February 6, 2026
Sign On Letter to Governor Hochul
RE: Request for Full Spending Authority for the Interest on Lawyer Account (IOLA) Fund in the 30-Day Budget Amendments
Dear Governor Hochul,
We, the 132 undersigned organizations and individuals, write to ask you to include full spending authority for the Interest on Lawyer Account (IOLA) Fund in your forthcoming 30-day amendments to the SFY 2027 Executive Budget. This action is essential to maintaining stability in New York’s civil legal services delivery system and ensuring that low-income New Yorkers continue to receive the assistance they need during a period of unprecedented demand.
Civil legal services providers are essential partners in advancing many of the priorities outlined in your Executive Budget—including protecting immigrant communities, supporting New Yorkers facing economic hardship, and safeguarding housing stability, family security, and access to vital benefits. Unlike in criminal cases, New Yorkers confronting life altering civil matters are not guaranteed an attorney. A strong, predictable, and accessible civil legal services network is therefore critical to achieving your goals of fairness, affordability, and equity.
As currently proposed, the Executive Budget does not grant IOLA the full $102.5 million in spending authority requested. These funds are not taxpayer dollars; they are generated through interest on attorney escrow accounts and are already held by IOLA for the express purpose of supporting civil legal services statewide, as authorized by statute.
In 2024, IOLA initiated a five-year, competitively bid contracting process designed to provide long-term stability and predictability for service providers. This multi-year approach—widely embraced by the field—enables organizations to plan responsibly, recruit and retain staff, and meet increasing demand for services. It is already improving coordination and strengthening service delivery across the state.
Without the additional $25 million in spending authority needed to fully fund IOLA’s request, the second year of these contracts faces significant cuts. Such reductions would result in job losses, diminished services for vulnerable communities, and the unraveling of carefully planned innovations—directly undermining the policy goals your budget seeks to advance.
We respectfully ask you to address this issue in the 30-day amendments by providing IOLA with the full appropriation authority required to honor its multiyear commitments. Doing so will reinforce New York’s commitment to stability, equity, and access to justice, and ensure that civil legal services providers can continue their vital work in supporting the state’s affordability and immigrant protection agenda.
Thank you for your leadership and for your continued commitment to ensuring fairness and opportunity for all New Yorkers.
Sincerely,
The New York Legal Services Coalition
A. Côté Consulting Group PLLC
Access Justice Brooklyn
Brooklyn Defender Services
Build Up Justice NYC
Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York
Catholic Migration Services
CCCS of Rochester
Center for Elder Law & Justice
Central American Refugee Center - CARECEN NY
Child and Family Services of Erie County
City Bar Justice Center
Domestic Violence Project | Urban Justice Center
Empire Justice Center
Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project
Finding Your Cup LLC
Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society
Genesee Co-op FCU
Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys
Her Justice
Hope's Door
Housing Conservation Coordinators
Hudson Valley Justice Center
Hurwitz Fine PC
Immigration Law & Justice New York
JASA|Legal Services for Elder Justice
Jensen, Marks, Langer & Vance LLC
Journeys End Refugee Services
JustCause
Lawyers For Children
Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc.
Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY)
Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.
Legal Services NYC
Legal Services of Central New York
Legal Services of Long Island
Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
Linden Financial Consultants, LLC
Make the Road New York
Mancuso Brightman PLLC
Mobilization for Justice, Inc.
Monroe County Assigned Counsel Program
Monroe County Bar Association
Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
New Economy Project
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)
New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
New York State Citizen Review Panels for Child Protective Services
NMIC
Pace Women's Justice Center
Partnership for the Public Good
President, New York County Lawyers Assn
Pro Bono Net
Rural Law Center of New York
Sanctuary for Families
TakeRoot Justice
Teamsters Local 264
The Bronx Defenders
The Door - A Center of Alternatives, Inc.
The Family Center
The Fazili Firm
The Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society of Rochester, NY
The Legal Project
United Community Center of Westchester, Inc
UnLocal
Urban Justice Center
Urban Resource Institute
Volunteer Lawyers Project
Volunteer Lawyers Project of CNY, Inc.
Volunteers of Legal Service
Western New York Law Center, Inc.
Individuals:
Aalok Karambelkar
Adrienne Wong
Afia Babar, MD - Member of the Board of Directors at The Family Center
Amy Barasch
Ann Monroe- Vice President of Center for Elder Law & Justice
Anne McKenna
Anne E. Joynt - Vice President of Center for Elder Law & Justice
Anne M Noble
Beth Kinne
Bradley Kammholz
Bridget Healy, Board Chair, NYLAG
Brooke Richie-Babbage
Bryan Roberts
Cat McCulle
Catherine Doyle
Cathy Creighton
Dany Rothemund
David A. Munro, Esq.
Denine Carr
Diane Cecero
Emily Fazio
Eva Dolgin
Fidele Menavanza- Vice President of Center for Elder Law & Justice
Greta Mosley
Henry Freedman
Holly Hejmowski
Joel Frank
Joshua Feinstein
Julie Miller
Katherine J. Bestine
Katie Blum
Katie Ireland
Kristen M. Clark
Kristine Brown
Krystal Bertrand
Laura Dwyer
Lauren Papa
Leslie Fox
Lindsay Rabitz
Liz Novak
Lori Alicie
Louise Spinelli
Lynn Bradley
Maggie Robb
Marika Pritchett
Marshall Bertram
Melinda R. Saran
Mitchell A Lowenthal
Nancy S. Erickson
Nandita Sahni
Oliver C. Young
Patricia Marks
Paul Vallone
Rebecca L. Sandefur
Richard Osterweil
Robert Weissflach
Sally Partner
Sarah Wooton
Tina Armstrong
Vikram Shankar