I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2277

To abolish the Legal Services Corporation and provide the States with money

to fund qualified legal services.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 7, 1995

Mr. GEKAS (for himself, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. HYDE, and Mr. INGLIS) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To abolish the Legal Services Corporation and provide the

States with money to fund qualified legal services.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Legal Aid Act of

5 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

7 The Legal Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C.

8 2996–2996l) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

10 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Legal Aid Grant Act’.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 ‘‘For purposes of this Act:

3 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED LEGAL SERVICE PROVIDER.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified

5 legal service provider’ means—

6 ‘‘(i) any individual who is licensed to

7 practice law in a State for not less than 3

8 calendar years, who has practiced law in

9 such State not less than 3 calendar years,

10 and who is so licensed during the period of

11 a contract under section 4; or

12 ‘‘(ii) a person who employs or con13 tracts with an individual described in

14 clause (i) to provide qualified legal serv15 ices.

16 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be inter17 preted to prohibit a qualified legal service pro18 vider from employing an individual who is not

19 described in clause (i) to assist in providing

20 qualified legal services.

21 ‘‘(B) NOT QUALIFIED.—No individual shall

22 be considered, or employed by, a qualified legal

23 service provider if such individual during the 10

24 years preceding the submission of a bid for a

25 contract under section 4—

26 ‘‘(i) has been convicted of a felony;
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1 ‘‘(ii) has been suspended or disbarred

2 from the practice of law for misconduct,

3 incompetence, or neglect of a client in any

4 State;

5 ‘‘(iii) has been found in contempt of a

6 court of competent jurisdiction in any

7 State or Federal court; or

8 ‘‘(iv) has been sanctioned under Fed9 eral Rule of Civil Procedure 11 or an

10 equivalent State rule of procedure applica11 ble in civil actions; or

12 if such individual has a criminal charge pending

13 on the date of the submission of a bid for a

14 contract under section 4.

15 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—No

16 State may impose a requirement on an individ17 ual or person as a condition to bidding on a

18 contract under section 4 or to being awarded

19 such a contract which requirement is different

20 from any other requirement of subparagraph

21 (B).

22 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED LEGAL SERVICES.—The term

23 ‘qualified legal services’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) mediation, negotiation, arbitration,

2 counseling, advice, instruction, referral, or rep3 resentation, and

4 ‘‘(B) legal research or drafting in support

5 of the services described in subparagraph (A),

6 provided by or under the supervision of a qualified

7 legal service provider to a qualified client for a quali8 fied cause of action.

9 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED CLIENT.—The term ‘qualified

10 client’ means any individual who is a United States

11 citizen or an alien admitted for permanent residence

12 who resided for more than 50 percent of the most

13 recent full month in a household the income of

14 which from any source, which was received or held

15 for the benefit of a member of the household, was

16 equal to or less than the poverty line established

17 under section 673(2) of the Community Services

18 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). The term

19 ‘household’ means a dwelling occupied by at least

20 one adult.

21 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED CAUSE OF ACTION.—

22 ‘‘(A) The term ‘qualified cause of action’

23 means only a civil cause of action which results

24 only from—
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1 ‘‘(i) landlord and tenant disputes, in2 cluding an eviction from housing except an

3 eviction where the prima facie case for the

4 eviction is based on criminal conduct;

5 ‘‘(ii) foreclosure of a debt on a quali6 fied client’s residence;

7 ‘‘(iii) the filing of a petition under

8 chapter 7 or 12 of title 11, United States

9 Code, or under chapter 13 of such title un10 less a petition of eviction has preceded the

11 filing of such petition;

12 ‘‘(iv) enforcement of a debt;

13 ‘‘(v) an application for a statutory

14 benefit;

15 ‘‘(vi) appeal of a denial of a statutory

16 benefit on a statutory ground;

17 ‘‘(vii) child custody and support;

18 ‘‘(viii) action to quiet title;

19 ‘‘(ix) activities involving spousal or

20 child abuse on behalf of the abused party;

21 ‘‘(x) an insurance claim;

22 ‘‘(xi) competency hearing; or

23 ‘‘(xii) probate.

