)-Formula Grants and Partnership Grants as authorized by the Budget Act of 2024. 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 persons 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
Judicial Council staff recommend that the Judicial Council, effective September 20, 2024:
1. Approve the distribution of up to $40,487,700 to the State Bar of California for the Equal Access Fund IOLTA-Formula Grants and Partnership Grants (Link A) as authorized by the Budget Act of 2024 (Assem. Bill 107 (Gabriel)), including:
* Up to $772,600 for administration of the program by the State Bar;
* 90 percent of the total after administrative costs, or up to $36,438,930, to be allocated through IOLTA-Formula Grants to legal services providers to provide legal services in civil matters for indigent persons and 15 percent of the allocation to support centers to provide technical and legal assistance to the legal services providers;
* 10 percent of the total after administrative costs, or $4,048,770, 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 recipients are on pages 43-45 and the proposed Partnership Grant recipients are on pages 52-55 of the commission's distribution report...
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