Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009
Latest action · Apr 27, 2010 Committee Hearings Held.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 8, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009 - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to reauthorize the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) at increased levels for FY2010-FY2015.
Requires the LSC Board of Directors to include at least one individual with financial or audit experience.
Eliminates state advisory councils.
Increases the maximum pay level for LSC officers and employees.
Requires the LSC to establish: (1) a protocol for the receipt of donations; (2) an audit committee, a finance committee, and a governance and performance review committee; (3) a continuity of operations plan; and (4) an adequate internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting.
Requires the LSC to promote recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff members for all grantees, contractees, or recipients of financial assistance through the Pilot Loan Repayment Assistance Program or other appropriate programs.
Limits the coverage of prohibited purpose provisions of federal law only to recipient use of funds from the LSC itself. (Thus lifts such restrictions, except those related to abortion litigation, on the use of state and local funds and private donations.)
Revises eligibility requirements for LSC grantees and funds recipients, extending specific eligibility to those seeking assistance with matters relating to home foreclosure or mortgage default or delinquency.
Requires distribution of LSC funds on the basis of a system of competitive bidding, as well as specific allocations for all geographic areas, Native American communities, and migrant and seasonal farm workers.
Prohibits the use of LSC funds to provide legal assistance with respect to: (1) litigation relating to prison conditions; (2) the defense of an individual in a proceeding to evict him or her from a public housing project in connection with a drug offense; or (3) all but certain aliens.
Authorizes the LSC to allow use of a portion of the funds provided under the grant or contract to acquire and develop information technology to promote full access to high-quality, efficient legal representation and materials for self-representation.
Directs the LSC to require an audit of each recipient in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
Cosponsors 56
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 8, 2009 to Sep 16, 2010; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MA | Bill Delahunt | Original | Oct 8, 2009 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Oct 8, 2009 |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Original | Oct 8, 2009 |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Original | Oct 8, 2009 |
| D-NC | Melvin L. Watt | Original | Oct 8, 2009 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Oct 8, 2009 |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Nov 2, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Nov 2, 2009 | |
| D-VA | Glenn C. Nye | Dec 3, 2009 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Dec 3, 2009 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Dec 3, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Dec 10, 2009 | |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Dec 10, 2009 | |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Jan 12, 2010 | |
| D-PA | Chaka Fattah | Jan 12, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Howard L. Berman | Jan 12, 2010 | |
| D-FL | Corrine Brown | Jan 13, 2010 | |
| D-VA | Rick Boucher | Jan 20, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Jan 21, 2010 | |
| D-AZ | Ed Pastor | Feb 2, 2010 | |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Feb 2, 2010 | |
| D-IL | Luis V. Gutierrez | Feb 2, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Daniel B. Maffei | Feb 3, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Anthony D. Weiner | Feb 23, 2010 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Feb 23, 2010 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Feb 23, 2010 | |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Feb 23, 2010 | |
| D-PA | Joe Sestak | Feb 23, 2010 | |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Mar 2, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Mar 2, 2010 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Mar 2, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Mar 10, 2010 | |
| D-TX | Charles A. Gonzalez | Mar 22, 2010 | |
| D-IL | Phil Hare | Apr 21, 2010 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Apr 21, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Apr 22, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Apr 22, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Apr 22, 2010 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Apr 22, 2010 | |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Apr 26, 2010 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Apr 26, 2010 | |
| D-OH | Steve Driehaus | Apr 26, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Apr 27, 2010 | |
| D-IL | Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | Apr 27, 2010 | |
| D-PR | Pedro R. Pierluisi | Apr 27, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Maxine Waters | Apr 28, 2010 | |
| D-FL | Alan Grayson | May 11, 2010 | |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | May 18, 2010 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | May 25, 2010 | |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Jun 9, 2010 | |
| D-IA | Bruce L. Braley | Jun 17, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Jun 23, 2010 | |
| D-MO | Russ Carnahan | Jun 23, 2010 | |
| D-AL | Artur Davis | Jul 1, 2010 | |
| D-ME | Michael H. Michaud | Jul 15, 2010 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Sep 16, 2010 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Oct 8, 2009Hearings Apr 27, 2010 |
| Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee | Referred Oct 19, 2009 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 27, 2010Committee Hearings Held.
- Oct 19, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
- Oct 8, 2009Introduced in House
- Oct 8, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2495)
- Oct 8, 2009Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2495, E2497 | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott D-VA, Steve Cohen D-TN | Oct 8, 2009 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 111-87 | CIVIL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT OF 2009367 pages | Judiciary Committee | Apr 27, 2010 |
| Serial No. 111-59 | LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION160 pages | Judiciary Committee | Oct 27, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 718 | Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009 | Related bill | Apr 1, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Legal Services Corporation Act to meet special needs of eligible clients, provide for technology grants, improve corporate practices of the Legal Services Corporation, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
- Accounting and auditing
- Advisory bodies
- Border security and unlawful immigration
- Civil actions and liability
- Computers and information technology
- Correctional facilities and imprisonment
- Drug trafficking and controlled substances
- Education programs funding
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government information and archives
- Higher education
- Housing finance and home ownership
- Law
- Lawyers and legal services
- Legal Services Corporation
- Public contracts and procurement
- Public housing
- Student aid and college costs
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 8, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
