A Juneau lawmaker’s bill to increase state funding for free legal aid to vulnerable Alaskans is headed to the governor.
Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, sponsored House Bill 48. She introduced it in late January of this legislative session. The Alaska House advanced the bill in late February and the Senate approved it on Wednesday. Now it heads to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s desk.
During the bill’s final reading in the House earlier this year, Hannan said it would help provide urgent relief to low-income Alaskans who need legal aid but can’t afford it.
“We are helping Alaskans. We are keeping them out of long litigation. We are keeping them housed, fed, health benefits intact,” she said. “For the disabled veterans they work with, for the women who need restraining orders.”
The bill, if signed into law, would boost funding to the Alaska Legal Services Corporation. It’s a nonprofit that provides free civil legal aid to low-income Alaskans, targeting issues like housing disputes, domestic violence and tribal self-government.
Right now, state law sets aside 10% of the fees paid annually to the Alaska Court System to go to the nonprofit. Hannan’s bill would amend the state statute to increase that to 25%. That would provide an estimated $400,000 in additional funding to the nonprofit.
Hannan said the funding increase is needed as the number of vulnerable Alaskans in need of legal aid continues to grow, while the resources to help them haven’t kept pace. The bill has received letters of support from organizations including the Alaska Children’s Trust, the Southeast Alaska Independent Living Agency and the Alaska Federation of Natives.
Ahead of the bill’s final vote in the Senate on Wednesday, Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, called the Alaska Legal Services Corporation, or ALSC, a crucial piece of Alaska’s social safety net.
“ALSC is often where other organizations send their most vulnerable clients when they can’t get help they need or the services they require,” he said. “Passage of this bill will help ensure that struggling Alaskans, particularly survivors of domestic violence, will have access to legal aid in times of crisis.”
The bill cleared the Senate in a 17-3 vote and the House 27-13, with minority Republicans crossing over in support.
Opponents said they were concerned about the cost as the state grapples with a long-running structural deficit. Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for Dunleavy, declined to say whether the governor intends to sign the bill.
