Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                      Raised Bill No. 456
       February Session, 2020               LCO No. 2902
     Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
     Introduced by:
       (JUD)
 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PROGRAM TO
 PROVIDE INDIGENT INDIVIDUALS WITH ACCESS TO LEGAL
 SERVICES WHEN SEEKING A RESTRAINING ORDER UNDER
 SECTION 46B-15 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
       Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a
    grant program to provide indigent individuals, interested in applying
    for a restraining order under section 46b-15 of the general statutes, with
    access to legal counsel. The program shall be administered by the tax-
    exempt organization administering the program for the use of interest
    earned on lawyers' clients' funds accounts pursuant to section 51-81c of
    the general statutes.
      (b) For each fiscal year that funding is made available for the
   program, the organization administering the program shall issue a
   request for proposals for the purpose of awarding grants to nonprofit
   corporations whose principal purpose is providing legal services to
   indigent individuals. A nonprofit corporation selected to receive a grant
   shall provide indigent individuals interested in applying for a
   restraining order pursuant to section 46b-15 of the general statutes with
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 access to legal counsel (1) for the preparation of the application, and (2)
 to the extent practicable within the grant funding awarded, throughout
 the process of applying for such restraining order, including at any
 prehearing conference and any hearing on an application. Such request
 for proposals shall be issued not later than three months after the
 organization administering the program receives funding pursuant to
 section 2 of this act. A nonprofit corporation submitting a proposal may
 partner with law schools, other nonprofit entities or publicly funded
 organizations not acting in a governmental capacity, for the provision
 of legal services pursuant to the grant. Grants may only be awarded to
 provide legal services in the judicial districts of Bridgeport, Hartford,
 New Haven, Stamford or Waterbury. Each grant award shall set forth
 the judicial district courthouse, or courthouses, for which legal services
 shall be provided. No grant for legal services to be provided in any
 judicial district shall exceed two hundred thousand dollars, except a
 grant for legal services to be provided in the judicial district with the
 largest number of applications under section 46b-15 of the general
 statutes in the previous fiscal year shall not exceed four hundred
 thousand dollars. No grant may be used to provide legal services to an
 individual who is not indigent.
   (c) Grants may only be awarded to a nonprofit corporation that
 demonstrates the ability to:
    (1) Verify at the time of meeting with an individual that such
 individual is indigent and meets applicable household income
 eligibility requirements of the grant applicant;
    (2) Arrange for at least one individual to be present in the courthouse
 during all business hours who has the relevant training or experience
 and is authorized by law to provide legal counsel to individuals who
 are interested in applying for a restraining order;
    (3) After providing assistance to an individual with an application
 for a restraining order under section 46b-15 of the general statutes,
 represent, at the nonprofit corporation's discretion, such individual
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 throughout the restraining order process including being present in
 court for the hearing on the restraining order, to the greatest extent
 practicable within the funding awarded;
    (4) Provide any individual in the courthouse interested in applying
 for a restraining order with all applicable forms that may be necessary
 to apply for a restraining order; and
    (5) Track and report to the organization administering the program
 on: (A) The legal services provided pursuant to the program and the
 procedural outcome of any application filed for a restraining order
 under section 46b-15 of the general statutes, (B) the number of instances
 where legal counsel was provided prior to the filing of an application
 but not thereafter during the restraining order process and the reasons
 therefor, and (C) any other legal representation provided to individuals
 pursuant to the program on matters that were ancillary to the
 circumstances that supported the application for a restraining order.
    (d) The organization administering the program shall give
 preference to applications (1) that demonstrate the ability to provide
 legal representation to individuals regarding matters ancillary to the
 circumstances that support the application for a restraining order; and
 (2) from entities with experience offering legal representation to
 individuals applying for relief under section 46b-15 of the general
 statutes.
    (e) The Chief Court Administrator shall, for each judicial district
 where a grant recipient is providing legal services pursuant to the grant
 program, (1) provide each grant recipient office space in the judicial
 district courthouse to conduct intake and assist individuals with
 applications for restraining orders, and (2) require court clerks at such
 courthouses, prior to accepting an application for a restraining order
 pursuant to section 46b-15 of the general statutes, to inform each
 individual filing such application or inquiring about filing such an
 application that no cost legal services are available from the grant
 recipient for income-eligible individuals and where such grant recipient
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 is located in the courthouse.
    (f) For each fiscal year that funding is provided for the program, the
 organization administering the program shall either conduct, or partner
 with an academic institution or other qualified entity for the purpose of
 conducting an analysis of the impact of the program, including, but not
 limited to: (1) The procedural outcomes for applications filed in
 association with legal services provided by grant recipients under the
 program, (2) the types and extent of legal services provided to
 individuals served pursuant to the program, including on matters
 ancillary to the restraining order application, and (3) the number of
 cases where legal services were provided before an application was filed
 but not thereafter during the individual's restraining order process and
 the reasons for such limited representations.
    Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2021,
 and June 30, 2022, the Attorney General, utilizing transfer invoices, shall
 remit one million two hundred fifty thousand dollars to the tax-exempt
 organization administering the program established pursuant to section
 1 of this act, from moneys received by the office of the Attorney General
 in connection with the settlement of any lawsuit to which the state is a
 party. Such remittal in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, shall occur
 no later than one year following the date of the remittal in the previous
 fiscal year. Moneys remitted to the tax-exempt organization pursuant to
 this section shall be used for purposes of the program established in
 section 1 of this act. No more than five per cent of the total amount of
 the moneys remitted may be used for the reasonable costs of
 administering the program, including the completion of the analysis
 required pursuant to subsection (f) of section 1 of this act.
       This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
       sections:
       Section 1      from passage                 New section
       Sec. 2         from passage                 New section
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                                                                         Raised Bill No.        456
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a program to provide indigent individuals with access to
legal services when seeking a restraining order under section 46b-15 of
the general statutes.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
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