24 ‘‘(B) Such term does not include—
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1 ‘‘(i) a class action under Federal,

2 State, or local law; or

3 ‘‘(ii) any challenge to the constitu4 tionality of any statute.

5 Additional causes of action qualify as a quali6 fied cause of action if they arise out of the

7 same transaction as a cause of action described

8 in subparagraph (A) unless such additional

9 causes of action are described in clause (i) or

10 (ii).

11 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any

12 State of the United States, the District of Columbia,

13 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is14 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory

15 of the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or

16 possession of the United States and includes any

17 recognized governing body of an Indian Tribe or

18 Alaskan Native Village that carries out substantial

19 governmental powers and duties.

20 ‘‘SEC. 3. GRANTS.

21 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General

22 shall make grants to States for the provision of qualified

23 legal services. To receive a grant under this subsection a

24 State shall make an application to the Attorney General.
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1 Such an application shall be in such form and submitted

2 in such manner as the Attorney General may require.

3 ‘‘(b) POVERTY LINE.—Grants shall be made under

4 subsection (a) to States in such proportion as the number

5 of residents of each State which receive a grant who live

6 in households having income equal to or less than the pov7 erty line established under section 673(2) of the Commu8 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) bears

9 to the total number of residents in the United States living

10 in such households.

11 ‘‘(c) RETENTION OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each State

12 may in any fiscal year retain for administrative costs not

13 more than 5 percent of the amount granted to the State

14 under subsection (a) in such fiscal year. The remainder

15 of such grant shall be paid under contracts to qualified

16 legal service providers in the State for the provision in

17 the State of qualified legal services. If a State which has

18 received a grant under subsection (a) has at the end of

19 any fiscal year funds which have not been obligated, such

20 State shall return such funds to the Attorney General.

21 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ACT.—No State may

22 receive a grant under subsection (a) unless the State has

23 certified to the Attorney General that the State will com24 ply with and enforce the requirements of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—None

2 of the funds provided under subsection (a) shall be used

3 by a qualified legal service provider—

4 ‘‘(1) to make available any funds, personnel, or

5 equipment for use in advocating or opposing any

6 plan or proposal or represent any party or partici7 pate in any other way in litigation, that is intended

8 to or has the effect of altering, revising, or reappor9 tioning a legislative, judicial, or elective district at

10 any level of government, including influencing the

11 timing or manner of the taking of a census;

12 ‘‘(2) to attempt to influence the issuance,

13 amendment, or revocation of any executive order,

14 regulation, policy, or similar promulgation by any

15 Federal, State, or local agency;

16 ‘‘(3) to attempt to influence the passage or de17 feat of any legislation, constitutional amendment,

18 referendum, initiative, confirmation proceeding, or

19 any similar procedure of the Congress of the United

20 States or by any State or local legislative body;

21 ‘‘(4) to support or conduct training programs

22 for the purpose of advocating particular public poli23 cies or encouraging political activities, labor or anti24 labor activities, boycotts, picketing, strikes, and
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1 demonstrations, including the dissemination of infor2 mation about such policies or activities;

3 ‘‘(5) to participate in any litigation, lobbying,

4 rulemaking or any other matter with respect to

5 abortion;

6 ‘‘(6) to participate in any litigation or provide

7 any representation on behalf of a local, State, or

8 Federal prisoner;

9 ‘‘(7) to pay for any personal service, advertise10 ment, telegram, telephone communication, letter, or

11 printed or written matter or to pay administrative

12 expenses or related expenses, associated with an ac13 tivity prohibited in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5),

14 or (6);

15 ‘‘(8) to solicit in-person any client for the pur16 pose of providing any legal service; or

17 ‘‘(9) to pay any voluntary membership dues to

18 any private or non-profit organization.

