PBA President Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

The following article was copied from the January 4, 2009 PBA E-News:

PBA President Testifies Before the House Judiciary Committee

On Dec. 29, by invitation, PBA President Clifford E. Haines testified before the House Judiciary Committee on bills and issues supported by the PBA that are now before the committee. Specifically, President Haines testified as to the bar's position in favor of the following measures:

• House Bill 1956, sponsored by Rep. Glen Grell (R-Cumberland), the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act, which updates the Uniform Arbitration Act promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission in 1955 and adopted in Pennsylvania;
  
  
• HB 967, sponsored by Rep. Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia), which amends the Adoption Act to include several additional grounds for termination of parental rights, thereby helping to foster permanency for children and consistency with the Juvenile Act and the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act;
  
  
• Senate Bill 628, sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), which prohibits the imposition of the death sentence in cases of mental retardation, defines mental retardation and specifies relevant procedures;
  
  
• Merit selection of appellate justices and judges in Pennsylvania, presently called for by HB 1619 and HB 1621, sponsored by Rep. Matt Smith (D-Allegheny), noting that the PBA requests, as the organization designated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as most broadly representative of the interest of lawyers in Pennsylvania, that it have identified representation on any commission that selects qualified individuals to be appellate justices and judges;
  
  
• HB 1079, sponsored by Rep. Ronald Waters (D-Philadelphia), which increases juror compensation from $9 daily for the first three days and $25 daily thereafter to $40 daily; and
  
  
• HB 1411, sponsored by Rep. Eugene DePasquale (D-York), which bans the use of live animals for targets at trap shoots or block shoots;
  

Haines also discussed the formation of a PBA commission to study the need for state constitutional revision.

Additional information on the bills, as well as other legislation and state Capitol happenings of interest to the PBA is available by e-mailing the PBA Legislative Department and by checking the PBA Legislative Boxscore.

Pictured at right is Haines with members of the House Judiciary Committee.

PBA Legislative Alert: Court Filing Fee Legislation Passes the House

The following was received via email from the PBA:

HB 1861, sponsored by Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone (D-Berks) amends Title 42 (Judiciary) further providing for deposits into account by imposing a court filing fee increase of $23 to be charged and collected for a period of 25 months to supplement the $10 additional fee already existing. The bill outlines how both fees are to be dispersed. On Aug. 19, a floor amendment authored by Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) was adopted which reduces the surcharge from $23 to $17 and makes changes to the apportionment of the surcharge. The amendment also increases the fee for issuing a marriage license or declaration from $3 to $28 of which $2.50 shall be retained by the county where the license is issued and $25.50 shall be remitted to the Commonwealth of which $25 shall be forwarded to the Department of Public Welfare for use for victims of domestic violence. The amendment also adds a new section in Title 42 (Judiciary) providing a fee of $15 shall be charged for the commencement of an action for divorce or an action for annulment of marriage, and the money collected shall be forwarded to the department for use for victims of domestic violence.

HB 1861 was voted favorably out of the House on Wednesday, Sept. 16 by a vote of 145 to 52. It was received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Sept. 17.

The PBA supports full funding for the courts through the General Fund budget; however, in the absence of adequate funding, the PBA supports a court filing fee increase of a reasonable amount, but not to exceed $12, for a period of not more than two years in order to fund the gap in judiciary funding.

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US Congress to Ban Driving and Texting?

While the Pennsylvania State Senate is getting closer to banning texting while driving...

http://cbs3.com/local/Senate.Bill.Cell.2.1080560.html

...a few U.S. Senators may beat them to the punch:

http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1153/07-29-2009/20090729042001_03.html

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Pennsylvania Bar Association Says Public Should Not Make Up Court and Legal Services Budget Shortfalls Through Large Filing Fee Increases

The following notice/article was posted the the Pennsylvania Bar Association's website

Pennsylvania Bar Association President Clifford E. Haines today said the public should not have to pay large increases in court filing fees to fund any budget shortfalls for Pennsylvania's court system and civil legal services.

Haines said House Bill 1861, as proposed, would impose a filing fee increase of $23 on all court filings - except traffic summary offenses - to make up the entire gap between the current budget proposals offered by the courts and the governor, House and Senate. Haines said the PBA could not support a provision of HB 1861 that would eliminate the Legislature's responsibility to fund civil legal services by shifting funding to the users of the legal system.

"The people most in need of the justice system will suffer the harshest impact of increased court filing fees," said Haines. "The courts have never been a "user pays" service any more than the Legislature or basic elements of the executive branch are "user pays" services.

The PBA House of Delegates voted June 4, 2009, to support a filing fee increase to help alleviate the current economy's impact on the commonwealth, but Haines said the critical term is "to help." He said that while filing fees recognize some responsibility on the part of the users of the justice system to help pay for it, citizens should not be called upon to fund all of an existing shortfall.

Haines said the PBA has been a vocal advocate on behalf of full funding for the Pennsylvania court system and Pennsylvania Legal Services and is sympathetic to the plight of the courts and legal services providers who are supporting the filing fee increases because of the uncertainties of the state budget.

"We recognize that critical times mean compromise that would otherwise be unpalatable," explained Haines. "We will continue to support the Pennsylvania court system and civil legal services, but we simply do not believe that, at this time, House Bill 1861 is the answer."

