A00663 Summary:

BILL NOA00663
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSOREpstein
 
COSPNSRAnderson, Cruz, Davila, De Los Santos, Hevesi, Jackson, Ramos, Meeks, Sayegh, Seawright, Sillitti, Simon, Raga
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add Art 18-C §§723 - 723-a, amd §722, County L; amd §1303, RPAP L
 
Provides representation to veterans that are at or below four hundred percent of the federal poverty guidelines for matters involving children, sustenance and real property proceedings.
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A00663 Actions:

BILL NOA00663
 
01/11/2023referred to judiciary
01/03/2024referred to judiciary
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A00663 Committee Votes:

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A00663 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A00663 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           663
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. EPSTEIN, ANDERSON, CRUZ, DAVILA, DE LOS SANTOS,
          HEVESI, JACKSON, RAMOS, MEEKS, SAYEGH, SEAWRIGHT, SILLITTI,  SIMON  --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  county  law  and  the real property actions and
          proceedings law, in relation to providing representation  to  veterans
          for certain civil matters
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The county law is amended by adding a new article  18-C  to
     2  read as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE 18-C
     4                 REPRESENTATION OF VETERANS IN CIVIL MATTERS
     5  Section 723.   Lead agency for civil right to counsel.
     6          723-a. Compensation and reimbursement.
     7    §  723.  Lead  agency for civil right to counsel. 1. Representation in
     8  civil matters shall be provided to  veterans,  regardless  of  discharge
     9  status,  who are at or below four hundred percent of the federal poverty
    10  guidelines. For the purposes of this article, such representation  shall
    11  include, but not be limited to:
    12    a.  real property proceedings including sections seven hundred eleven,
    13  seven hundred thirteen, seven hundred thirteen-a, five hundred one,  one
    14  thousand  ninety-three,  thirteen  hundred three and article thirteen of
    15  the real property actions and proceedings law;
    16    b. cases involving sustenance including sections one  hundred  ninety-
    17  six-a,  five hundred thirty-eight, six hundred twenty, six hundred twen-
    18  ty-one, six hundred twenty-four, six hundred sixty-three and six hundred
    19  eighty-one of the labor law, section twenty-two of the  social  services
    20  law  and  rule three hundred five and article seventy-eight of the civil
    21  practice law and rules; and
    22    c. cases involving children including article four of the family court
    23  act.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00120-01-3

        A. 663                              2
 
     1    2. Such representation shall be a partnership between the  courts  and
     2  all  qualified  legal  services  providers, bar associations and private
     3  organizations.  The legal services providers shall  serve  as  the  lead
     4  agency for case assessment and direction under this article and further-
     5  more shall:
     6    a.  be the central point of contact for receipt of referrals for legal
     7  representation;
     8    b. make determinations of eligibility based on uniform criteria;
     9    c. be responsible for  providing  representation  to  the  clients  or
    10  referring the matter to one of the organizations or individual providers
    11  with  whom  the  lead  legal  services  agency  contracts to provide the
    12  service; and
    13    d. to the extent practical, identify and make use of pro bono services
    14  in order to maximize available services efficiently and economically.
    15    3. The court partner shall, as a corollary to the services provided by
    16  the lead legal services agency, be responsible for providing procedures,
    17  personnel, training, and case management  and  administration  practices
    18  that  reflect  best practices to ensure meaningful access to justice and
    19  to guard against the involuntary waiver of rights, consistent with prin-
    20  ciples of judicial neutrality.
    21    4. The participating legal services agency shall be  selected  by  the
    22  judicial council.
    23    a.  The  judicial council shall be made up of one administrative judge
    24  from each judicial district. There shall be at least one legal  services
    25  agency chosen for each judicial district.
    26    b.  The  judicial  council  shall  assess the applicants' capacity for
    27  success, innovation, and efficiency, including, but not limited to,  the
    28  likelihood  that  the  agency would deliver quality representation in an
    29  effective manner that would meet critical needs  in  the  community  and
    30  address  the  needs  of  the  court with regard to access to justice and
    31  calendar management, and the unique local unmet needs for representation
    32  in the community.
    33    c. Agencies approved pursuant  to  this  section  shall  initially  be
    34  authorized  for a three-year period, commencing on the effective date of
    35  this section and subject to renewal for a period to be determined by the
    36  judicial council, in consultation with the participating agency in light
    37  of the agency's capacity and success. After the initial three-year peri-
    38  od, the judicial council shall distribute any future funds available  as
    39  the result of the termination or nonrenewal of an agency pursuant to the
    40  process set forth in this subdivision.
    41    d.  Agencies  shall  be selected on the basis of whether, in the cases
    42  proposed for service, the persons  to  be  assisted  are  likely  to  be
    43  opposed  by  a party who is represented by counsel. The judicial council
    44  shall also consider the following factors in selecting the agencies:
    45    (i) the likelihood that representation in the proposed case type tends
    46  to affect whether a party prevails or otherwise obtains a  significantly
    47  more  favorable  outcome  in  a  matter  in  which  they would otherwise
    48  frequently have judgment entered against them or suffer the  deprivation
    49  of the basic human need at issue;
    50    (ii) the likelihood of reducing the risk of erroneous decisions;
    51    (iii) the nature and severity of potential consequences for the unrep-
    52  resented party regarding the basic human need at stake if representation
    53  is not provided;
    54    (iv)  whether  the provision of legal services may eliminate or reduce
    55  the potential need for and cost of public social services regarding  the

