2006 Budget mixed bag for legal services; Governor axes fund for LRAP, court interpreters, but EAF is in the SAL
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
- Organization: LAAC
Governor Schwarzenegger signed the 2006 budget on Friday, June 30th.
Sadly, he blue penciled both the $100,000 in start-up funds for a statewide LRAP program for public interest attorneys and the $10 million approved by the legislature to address the need for court interpreters for parties in civil matters who are unable to navigate the court system without language assistance.
However, LAAC is pleased to report that the Equal Access Fund (EAF) has been placed within the State Appropriations Limit (SAL), a yearly cost-of-living increase applied to certain portions of the legislative, executive and more recently judicial budget. The 2006-07 SAL increase is 4.69% and will apply to the current EAF as well as the additional funds coming from the new civil filing fee system, implemented in January 2006.
The Governor's message in deleting the LRAP and court interpreter funds from the 2006 Budget was:
Court Interpreters
"I am deleting the $10,000,000 legislative augmentation to provide interpreters in civil cases. I believe it is essential to provide non-English speaking litigants with interpreters in order to provide meaningful access to our justice system, and as such, I expect that the Judicial Council will identify efficiencies and best practices, and will, to the extent possible, expand the use of intepreters in civil cases using existing resources. This is consistent with the ageement I have with the Chief Justice regarding funding for the Courts, which provides a stable funding level for the Judicial Branch and allows the Judicial Council to prioritize programs within that annual augmentation, as is appropriate for an independent branch of government."
Sadly, he blue penciled both the $100,000 in start-up funds for a statewide LRAP program for public interest attorneys and the $10 million approved by the legislature to address the need for court interpreters for parties in civil matters who are unable to navigate the court system without language assistance.
However, LAAC is pleased to report that the Equal Access Fund (EAF) has been placed within the State Appropriations Limit (SAL), a yearly cost-of-living increase applied to certain portions of the legislative, executive and more recently judicial budget. The 2006-07 SAL increase is 4.69% and will apply to the current EAF as well as the additional funds coming from the new civil filing fee system, implemented in January 2006.
The Governor's message in deleting the LRAP and court interpreter funds from the 2006 Budget was:
Court Interpreters
"I am deleting the $10,000,000 legislative augmentation to provide interpreters in civil cases. I believe it is essential to provide non-English speaking litigants with interpreters in order to provide meaningful access to our justice system, and as such, I expect that the Judicial Council will identify efficiencies and best practices, and will, to the extent possible, expand the use of intepreters in civil cases using existing resources. This is consistent with the ageement I have with the Chief Justice regarding funding for the Courts, which provides a stable funding level for the Judicial Branch and allows the Judicial Council to prioritize programs within that annual augmentation, as is appropriate for an independent branch of government."
LRAP
"Because the education trailer bill would delete the provisions of current law that authorize donations for the purpose of funding this program, these warrants would require General Fund repayment in future years. Therefore, this action is necessary to limit program expansions."
To access the SUMMARY of the encated 2006-07 budget, click here.
To access the DETAILS of the enacted 2006-07 budget, click here.
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