Category: Equal Justice Coalition

Sunday, April 23rd was the formal “sine die” to the end of the 2017 state legislative session. However, in the absence of agreement on either the state operating or capital budgets, Governor Jay Inslee called for a 30-day Special Session beginning today, Monday, April 24. As we all know, the central issue of this session […]

Today, the Trump Administration released its initial budget that includes the complete elimination of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). As a reminder, LSC administers federal civil legal aid funding, which currently accounts for approximately $6.5 million to provide critical legal assistance to low-income families and individuals in Washington State. Since LSC’s creation during the Nixon […]

In 2017, King County residents will vote on the renewal of the Veterans and Human Services Levy (VHSL), and the County is currently exploring the possibility of including civil legal aid as a part of the strategy for a renewed Veterans and Human Services Levy. The current VHSL, which was renewed by voters in August of […]

On Friday, June 10, 2016 the Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee unanimously approved the Office of Civil Legal Aid’s (OCLA) “Civil Justice Reinvestment Plan.” In an attempt to address the sobering findings of the 2015 Civil Legal Needs Study Update, which found that a full 76% of low-income Washingtonians experiencing a civil legal problem are […]

Each spring, the Equal Justice Coalition travels to Washington, D.C. to advocate for increased federal funding for civil legal aid. From April 19-21, we met with all of Washington state’s representatives and both senators to urge them to fund civil legal aid at the Obama Administration’s requested level of $475 million. Here’s our one-pager about […]

A little after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29th, the Washington State Legislature passed the 2016 Supplemental Budget and adjourned the Supplemental Session later that night.  The budget, which adds $191 million of new spending to the 2015-2017 biennium, passed with a 27-17 vote in the Senate and 78-17 vote in the House.  Thanks to […]