        A. 663                              3
 
     1  basic  human  need  at  stake  for the client and others in the client's
     2  household;
     3    (v)  the  unmet  need  for legal services in the geographic area to be
     4  served; and
     5    (vi) the availability  and  effectiveness  of  other  types  of  court
     6  services, such as self-help.
     7    e. Each applicant shall do the following:
     8    (i)  identify  the nature of the partnership between the court and the
     9  other agencies or other providers that would work within the project;
    10    (ii) describe the referral protocols to be  used,  the  criteria  that
    11  would be employed in case assessment, why those cases were selected, the
    12  manner to address conflicts without violating any attorney-client privi-
    13  lege  when  adverse  parties  are  seeking  representation  through  the
    14  project, and the means for serving potential clients who  need  language
    15  assistance within the court system; and
    16    (iii)  describe  how  the project would be administered, including how
    17  the data collection requirements would be met without causing  an  undue
    18  burden  on  the courts, clients, or the providers, the particular objec-
    19  tives of the project, strategies to evaluate their  success  in  meeting
    20  those  objectives,  and  the  means by which the project would serve the
    21  particular needs of the community, such as by  providing  representation
    22  to limited-English-speaking clients, the elderly and the disabled.
    23    5. To ensure the most effective use of the funding available, the lead
    24  legal  services  agency  shall serve as a hub for all referrals, and the
    25  point at which decisions are made about which referrals will  be  served
    26  and by whom. Referrals shall emanate from the court, as well as from the
    27  other  agencies  providing  services  through  the  program and shall be
    28  directed to the lead legal services agency for review. That  agency,  or
    29  another  agency  or attorney in the event of conflict, shall collect the
    30  information necessary to assess whether the case should  be  served.  In
    31  performing that case assessment, the agency shall determine the relative
    32  need for representation of the litigant, including all of the following:
    33    a. case complexity;
    34    b. whether the opposing party is represented;
    35    c. the adversarial nature of the proceeding;
    36    d. the availability and effectiveness of other types of services, such
    37  as  self-help,  in  light  of the potential client and the nature of the
    38  case;
    39    e. barriers to access due to language;
    40    f. barriers to access due to disability;
    41    g. barriers to access due to literacy;
    42    h. the merits of the case;
    43    i. the nature and severity of potential consequences for the potential
    44  client if representation is not provided; and
    45    j. whether the provision of legal services may eliminate or reduce the
    46  need for and cost of public social services for the potential client and
    47  others in the potential client's household.
    48    6. The decision and level of representation should be made at the sole
    49  discretion of the lead agency, organization, or attorney  based  on  the
    50  factors set forth above.
    51    7. If both parties to a dispute are financially eligible for represen-
    52  tation, each proposal shall ensure that representation for both sides is
    53  evaluated.  In these and other cases in which conflict issues arise, the
    54  lead  legal  services  agency  shall  have referral protocols with other
    55  agencies and providers, such as a private  attorney  panel,  to  address
    56  those conflicts.

