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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Morales

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/18/08 HB

SHORT TITLE Legal Aid For Low-Income Persons

SB 255

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$1,500.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Similar to HB 141

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 255, Making an Appropriation to Expand Legal Services to Low-Income Persons

Statewide appropriates $1.5 million from the general fund to the civil legal services fund for the

Civil Legal Services Commission for the purpose of contracting for increased services providing

legal assistance to low-income persons in New Mexico.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1.5 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall not revert to the

general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, civil legal aid helps low-income New

Mexicans with civil legal problems, such as: domestic violence, family law, child support, child

custody, landlord/tenant disputes, foreclosures, unsafe housing, TANF, social security,

healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, and predatory lending. Funds from this bill will not be used to

represent people in criminal matters.

Senate Bill 255 – Page 2

All legal services programs have financial eligibility criteria for clients. Generally families must

earn less than 125% of the federal poverty level (about $25,000 for a family of four). One

person in five in New Mexico, 411,000 people, meets this criterion.

Approximately 25% of civil legal aid clients are Native American and 50% are Hispanic. Many

clients are single mothers.

This appropriation will go to the Civil Legal Services Commission, established by the

Legislature, to distribute funds to non-profit civil legal service providers. The Commission

grants funds, oversees their use, and operates with strict accountability.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Administrative Office of the Courts notes that, providing greater assistance to low-income

persons with civil legal disputes may help the courts function more efficiently and hasten the

resolution of cases. Currently, many low-income New Mexicans with civil legal matters try to

navigate the legal system by representing themselves. Self-represented litigants commonly slow

the legal process, file the wrong documents, do not provide the correct supporting material, and

do not understand the legal process. Court hearings with self-represented litigants take longer

and additional hearings are commonly needed. In Albuquerque, over half of all persons in

family law matters represent themselves. That is consistent throughout the state.

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