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Alex Dery Snider, aderysnider@empirejustice.org
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Legal Services Coalition Praises Executive Budget as Step to
Addressing Staffing Crisis, Access to Justice
On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Governor Hochul released the executive budget for SFY 2026 FY2026-Executive-Budget-Briefing-Book.pdf, which included several key funding allocations for civil legal services, including:
$40,000,000 from the General Fund for the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP);
$77,500,000 in appropriation authority to the New York State Interest on Lawyer Account Fund (IOLA), including clarification of IOLA as a Fiduciary Fund;
$150,000,000 proposed by the NYS Office of Court Administration for the Judiciary Civil Legal Services program (JCLS);
$100,000,000 to cover Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) contracts through 2028 (and $20,000,000 reappropriation from SFY2025 to cover VOCA contracts through 2025);
$35,000,000 appropriation for Eviction Defense Funding (ERAP) providers outside of NYC; and
$5,260,000 Disability Advocacy Program (DAP) level funding.
These programs provide funding to civil legal aid programs across the state so that they can provide legal representation to low- and moderate-income individuals and families across the state facing foreclosure or eviction, surviving domestic violence, and other matters essential to safety and stability. In addition to above appropriations, the Legislature will still need to make additional allocations to keep existing critical legal services at level or meet the requests made by IOLA and other State agencies to accomplish their strategic goals and priorities:
$15,000,000 for ERAP must be restored by the Legislature;
DAP traditional legislative budget additions must be restored.
IOLA had requested authorization for an additional $2,500,000 for its Justice Infrastructure Project;
Funding for the Legal Services Assistance Fund (LSAF) was not included in the Executive Budget and must be restored and lined out by the Legislature.
Upstate Civil Legal Services (UCLS) was not included by the Governor and must be restored by the Legislature.
Unlike in criminal cases – in which people have a right to an attorney – civil legal service providers’ ability to continue to take on clients depends on securing government contracts and private fundraising, thus making the state budget of paramount importance. The ability to provide representation on civil cases determine people’s access to the “Essentials of Life”, including housing, food, education, and safety. The Permanent Commission on Access to Justice has estimated up to a $1 billion gap between current funding and unmet civil justice needs.
The New York Legal Services Coalition’s Legislative Steering Committee Co-Chair Jessica Rose offered the following statement:
“We are grateful that the Governor included funding for critical civil legal services programs in the executive budget. Civil legal aid clients include people surviving domestic violence, people facing homelessness, and people struggling to access stabilizing services and benefits such as social security disability, healthcare, and other resources to which they are entitled.
We respectfully urge both houses of the legislature to make the needed adds to the budget to enable stability and continuity of services and for both the executive and legislature to support these critical investments in the final budget.”
The New York Legal Services Coalition’s Legislative Steering Committee Co-Chair Sal Curran offered the following statement:
“The support of civil legal services in the SFY2026 budget is not just the right thing to do, it is also the fiscally prudent one. According to the IOLA Fund, in 2024, each dollar invested in civil legal services generated a $7.50 return in New York, by preventing homelessness and health issues; helping to secure federal income supports and tax credits that generate economic activity ultimately resulting in state and local tax dollars and business earnings; helping to prevent domestic violence and securing work authorization, among many other activities. Other estimates are as high as $10 for every $1 invested.”
The NYS Executive Budget represents one component of the overall New York State budget process. It will now be delivered to the Legislature in January. It will need to be passed by the Legislature and approved by the Executive as part of the overall final budget for the increases and continuity in funding to be available to providers for contracts starting in April of 2025.
About the New York Legal Services Coalition
The New York Legal Services Coalition is a statewide association that represents the interests of civil legal services organizations and the communities they serve. Our members collectively provide services in the areas of family law, housing, immigration, and public benefits across all 62 counties of New York State.
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