AUSTIN, Texas—The Texas Access to Justice Commission and Texas Access to Justice Foundation presented the “Star of Justice Award” to the League of Women Voters of Texas (LWVT), during the League’s Texas Convention in San Marcos, on Saturday, April 24.  Texas Access to Justice Commissioner Judge Katie Kennedy of Houston presented the award to LWVT President Karen Nicholson for the efforts of the League of Women Voters of Texas in helping preserve funding for civil legal aid during the 81st Texas Legislature.

When the League of Women Voters of Texas learned that legal aid offices could be closing and increasing numbers of applicants would be denied legal services because of a funding crisis affecting legal aid, they immediately mobilized support efforts and became an ally in preserving legal aid for Texans.  The League of Women Voters prepared letters to key decision makers in the Texas Legislature to highlight the funding crisis and supported the emergency funding request submitted to the Legislature by the Supreme Court.   “While most requests for supplemental funding from state agencies are routinely denied, the fact that this request had the support by the League of Women Voters – as well as by lawyer groups – was no doubt instrumental in convincing lawmakers that access to justice is more than a concern of lawyers and the courts – that it affects everyone,” said Judge Kennedy in her presentation of the award.

The Legislature approved a $20 million appropriation for the biennium dedicated to civil legal services to help offset a dramatic drop in funding due to low interest rates’ affect on the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOTLA) program, a primary funding source for legal aid in Texas.  While the civil legal needs of Texans continue to outpace funding resources, the work accomplished during the 81^st Legislative Session helped bridge a critical gap in loss of revenue and resulted in the first state appropriation for civil legal aid.  Because of this funding, nonprofit legal aid providers are able to continue serving more than 100,000 Texas families this year with basic and often critical civil legal needs – cases that involve domestic violence, unlawful foreclosures, and denial of health benefits.  

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) administers the IOLTA program, and is the largest Texas funding source for legal aid in the state.  Nearly 40 nonprofit organizations receive grant funds from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation for basic civil legal services.