19 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON USE OF STATE FUNDS.—A

20 State which receives a grant under subsection (a) and

21 which also distributes State funds for the provision of legal

22 services shall require that such State funds be used to pro23 vide qualified legal services to qualified clients and shall

24 impose on the use of such State funds the limitations pre25 scribed by subsection (e).
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1 ‘‘(g) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—A qualified legal service

2 provider of any qualified client or any client of such pro3 vider may not claim or collect attorneys’ fees from parties

4 to any litigation initiated by such client.

5 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For

6 grants under subsection (a) there are authorized to be ap7 propriated to the Attorney General $278,000,000 for fis8 cal year 1996 and $141,000,000 for fiscal year 1997.

9 ‘‘SEC. 4. CONTRACTS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State which receives a

11 grant under section 3(a) shall make funds under the grant

12 available for contracts entered into for the provision of

13 qualified legal services within the State.

14 ‘‘(b) BIDS.—

15 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Governor of each State

16 shall designate the authority of the State which shall

17 be responsible for soliciting and awarding bids for

18 contracts for the provision of qualified legal services

19 within such State.

20 ‘‘(2) SERVICE AREA.—The authority of a State

21 designated under paragraph (1) shall designate serv22 ice areas within the State. Such service areas shall

23 be the counties or parishes within a State but such

24 authority may combine contiguous counties or par-
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1 ishes to form a service area to assure the adequate

2 provision of qualified legal services.

3 ‘‘(3) NON-ENGLISH-SPEAKING CLIENTS.—If 5

4 percent or more of the population of qualified clients

5 in a qualified legal service provider’s service area in6 cludes individuals whose household language is other

7 than English, the qualified legal service provider

8 shall include provision in the provider’s bid for satis9 fying the communication needs of that portion of

10 such population.

11 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—A State shall allo12 cate grant funds for contracts for the provision of quali13 fied legal services in a service area on the same basis as

14 grants are made available to States under section 3(b).

15 ‘‘(d) CONTRACT AWARDS.—A State shall award a

16 contract for the provision of qualified legal services in a

17 service area to the applicant who is best qualified, as de18 termined by the State, and who in its bid offers to provide,

19 in accordance with section 5, the greatest number of hours

20 of qualified legal services in such area.

21 ‘‘(e) FORM AND BILLING.—A State contract awarded

22 under subsection (d) shall be in such form as the State

23 requires. The contract shall provide for the rendering of

24 bills supported by time records at the close of each month

25 in which qualified legal services are provided. A State shall
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1 make payment to a qualified legal service provider at the

2 contract rate only for hours of qualified legal services pro3 vided and supported by appropriate records. The contract

4 rate shall be the total dollar amount of the contract di5 vided by the total hours bid by the qualified legal service

6 provider. A State shall have 60 days to make full payment

7 of such bills.

8 ‘‘SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROVISION OF QUALI9 FIED LEGAL SERVICES UNDER A CONTRACT.

10 ‘‘(a) TERM.—The term of a contract entered into

11 under section 4 shall be not more than 1 year.

12 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF PROVISION OF SERVICES.—A

13 qualified legal service provider shall service the legal needs

14 of qualified clients under a contract entered into under

15 section 4 in a professional manner consistent with applica16 ble law.

17 ‘‘(c) CASE FILES.—A qualified legal service provider

18 shall maintain a qualified client’s case file, including any

19 pleadings and research, at least until the later of 3 years

20 after the resolution of client’s cause of action or 3 years

21 after the termination of the contract under which services

22 were provided to such client.

23 ‘‘(d) TIME RECORDS.—A qualified legal service pro24 vider shall keep daily time records of the provision of serv25 ices to a qualified client in one tenth of an hour increments
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1 identifying such client, the general nature of the work per2 formed in each increment, and the account which will be

3 charged for such work.

