Colorado legal aid organizations will now have a new pot of money to draw from, thanks to a law signed Monday by Gov. Jared Polis.
HB24-1286, dubbed the Equal Justice Fund Authority bill, will add roughly $2 million in funding for organizations that offer free civil legal services to low-income Coloradans. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Junie Joseph, Rep. Mandy Lindsay, Sen. Dylan Roberts and Sen. Kevin Priola, all Democrats.
The money comes from a new “equal justice” filing fee in Colorado’s civil courts: $10 in county court and $30 in district and appeals courts.
The extra funds will be directed toward organizations such as Colorado Legal Services, the Community Economic Defense Project and the Colorado Poverty Law Project, which help people with evictions, immigration proceedings, divorces, debt relief and other civil issues.
Unlike in criminal proceedings, indigent people are not provided an attorney if they cannot afford one, relying on nonprofits instead.
“Equal justice and dignity, regardless of income, is a bedrock principle of our legal system,” said Matthew Baca, executive director of Colorado Legal Services, in a statement. “This fund helps ensure we can continue doing this important work throughout Colorado.”
Colorado lagged significantly behind its Western neighbors on per-capita state funding for legal aid, according to a February report published by the Colorado Access to Justice Commission, a coalition working to address barriers in the civil justice system.
The first-of-its-kind study found Colorado provided just 73 cents for legal aid per capita. California, by comparison, allocated more than $5 per capita — seven times Colorado’s figure. Nevada and Washington each earmarked more than five times the Centennial State for legal aid. Even Wyoming allotted three-and-a-half times more money, the study found.
“Limited access to legal representation undermines the ability of people living in poverty to enforce laws meant to protect them,” said Lydia McCoy, CEO of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, in a statement.
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