The State Bar seeks comment on recommended changes to Rules of the State Bar governing funds administered by the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission to support free civil legal services to indigent persons in California.
Deadline: March 1, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly and can also be used to upload your comment letter and/or other attachments.
The Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC) is charged with administration and oversight of grant funds that pass through the State Bar to support civil legal aid in California. As part of these obligations, the LSTFC determines eligibility for grant funding and monitors grant compliance among recipient organizations. In 2020, the LSTFC began an extensive codification process examining the existing Rules of the State Bar on grant eligibility and administration to harmonize the governing authorities and provide proper guidance to staff, grantees, and applicants, and the LSTFC itself, in effectuating grant requirements.
Each proposal included here has gone from a working group comprised of State Bar staff and LSTFC members to the LSTFC’s Rules Committee, and finally to the LSTFC itself. Working groups shared preliminary drafts of these proposals with the Legal Aid Association of California, a membership organization of most civil legal aid grantees, which sought feedback from its constituents, who were also invited to comment directly in writing or at the LSTFC’s public meetings before the LSTFC acted. To ensure transparency and participation in the process, the LSTFC convened focus groups and provided draft proposals to one of its largest stakeholders, the legal aid community. These proposals have already obtained extensive feedback regarding their potential impact.
The proposed rule changes (and new proposed rule) address questions related to establishing eligibility for grants, including the definition of “civil legal services” and “indigent person,” as well as the types of financial statements required of applicant organizations (e.g., audits versus reviewed financial statements). The proposal further addresses administrative matters such as handling late submissions and processing complaints against grantee organizations. The proposed changes omit language that conflicts with the current grantmaking timeline by eliminating consideration of the coming year’s budget from an applicant organization’s primary purpose determination.
Through the codification process, the LSTFC seeks to improve clarity, fairness, and efficiency in grantmaking as well as oversight of State Bar funds.
According to a recent statutory change, the LSTFC is charged with recommending rules to determine grant eligibility and related to grant administration (Business and Professions Code, section 6210.5(e)). Under that same statute, the Board of Trustees shall approve such recommended rule changes unless they conflict with the State Bar’s statutory, fiduciary, or legal obligations. Consequently, the LSTFC welcomes all comments but is especially interested in comments concerning the State Bar’s relevant statutory, fiduciary, and legal obligations.
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Board of Trustees
March 1, 202, 11:59 p.m.