I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3981 
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize a national network 
of Statewide senior legal hotlines, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 17, 2021 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mrs. 
HAYES, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHA-
KOWSKY, and Ms. WILD) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize 
a national network of Statewide senior legal hotlines, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior Legal Hotline 
Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. STATEWIDE SENIOR LEGAL HOTLINES. 
Subtitle B of title VII of the Older Americans Act 
of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3058aa et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 753. STATEWIDE SENIOR LEGAL HOTLINES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a nonprofit organization or a part-
nership described in subparagraph (B) that— 
‘‘(i) provides legal assistance to older 
individuals at no cost to such individuals; 
and 
‘‘(ii)(I) operates a senior legal hotline 
in existence on the date on which the enti-
ty submits an application under subsection 
(c); or 
‘‘(II) demonstrates the capacity to 
provide legal assistance to older individuals 
through a Statewide senior legal hotline. 
‘‘(B) PARTNERSHIP.—A partnership de-
scribed in this subparagraph is a partnership 
between— 
‘‘(i) multiple nonprofit organizations; 
or 
‘‘(ii) one or more nonprofit organiza-
tions with one or more State or local gov-
ernments. 
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‘‘(2) SENIOR LEGAL HOTLINE.—The term ‘sen-
ior legal hotline’ means a program or partnership of 
programs that— 
‘‘(A) provides legal services, such as coun-
seling, advice, advocacy, information, referrals, 
and other services, as appropriate, to older indi-
viduals on a broad range of civil legal issues; 
‘‘(B) provides such services by telephone 
(and may provide such services by additional 
forms of communication), regardless of whether 
such services are provided 24 hours a day and 
7 days a week; 
‘‘(C) provides such services at no cost to 
the older individuals receiving such services; 
‘‘(D) serves older individuals with the 
greatest social need and greatest economic need 
as a target population for such services; and 
‘‘(E) develops partnerships with other pro-
grams and legal assistance providers to ensure 
that older individuals who need more extensive 
services, including representation, have access 
to such services. 
‘‘(3) STATEWIDE
SENIOR
LEGAL
HOTLINE.— 
The term ‘Statewide senior legal hotline’ means a 
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senior legal hotline that serves older individuals 
throughout a State. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Assistant Secretary may 
award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 
that submit an application under subsection (c) to estab-
lish or operate a Statewide senior legal hotline in accord-
ance with the requirements under subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Assist-
ant Secretary an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the As-
sistant Secretary may reasonably require, including 
the contents described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall contain, at a minimum, 
each of the following: 
‘‘(A) An identification of the State to be 
served by the Statewide senior legal hotline. 
‘‘(B) A plan indicating how the eligible en-
tity will satisfy each requirement under sub-
section (d) with respect to establishing or oper-
ating a Statewide senior legal hotline. 
‘‘(C) An assurance that the eligible entity 
will be able to provide, from non-Federal funds, 
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an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of 
the estimated amount awarded through the 
grant under this section. An eligible entity may 
use in-kind contributions to meet the matching 
requirement under this subparagraph. 
‘‘(D) A description of the certification 
process the eligible entity has in place to ensure 
that staff members of and volunteers serving 
the Statewide senior legal hotline will have no 
conflict of interest (including any financial or 
substantive conflict of interest) in providing 
services through the hotline. 
‘‘(3) SELECTION.—The Assistant Secretary 
shall, in selecting eligible entities to receive a grant 
under this section— 
‘‘(A) consider— 
‘‘(i) the extent to which the applica-
tion submitted by the eligible entity under 
paragraph (2) meets the requirements of 
such paragraph; and 
‘‘(ii) the demonstrated capacity of the 
eligible entity to administer a Statewide 
senior legal hotline, including the experi-
ence and history of the eligible entity in 
delivering high-quality advice, assistance, 
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and other legal services, to older individ-
uals through low-cost and innovative meth-
ods; and 
‘‘(B) ensure that no 2 eligible entities re-
ceiving a grant under this section for a fiscal 
year are planning to establish or operate a 
Statewide senior legal hotline that serves the 
same State for such fiscal year. 
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—Each eligible entity receiving 
a grant under this section shall, in establishing or oper-
ating a Statewide senior legal hotline supported by such 
grant— 
‘‘(1) provide for a sufficient number of appro-
priately trained attorneys, paralegals, other staff 
members, and volunteers to ensure effective delivery 
of the services described in subsection (a)(2)(A); 
‘‘(2) collaborate with the appropriate State unit 
on aging, including any legal assistance developer, 
and free or low-cost legal service providers through-
out the State, including those who provide free legal 
assistance to older individuals, to maximize coordi-
nation and cost-effective delivery of legal assistance 
to older individuals; 
‘‘(3) strive to maximize coordination in the de-
livery of legal assistance to older individuals in the 
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State, including legal assistance funded by the Legal 
Services Corporation under the Legal Services Cor-
poration Act (42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.), legal assist-
ance supported by a grant under part B of title III 
of this Act, legal assistance provided by a law school 
clinic, and any other legal assistance provided at no 
cost to the persons receiving the assistance; 
‘‘(4) build effective communication within the 
aging network operating in the State to provide co-
ordinated assistance and referrals as appropriate; 
‘‘(5) establish mechanisms to make referrals for 
representation and other assistance beyond the scope 
of the hotline to— 
‘‘(A) other divisions or projects of the 
same legal aid agency of which the hotline is a 
division or project; 
‘‘(B) other legal aid agencies; 
‘‘(C) private attorneys, including those pro-
viding pro bono legal services; 
‘‘(D) providers included in the aging net-
work operating in the State; 
‘‘(E) advocacy and assistance programs for 
older individuals; or 
‘‘(F) any other individuals or entities, as 
appropriate; and 
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‘‘(6) conduct outreach through the aging net-
work operating in the State, and by other means, to 
inform older individuals about the availability of the 
services provided by the hotline, specifically tar-
geting older individuals with the greatest economic 
need and greatest social need. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.’’. 
Æ 
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