        A. 663                              4
 
     1    8.  Each  lead  agency, organization, or attorney shall be responsible
     2  for keeping records on the referrals accepted and those not accepted for
     3  representation, and the reasons for each, in  a  manner  that  does  not
     4  violate  any  privileged  communications  between  the  agency  and  the
     5  prospective  client. Each lead agency, organization or attorney shall be
     6  provided with standardized data collection tools to be determined by the
     7  judicial council, and required to track case information for each refer-
     8  ral to allow the evaluation to measure the number of cases  served,  the
     9  level  of  service  required,  and  the outcomes for the clients in each
    10  case. In addition to this information on the  effect  of  the  represen-
    11  tation  on  the  clients, data shall be collected regarding the outcomes
    12  for the trial courts.  This data shall be compiled in  a  report  to  be
    13  submitted to the judicial council on a quarterly basis.
    14    §  723-a.  Compensation  and reimbursement. 1.  Compensation for legal
    15  services providers shall be based upon deliverables as described in  the
    16  contracts  with  those providers.  Compensation for all counsel assigned
    17  in accordance with a plan of the court, other  organization,  or  a  bar
    18  association  conforming  to the requirements of this article whereby the
    19  services of private counsel are rotated and coordinated by  an  adminis-
    20  trator shall at the conclusion of the representation receive:
    21    a. for real property proceedings no less than fifty dollars per hour;
    22    b. for cases involving sustenance no less than sixty dollars per hour;
    23  and
    24    c. for cases involving children no less than sixty dollars per hour.
    25    2.  For  all  representation,  compensation  and  reimbursement  shall
    26  include reimbursement for reasonably incurred expenses.
    27    3. Compensation for representation in such cases shall  be  guided  by
    28  the  minimum  amounts set forth above. The compensation minimums are set
    29  for counsel only, not support or administrative  staff  work.  Work  for
    30  support  or  administrative  staff  should be set by individual counsel,
    31  firm, or organization and should be set at a  lower  rate  than  compen-
    32  sation for counsel.
    33    4.  There  shall  be  no  differential in compensation rate for out of
    34  court time expended and in court time expended. Rates should be  set  at
    35  the  minimum  stated above or higher based on the complexity of the case
    36  and expertise of the attorney.   Such rates  shall  be  subject  to  the
    37  approval  of  the  court  of jurisdiction based on the complexity of the
    38  case, expertise of the attorney, the market, and any other  factors  the
    39  court deems just and appropriate.
    40    5.  There should be no cap on the amount of compensation or reimburse-
    41  ment  received  for  representation.  The  amount  of  compensation  and
    42  reimbursement is subject to court approval as described above.
    43    6.  Compensation  and  reimbursement  for appeal shall be fixed by the
    44  appellate court not to be below the rates set forth in this section.
    45    7. In extraordinary circumstances  a  trial  or  appellate  court  may
    46  provide  for  payment  of  compensation  and  reimbursement for expenses
    47  before the completion of the representation upon application.
    48    § 2. The opening paragraph of  section  722  of  the  county  law,  as
    49  amended by chapter 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
    50    The  governing  body of each county and the governing body of the city
    51  in which a county is wholly contained shall place in operation  through-
    52  out  the  county  a plan for providing counsel to persons charged with a
    53  crime or who are entitled to counsel pursuant to article  eighteen-C  of
    54  this  chapter,  section  two hundred sixty-two or section eleven hundred
    55  twenty of the family court act, article six-C  of  the  correction  law,
    56  section  four  hundred  seven  of the surrogate's court procedure act or

        A. 663                              5
 
     1  article ten of the mental hygiene law, who  are  financially  unable  to
     2  obtain  counsel.  Each plan shall also provide for investigative, expert
     3  and other services necessary for an adequate  defense.  The  plan  shall
     4  conform to one of the following:
     5    §  3.  Subdivision  3 of section 1303 of the real property actions and
     6  proceedings law, as amended by section 5 of part Q of chapter 73 of  the
     7  laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
     8    3.  The  notice to any mortgagor required by paragraph (a) of subdivi-
     9  sion one of this section shall appear as follows:
    10                     Help for Homeowners in Foreclosure
    11    New York State Law requires that we send you  this  notice  about  the
    12  foreclosure process. Please read it carefully.
    13  Summons and Complaint
    14    You  are  in danger of losing your home. If you fail to respond to the
    15  summons and complaint in this foreclosure  action,  you  may  lose  your
    16  home.  Please read the summons and complaint carefully. You should imme-
    17  diately contact an attorney or your local legal  aid  office  to  obtain
    18  advice on how to protect yourself.
    19  Sources of Information and Assistance
    20    The  State  encourages  you  to  become informed about your options in
    21  foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from an attorney or legal
    22  aid office, there are government agencies and  non-profit  organizations
    23  that  you  may contact for information about possible options, including
    24  trying to work with your lender during this process. You may be entitled
    25  to assigned counsel if you are a veteran who is  financially  unable  to
    26  obtain representation.
    27    To  locate  an  entity  near  you, you may call the toll-free helpline
    28  maintained by the New York State Department  of  Financial  Services  at
    29  (enter number) or visit the Department's website at (enter web address).
    30    Rights and Obligations
    31  YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME AT THIS TIME. You have the right
    32  to  stay  in  your  home  during  the  foreclosure  process. You are not
    33  required to leave your home unless and until your property  is  sold  at
    34  auction pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale.
    35  Regardless  of  whether  you  choose  to  remain  in  your home, YOU ARE
    36  REQUIRED TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR PROPERTY and pay property taxes in accord-
    37  ance with state and local law.
    38  Foreclosure rescue scams
    39    Be careful of people who approach you with offers to "save" your home.
    40  There are individuals who watch for notices of  foreclosure  actions  in
    41  order  to  unfairly  profit  from  a homeowner's distress. You should be
    42  extremely careful about any such promises and any suggestions  that  you
    43  pay  them a fee or sign over your deed. State law requires anyone offer-
    44  ing such services for profit  to  enter  into  a  contract  which  fully
    45  describes  the services they will perform and fees they will charge, and
    46  which prohibits them from taking any money  from  you  until  they  have
    47  completed all such promised services.
    48    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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