4 ‘‘(e) QUESTIONNAIRE.—Each qualified client shall be

5 provided a self-mailing customer satisfaction questionnaire

6 in a form approved by the authority granting the contract

7 under section 4 which identifies the qualified legal service

8 provider and is preaddressed to such authority.

9 ‘‘(f) ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE.—Any qualified

10 client who receives legal services other than advice or legal

11 services provided by mail or telephone shall execute with

12 respect to such services a waiver of attorney client and

13 attorney work product privilege as a condition to receiving

14 such service. The waiver shall be limited to the extent nec15 essary to determine the quantity and quality of the service

16 rendered by the qualified legal service provider.

17 ‘‘(g) RECORDS OF QUALIFICATIONS.—A qualified

18 legal service provider shall make and maintain records de19 tailing the basis upon which the provider determined the

20 qualifications of qualified clients. Such records shall be

21 made and maintained for 3 years following the termi22 nation of a contract under section 4 for the provision of

23 legal services to such clients.

24 ‘‘(h) AUDITS.—A qualified legal service provider shall

25 consent to audits by the General Accounting Office and
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1 the authority which awarded a contract to such provider.

2 Any such audit may be conducted at the provider’s prin3 cipal place of business. Such an audit shall be limited to

4 a determination of whether such provider is meeting the

5 requirements of this Act and the provider’s contract under

6 section 4.

7 ‘‘(i) RECOVERY OF FEES.—A contract shall provide

8 for the recovery of reasonable attorneys’ fees in any action

9 brought to compel payment to a qualified legal service pro10 vider under a contract under section 4. Such fees shall

11 not be payable out of funds provided under this Act.

12 ‘‘(j) TERMINATION AND RECOVERY OF FUNDS.—The

13 authority which awarded a contract shall terminate a

14 qualified legal service provider who fails to abide by the

15 terms of this Act. A breach of contract by a qualified legal

16 service provider shall entitle the authority to terminate the

17 contract, to award a new contract, and to recover any

18 funds improperly expended by the provider, together with

19 reasonable attorneys’ fees and interest at the statutory

20 rate in the State for interest on judgments. If such a

21 breach was willful, the provider shall pay to the authority

22 which awarded the contract damages equal to the one half

23 of the amount improperly expended by the provider.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. TRANSITION AND EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 (a) TERMINATION.—The Legal Services Corporation

3 shall terminate on the expiration of 6 months after the

4 date of the enactment of this Act.

5 (b) PENDING CASES.—During the 6-month period

6 after the termination of the Legal Services Corporation,

7 the Attorney General may make funds available to grant8 ees under the Legal Services Corporation Act to bring to

9 a completion any legal action filed in a State or Federal

10 court on or before the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 The Attorney General shall use funds appropriated to the

12 Attorney General under section 3(h) of the Legal Aid

13 Grant Act to fund such grantees. Such funds for such pur14 pose may not exceed 1 percent of the amount appropriated

15 to the Attorney General under such section 3(h) for fiscal

16 year 1996.

17 (c) TRANSITION.—Upon termination of such Cor18 poration all assets, liabilities, obligations, property, and

19 records employed directly or held or used primarily in con20 nection with any function of the President of the Legal

21 Services Corporation in carrying out legal services activi22 ties under the Legal Services Corporation Act shall be

23 transferred to the Attorney General.

24 (d) ACTION OF THE PRESIDENT.—Notwithstanding

25 any other provision of law, upon termination of the Legal
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1 Services Corporation the President of the Legal Services

2 Corporation shall take such action as may be necessary—

3 (1) to assist the Attorney General in the initial

4 undertaking of the Attorney General’s responsibil5 ities under the Legal Aid Grant Act; and

6 (2) to transfer to the Attorney General for use

7 under the Legal Aid Grant Act all unexpended bal8 ances of funds appropriated for the purpose of car9 rying out legal services programs and activities

10 under the Legal Services Corporation Act.

11 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

12 section 1 shall take effect on the date of the enactment

13 of this Act.

Æ