NY State Fin L § 97-V (2021)
2021 New York Laws STF - State Finance Article 6 - Funds of the State 97-V - The New York Interest on Lawyer Account (Iola) Fund.

* §  97-v.  The  New  York  interest on lawyer account (IOLA) fund. 1.   There is hereby established in the custody of the  state  comptroller  a   fiduciary  fund  to  be known as the New York interest on lawyer account   (IOLA) fund. A board of trustees shall be appointed  to  administer  the   New York IOLA fund.2.  The  board  shall  consist  of  fifteen  members  appointed by the   governor.  All members shall be residents of the state of New  York  and   shall  be  knowledgeable  and  supportive of the delivery of civil legal   services to the poor  and  the  improvement  of  the  administration  of   justice.  At  least  eight of the members shall be attorneys licensed to   practice law in the state of New York. Two members  shall  be  appointed   upon  the  recommendation  of  the temporary president of the senate, at   least one of whom shall be an attorney; two members shall  be  appointed   upon  the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, at least one of   whom shall be an attorney;  one  member  shall  be  appointed  upon  the   recommendation  of  the  minority  leader  of the senate; and one member   shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the   assembly. Two members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of  the   court  of appeals, each of whom shall be an attorney. The governor shall   designate one of the members of the board as chairman.a. The term of office shall be three years, provided, however, that of   the members first appointed, five shall be appointed for terms  expiring   on  December  thirty-first,  nineteen hundred eighty-four, five shall be   appointed for terms expiring on December thirty-first, nineteen  hundred   eighty-five  and  five shall be appointed for terms expiring on December   thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-six. Vacancies shall be filled  in   the manner of original appointments for the remainder of the term.b.  The  members  shall  receive no compensation for their services as   members, but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses   incurred in the performance of their duties.c. The members shall be considered employees  of  the  state  for  the   purposes of section seventeen of the public officers law.d. No member of the senate or assembly shall be eligible to serve as a   member of the board.3.  a.  The board shall have the power to receive, hold and manage any   moneys and property received from any source. It shall distribute  funds   as  grants  and  contracts to not-for-profit tax-exempt entities for the   purpose of delivering civil legal services to the poor and for  purposes   related  to the improvement of the administration of justice, including,   but not limited to, the provision of  civil  legal  services  to  groups   currently  underserved  by  legal  services, such as the elderly and the   disabled, and the enhancement  of  civil  legal  services  to  the  poor   through  innovative  and  cost-effective means, such as volunteer lawyer   programs and support and training services.b. No less than seventy-five percent of the total funds distributed in   any  fiscal  year  shall  be  allocated  to  not-for-profit   tax-exempt   providers  for  the  purpose  of  delivering civil legal services to the   poor. The funds distributed annually to legal services  providers  shall   be  allocated according to the geographical distribution of poor persons   throughout the state based on the  latest  available  figures  from  the   United States department of commerce, bureau of census, as prescribed by   rules and regulations of the board of trustees.c.  The remaining funds shall be allocated for purposes related to the   improvement of the administration of justice, including, but not limited   to,  the  provision  of  civil  legal  services  to   groups   currently   underserved by legal services, such as the elderly and the disabled, and   the  enhancement  of civil legal services to the poor through innovative    and cost-effective means, such as volunteer lawyer programs and  support   and training services.d.  The board shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration   of the IOLA fund to carry  out  the  purposes  and  provisions  of  this   section  and  of section four hundred ninety-seven of the judiciary law.   Such regulations shall be adopted in accordance with article two of  the   state administrative procedure act.e.  The  board  may  employ  and  remove such personnel as it may deem   necessary  for  the  performance  of  its  functions   and   fix   their   compensation within the amounts made available therefor and may allocate   funds  for the actual and necessary nonpersonnel administrative costs of   the program. No more than ten percent of  the  funds  available  in  any   fiscal  year  shall  be  spent on personnel and related services, and on   necessary nonpersonnel administrative costs  of  the  program  provided,   however,  that  such  limitations  may  be  waived  by  the board by the   adoption of a resolution and such waiver shall remain  in  effect  until   the  board  determines  by  a  subsequent resolution that the program is   fully operational.f. The board shall insure that grants  and  contracts  are  made  with   not-for-profit providers of civil legal services for the poor to provide   stable,  economical and high quality delivery of civil legal services to   the poor throughout the state.g. Notwithstanding any statute or rule  to  the  contrary,  the  board   shall  maintain  all  papers,  records,  documents  or other information   identifying an attorney, client or beneficial owner of an  IOLA  account   on  a  private  and  confidential  basis  and  shall  not  disclose such   information unless  such  disclosure  is  necessary  to  accomplish  the   purposes  of  this  section and section four hundred ninety-seven of the   judiciary law, or unless disclosure  is  pursuant  to  compulsory  legal   process.h.  All  payments  from  the  IOLA  fund  shall  be  made by the state   comptroller  upon  certification  and  authorization  of  the  board  of   trustees of the fund.4.  a.  The board of trustees shall establish by regulation a specific   dollar amount equivalent to  the  cost  of  administering  a  segregated   interest  bearing  account for a client or beneficial owner. This dollar   amount  may  be  used  by  participating  attorneys  as  a  guide   when   determining whether the moneys are qualified funds.b.  The  board  of  trustees  shall  also  establish by regulation the   qualifications of a recipient of funds and the nature and scope of civil   legal services to be provided to poor persons  by  the  funds  disbursed   under this section.5.  If  it  shall  appear to the satisfaction of the board of trustees   that, because of a mistake of fact, error in  calculation  or  erroneous   interpretation  of  the  provisions  of  this chapter or of section four   hundred ninety-seven of the judiciary law, or of any regulation  adopted   by  the  board,  a banking institution has remitted to the IOLA fund any   moneys not required by such provisions to be remitted, the  board  shall   refund  such  moneys  upon  application of any aggrieved party. Any such   refund shall be paid from the IOLA fund without interest and without the   deduction of any service charge, and shall  be  and  constitute  a  full   satisfaction and discharge of any claim for such refund.* NB There are 2 § 97-v's