NYCLA IOLA Civil Legal Service Funding Resolution

New York County Lawyers Association
Resolution of the Board of Directors
February 12, 2024

WHEREAS, the New York County Lawyers Association has a long history of supporting civil legal services for low-income New Yorkers;

WHEREAS, NYCLA’s efforts in support of civil legal services for low-income New Yorkers have included (i) providing free civil legal services to the poor, as part of its mission, through NYCLA’s Pro Bono Programs, and (ii) advocating for adequate funding for civil legal service providers throughout New York State.

WHEREAS, the Governor’s FY25 Executive Budget seeks a transfer of $100 million from the IOLA Fund, a fund created by statute to support the delivery of civil legal services to the poor through grants to not-for-profit tax-exempt entities, to the State General Fund (“Proposed Transfer”); and

WHEREAS, the Proposed Transfer would contravene the explicitly stated purpose of the IOLA Fund’s creation, and has the potential to harm not only those on the front-lines of civil legal service delivery, but the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who receive those services.

BE IT RESOLVED, that the NYCLA Board of Directors opposes any transfer of money out of the IOLA Fund into the State General Fund, as inconsistent with the mission and legislative history of the IOLA Fund;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NYCLA Board of Directors includes this opposition as a part of its policy position to support civil legal service funding and, by extension, delivery;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NYCLA Board of Directors authorizes NYCLA’s President, or their designee, to take any action consistent with this policy position.