Revision: March 25, 2010, midnight
SB 517-FN-A – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
08/01
SENATE BILL 517-FN-A
AN ACT establishing a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project and making an appropriation therefor.
SPONSORS: Sen. Barnes, Jr., Dist 17; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Downing, Dist 22; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Sen. Hassan, Dist 23; Sen. Houde, Dist 5; Sen. Lasky, Dist 13; Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. Merrill, Dist 21; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Roberge, Dist 9; Rep. Baldasaro, Rock 3; Rep. K. Roberts, Ches 3; Rep. R. Ober, Hills 27; Rep. P. Garrity, Hills 14; Rep. Emiro, Rock 3
This bill establishes a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project and makes an appropriation for such project.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2964
08/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT establishing a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project and making an appropriation therefor.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose.
I. The legislature finds that:
(a) Approximately 10 percent of New Hampshire’s population are veterans.
(b) New Hampshire veterans of all ages have faced difficulty securing and maintaining public benefits, livable income, and safe and affordable housing.
(c) New Hampshire veterans currently returning from service in Afghanistan and Iraq are confronted with psychological, physical, and economic obstacles that sometimes require legal advocacy, including a high reported incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
(d) Many veterans are low to moderate income and cannot afford attorneys. Veterans in rural areas encounter greater difficulties acquiring counsel.
(e) Pursuant to RSA 115:4, II(b), the director of the state veterans council has identified a significant need for pro bono legal advocacy for veterans and has determined that the creation of the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project is a possible model that could improve the delivery of services to veterans.
(f) Hundreds of New Hampshire veterans are homeless. Many are unaware of services available to them. Targeted legal outreach may help bring some veterans out of poverty.
(g) Veterans’ legal aid advocacy projects have been developed in other states.
(h) New Hampshire Legal Assistance is a state-wide legal aid program with expertise in public benefits, disability advocacy, and housing advocacy.
(i) In 2009, the general court created a committee to study the creation of a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project. That committee has concluded that:
(1) Hundreds of veterans seek help from the state veterans council each year, on issues ranging from housing foreclosures, to evictions, to unemployment insurance, to family law, to property taxes, and to disability and veterans administration related claims. As an agency with personnel trained insofar as dealing with quasi-legal issues generally through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the state veterans council has referral capability only to help veterans that seek legal assistance in civil matters and does not employ attorneys;
(2) Hundreds of veterans seek help from the veterans’ service organizations in the state of New Hampshire each month, on issues ranging from housing foreclosures, evictions, utility disconnections, property taxes, disability and veterans administration related claims, and Social Security Administration cases. The veterans’ service organizations have a limited amount of money to help veterans, and no network of attorneys to refer veterans to for help;
(3) Hundreds of veterans seek help from New Hampshire Legal Assistance each year, on issues ranging from housing foreclosures, to evictions, to unemployment insurance, and to disability and veterans administration related claims. New Hampshire Legal Assistance only has the resources to help a fraction of the veterans that seek its help;
(4) The number of veterans seeking legal help is increasing as more service members are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and facing difficult personal and financial situations;
(5) More advocacy in Social Security Disability claims, service-connected disability claims and pension claims on behalf of veterans will bring in significant federal money not only to needy and entitled veterans, but also to local communities throughout New Hampshire;
(6) The state veterans council, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, and the New Hampshire Pro Bono Section of the Bar Association have the expertise and experience to implement and coordinate the efficient and effective delivery of veterans’ legal aid services to the state’s veterans;
(7) New staff at the state veterans council, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, and the Pro Bono Section of the Bar Association is needed to provide legal aid advocacy for more of the veterans that need help;
(8) Private funding is not available in the level and consistency required to create and sustain adequate staffing of a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project; and
(9) It is in the best interests of the state of New Hampshire to provide general fund moneys to fund a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project.
II. The purpose of this act is to establish a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project in New Hampshire.
2 New Chapter; Veterans’ Legal Aid Advocacy Project. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 115-B the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 115-C
VETERANS’ LEGAL AID ADVOCACY PROJECT
115-C:1 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to address the unmet, dire civil legal needs of New Hampshire’s veterans, and to advocate and safeguard veterans’ benefits or preferences to which they may be entitled under any state or federal laws or regulations, particularly in the areas of housing, employment and unemployment, and veterans’ disability and pension claims.
115-C:2 Eligibility. Persons eligible for services from the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project shall:
I. Meet the definition of “veteran” as provided in RSA 21:50;
II. Be ordered to active duty resulting from action by Congress or the President, under any law, for an expansion of the active armed forces in accordance with 10 U.S.C. sections 12301, 12302, 12304, 12305, or successor statutes; or
III. Be discharged under other than dishonorable conditions, as long as the discharge was caused, in some way, by traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual trauma, a combat related injury or illness, or other traumatic injuries or illnesses.
