Senator Anne Carney introduces bill to protect and increase access to justice through civil legal assistance for persons with low incomes

AUGUSTA — On Thursday, April 17, Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, introduced a bill to expand access to justice by funding civil legal services for Mainers who cannot otherwise afford a lawyer. LD 1022, “An Act to Protect and Increase Access to Justice in Civil Legal Matters for Persons with Low Incomes,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary.

“My colleagues in the Legislature and I have worked together to protect the legal rights of all Mainers and ensure that all in our state have access to justice,” said Sen. Carney. “Unfortunately, thousands of people with low incomes in Maine navigate life-altering civil legal problems each year without access to a lawyer. LD 1022 would provide funding to civil legal service providers throughout the state, ensuring that our excellent network of civil legal aid providers remains strong and can meet the growing needs of Mainers with low incomes. Passing this bill is critical, not only because it ensures legal advocacy for those who need it, but also because it enables Mainers with low incomes to continue working, maintain healthy, well-fed families and keep a roof over their heads.”

Maine has seven civil legal aid organizations that coordinate their services to represent as many persons who can’t afford a lawyer as possible. These providers are supported by ongoing donations from Maine’s lawyers, by surcharges on certain court fees and civil violation fines and by various grants and gifts. Since 2022, the Legislature has provided $1.3M in annual baseline, general fund support for this work through the Maine Civil Legal Services Fund (MCLSF). In the last biennium, additional one-time funding effectively added $2M per year in new capacity, and more people with low incomes received the legal help they needed. Unless the Legislature restores that $2M annually and makes it part of the baseline funding, the number of unrepresented litigants will increase and the number of legal service providers will drop when those funds are exhausted at the end of this June.

LD 1022 proposes adding enough general fund support in the next biennium to maintain the system’s existing level of capacity and to gradually increase it. It would provide $6.4 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year and $9.5 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year.  

The bill also stipulates that the Judiciary Committee hold a public hearing on civil legal services funding in 2026 and every two years thereafter, and that the Committee is to make a recommendation to the Governor and the Legislature based on those hearings regarding funding of civil legal services. Additionally, the MCLSF Commission would also be required to submit an annual report on its allocation decisions to the Judiciary Committee.

In her testimony in support of LD 1022, Anne Segalini, a client helped by civil legal services, said, “I am here to share my and my children’s stories as survivors of severe and sinister domestic and to highlight the crucial role Civil Legal Aid played in helping my children and me escape a decade-long cycle of fear, harm, and oppression. … Legal Services provided the representation I needed when I had nowhere else to turn. It helped me navigate and secure the legal protections necessary to advance in a successful life.”

Sen. Carney worked for eight years as a volunteer attorney with Pine Tree Legal Services, helping provide the very services this bill seeks to fund. She saw firsthand the positive impact that access to a lawyer can have on people’s lives. More information about PTLA and Maine’s other civil legal services providers can be found here.

LD 1022 faces further action in the Judiciary Committee.

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