Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009
Latest action · Apr 1, 2009 Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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.
- IntroducedMar 26, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot 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.
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.)
Permits only class action suits arising under established state or federal statutory or established judicial case law.
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.
Allows the use of LSC funds to provide legal assistance with respect to any fee-generating case (which is currently prohibited), but only if the recipient's attorney reports on the representation and the amount of fees awarded.
Directs the LSC to require an audit of each recipient in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to enter into grants or contracts with accredited law schools in the states for the purpose of paying up to 90% of the costs of expanding or establishing clinical experience programs in such schools.
Cosponsors 24
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 26, 2009 to May 5, 2010; 9 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-MO | Claire McCaskill | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-MA | Edward M. Kennedy | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-MA | John F. Kerry | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Mar 26, 2009 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Mar 30, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Apr 20, 2009 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Apr 21, 2009 | |
| D-IL | Roland Burris | Apr 30, 2009 | |
| D-CT | Christopher J. Dodd | May 5, 2009 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | May 12, 2009 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 26, 2009Discharged Apr 2, 2009 |
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Apr 2, 2009 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 1, 2009Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Apr 1, 2009Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Mar 26, 2009Introduced in Senate
- Mar 26, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3915-3918)
- Mar 26, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4226 | Richard J. Durbin D-IL | Apr 1, 2009 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3915–S3918 | Tom Harkin D-IA | Mar 26, 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 |
| S. Hrg. 111-81 | HEARING ON PENDING BENEFITS LEGISLATION99 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Apr 29, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3764 | Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009 | Related bill | Apr 27, 2010 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill 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 fees and court costs
- Legal Services Corporation
- Public contracts and procurement
- Public housing
- Student aid and college costs
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 1, 2009Reference Change Senate
- Mar 26, 2009Introduced in Senate
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.