115-C:3 Duties.
I. The veterans’ legal aid advocacy project shall work to improve the lives of New Hampshire veterans through legal aid advocacy on behalf of veterans in civil matters.
II. The state veterans council shall serve as the veterans intake coordinator for the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project.
III. New Hampshire Legal Assistance shall provide legal representation to veterans in a manner consistent with the purpose outlined in RSA 115-C:1 and professional code of ethics.
IV. The state veterans council and New Hampshire Legal Assistance shall do outreach with veterans’ service organizations and homeless shelters to reach the veteran homeless population that may need legal aid advocacy services.
V. The state veterans council, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, and the pro bono section of the New Hampshire Bar Association shall coordinate with the veterans’ service organizations, the New Hampshire National Guard, and other veterans’ service providers, in the efficient provision of veterans’ legal aid advocacy services. The state veterans council and New Hampshire Legal Assistance shall create general guidelines on case acceptance and priorities, reviewing those guidelines and priorities every 2 years.
VI. The state veterans council, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, and the pro bono section of the New Hampshire Bar Association shall work to increase the number of private attorneys for referrals of veterans’ cases, including, but not limited to, veterans’ family law cases.
VII. The state veterans council, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, and the pro bono section of the New Hampshire Bar Association shall work to provide information sessions and legal advice for veterans and their families.
VIII. The veterans’ legal aid advocacy project shall provide legal aid training to veterans’ advocates.
IX. The veterans’ legal aid advocacy project shall report annually to the governor, the general court, and the state veterans council on the number of veterans served, the results, and the number of veterans that could not be served.
115-C:4 Veterans’ Legal Aid Advocacy Project Fund.
I. There is established in the office of the state treasurer a separate fund to be known as the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project fund. The money in this fund shall be continually appropriated to the state veterans council, and it shall contract with New Hampshire Legal Assistance and the pro bono section of the New Hampshire Bar Association to provide legal advocacy and otherwise fulfill the duties outlined in RSA 115-C:3.
II. Beginning July 1, 2011, the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project shall be funded from general funds at not less than $550,000 each year.
3 Appropriation; State Veterans Council. For fiscal year 2011, beginning July 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2011, the state veterans council, with approval from the fiscal committee of the general court and the governor and council, may expend up to $550,000 for the purpose of funding the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated.
4 New Subparagraph; Veterans’ Legal Aid Advocacy Project Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (299) the following new subparagraph:
(300) Moneys deposited into the veterans’ legal aid advocacy project fund established in RSA 115-C:4, I.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
LBAO
10-2964
Revised 03/09/10
SB 517-FN-A - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project and making an appropriation therefore.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire State Veterans Council states this bill would increase state general fund expenditures by $542,348 in FY 2011, $558,618 in FY 2012, $575,377 in FY 2013, and by an indeterminable amount in FY 2014. This bill would have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue, or county and local expenditures.
The bill would authorize the Council to expend up to $550,000 in FY 2011 from funds not otherwise appropriated (state general funds), with prior approval of the Fiscal Committee and Governor and Council, for the purpose of this bill.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire State Veterans Council states this bill establishes a veterans’ legal aid advocacy project. The bill establishes a Veteran’s Legal Aid Advocacy Project Fund which would be continually appropriated to the Veterans Council. Beginning in FY 2012, the bill would require the project to be funded with state general funds at not less than $550,000 annually. Although this bill does not establish positions, the Council estimates it would need to hire two program specialist positions (Labor Grade 18) with salary and benefit costs of approximately $134,908 ($67,454 per position). The Council states it would contract with New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) for two staff attorneys with salary and benefit costs of $174,800 ($87,400 per position), a paralegal with salary and benefit costs of $71,800, and a legal secretary with salary and benefit costs of $60,840. In addition, the Council would enter into a $50,000 contract with the New Hampshire Bar Association for the purposes of this bill. The Council estimates training, outreach and education costs associated with the project would total $50,000 annually. The total fiscal impact as follows –
FY 2011 New Hampshire State Veterans Council Staff $134,908
New Hampshire Legal Assistance Staff Contract $307,440
New Hampshire Bar Association Staff Contract $50,000
Training/Outreach/Education $50,000
Total $542,348
LBAO
10-2964
Revised 03/09/10
Assuming annual inflation of approximately 3%, the Council estimates this bill would increase state general fund costs by $558,618 in FY 2012, $575,377 in FY 2013, and by an indeterminable amount in FY 2014.