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SB1 • 2026

CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES FUND

An Act relating to appropriations to the civil legal services fund.

Budget
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
SENATORS DUNBAR, Tobin, Claman, Gray-Jackson
Last action
2025-01-28
Official status
(S) FIN
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on annual funding amounts or consequences for lack of funding.

Civil Legal Services Fund Act

This act changes how money is allocated to a special fund that helps low-income individuals access civil legal services.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes the Civil Legal Services Fund as a special account within the state's general fund.
  • Allows the legislature to allocate up to 25% of filing fees collected by the Alaska Court System in the previous fiscal year, instead of 10%, to this fund annually.
  • Permits the legislature to distribute funds from the Civil Legal Services Fund to organizations that provide civil legal services to low-income individuals.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Low-income individuals who need civil legal services.
  • Organizations providing legal aid to those in financial need.
  • The state's general fund and the Alaska Court System.

Terms To Know

Civil Legal Services Fund
A special account within the state’s budget that holds money for helping low-income people get legal help.
Low-income individual
An individual with an income equal to or less than 125 percent of the most recent federal poverty guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify how much money will be in the fund each year.
  • It doesn't say what happens if there is no funding available for the Civil Legal Services Fund.

Bill History

  1. 2025-01-28 111

    (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  2. 2025-01-28 111

    (S) FN1: (CED)

  3. 2025-01-28 111

    (S) NR: MYERS

  4. 2025-01-28 111

    (S) DP: CLAMAN, TOBIN, STEVENS, KIEHL

  5. 2025-01-28 111

    (S) JUD RPT 4DP 1NR

  6. 2025-01-27 Min

    (S) Minutes (SJUD)

  7. 2025-01-27 Text

    (S) Moved SB 1 Out of Committee

  8. 2025-01-27 Text

    (S) JUDICIARY at 01:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  9. 2025-01-27 98

    (S) COSPONSOR(S): TOBIN, CLAMAN, GRAY-JACKSON

  10. 2025-01-22 25

    (S) JUD, FIN

  11. 2025-01-22 25

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

  12. 2025-01-22 25

    (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25

Official Summary Text

CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES FUND
An Act relating to appropriations to the civil legal services fund.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB0001A -1- SB 1
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0004\A

SENATE BILL NO. 1

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY SENATORS DUNBAR, Tobin, Claman, Gray-Jackson

Introduced: 1/22/25
Referred: Judiciary, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to appropriations to the civil legal services fund." 1
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 2
* Section 1. AS 37.05.590 is amended to read: 3
Sec. 37.05.590. Civil legal services fund. The civil legal services fund is 4
established as a special account in the general fund. The fund consists of 5
appropriations to it. Annually, the legislature may appropriate to the fund only from 6
amounts deposited into the general fund of the state under AS 09.17.020(j) and an 7
amount from the general fund that is up to 25 [10] percent of the filing fees received 8
by the Alaska Court System during the previous closed fiscal year. The legislature 9
may make appropriations from the fund to organizations that provide civil legal 10
services to low-income individuals. Nothing in this section creates a dedicated fund. In 11
this section, "low-income individual" means an individual with an income equal to or 12
less than 125 percent of the most recent federal poverty guidelines for Alaska set by 13
the United States Department of Health and Human Services. 14