Read the full article and the letter at the link below:

http://www.pabar.org/public/news%20releases/pr072309.asp

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PA Bar Legislative Alert: Funding for Civil Legal Services 2009-2010

The following is a legislative alert from the Pennsylvania Bar Association

LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Contact Your State Representative Immediately and Ask Him or Her to Save Funding for Civil Legal Services in the 2009-10 State Budget

After a vote today to suspend an internal rule that requires a two-week waiting period, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will debate its version of the state budget bill, HB 1416, and its accompanying amendments, tomorrow with the potential for a final vote on Friday. State funding for civil legal services remains in serious jeopardy.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association is urging its members to contact their state representatives and ask them to support state funding for civil legal services regardless of which version of the budget they ultimately pass. Please contact your state representative immediately. Implore him or her to include state funding for civil legal services in the final budget bill.The PBA Legislative Department has made it easy for you to do this - go to the PBA's Legislative Action Center (here) and click on “Read More” for additional information on the vital role that civil legal services play for the citizens of Pennsylvania. Once there, you will find an easy step-by-step process to compose and send an email message to your representative or download letters for mailing.

For more information about your legislators, please visit the Pennsylvania General Assembly's web site www.legis.state.pa.us.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this issue, we would like to hear from you. Please email us at legislative@pabar.org.

PA Bar Legislative Alert: Expansion of PA Medical Assistance Estate Recovery Program

The following is a legislative e-alert from the PA Bar Association:

On April 28, 2009, Representative Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) introduced House Bill 1351 as part of the Governor’s proposed 2009-10 budget for Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare (“DPW”). The bill is currently in the House Health and Human Services Committee. Section 1412 of HB 1351 expands Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance Estate Recovery Program (“MAER”) to include the non-probate assets of a Medicaid recipient. This legislation will allow DPW to impose administrative liens against interests created by joint tenancy, tenancy by entireties, tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangements.The Pennsylvania Bar Association adamantly opposes this section of HB 1351 and any similar legislation being negotiated as part of the 2009-10 state budget as bad public policy and harmful to the Commonwealth’s already vulnerable senior citizen population.The issues contained in HB 1351 will undoubtedly play a role in the 2009-10 state budget negotiations in the legislature. Any attempt to expand MAER will create significant complications for estate administration and cause major title and conveyancing problems, deter individuals from serving as executors and trustees and lawyers from representing these fiduciaries, discourage older Pennsylvanians from seeking needed long-term care support services out of fear of new liens asserted by the Commonwealth.

Please contact your legislators immediately and ask them to oppose section 1412 of HB 1351 and any similar attempts to expand estate recovery.The PBA Legislative Department has made it easy for you to do this - go to the PBA's Legislative Action Center (here) and click on “Read More” for talking points and additional information on the proposed expansion of MAER. Once there, you will find an easy step-by-step process to compose and send an email message to your legislators or download letters for mailing. For more information about your legislators, please visit the Pennsylvania General Assembly's web site www.legis.state.pa.us. If you have any questions or comments regarding this issue, we would like to hear from you. Please email us at legislative@pabar.org. Thank you.

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McClain Applauds Decision for Increased FDIC Coverage of IOLTA Funds

(reprinted from December edition of PBA E-News)

The leaders of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, more than 20 U.S. senators, members of the House Judiciary Committee and many individual representatives urged the FDIC to include IOLTA in the TLGP. The bipartisan effort by members of Congress, plus the efforts of state government officials, community banks, onsumer groups, bar associations and foundations, law firms and individual lawyers ationwide, all emphasized to the FDIC the importance of IOLTA programs as the second largest source of funding for legal services to the poor.

According to ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr., had the FDIC failed to expand full coverage for IOLTA, lawyers would have had to consider abandoning IOLTA for fully insured non-interest bearing accounts or moving IOLTA funds from community banks to the larger “too big to fail” banks. Wells said that abandoning IOLTA would have been catastrophic for IOLTA programs in all 50 states, which provide funding for legal aid for the poor, and moving the accounts to larger banks would have defeated the FDIC’s purpose in creating the TLGP.

In early November, McClain sent a letter to FDIC officials and the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation requesting support for the inclusion of the IOLTA accounts. TLGP coverage was vital for IOLTA accounts holding funds for a client that could exceed the $250,000 coverage limit. “Establishing multiple accounts at various financial institutions would not have been viable since lawyers would not have known whether clients would later deposit additional funds on their own at a particular bank, and it was not practical to separate alarge deposit that would be in the IOLTA account just long enough for the check to clear,” said McClain.

“We felt that, particularly in these tough economic times, lawyers should not be forced to abandon support for this critical program that serves the legal needs of the poor, and the inclusion of IOLTA accounts for the unlimited deposit insurance provided by the TLGP will help ensure continued support for IOLTA by Pennsylvania lawyers,“ explained McClain.

PBA President C. Dale McClain commended the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for its November decision to clarify the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program to include Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts. McClain also applauded the cooperative work of local bar associations, the PBA and the ABA in making a persuasive case for the inclusion of IOLTA funds in the expanded insurance program. As a result of the FDIC action, an individual client’s funds deposited in IOLTA will be fully insured regardless of the amount.

http://www.pabar.org/public/probono/FDIC%20coverage%20expanded%20to%20include%20IOLTA%20(2).pdf

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