Following the release of the Governor's
budget for the fiscal year starting on July 1,
2012, Boston Bar Association President Lisa C. Goodheart issued the following
statement:
"While I plan to review the Governor's budget in greater detail, I want
to thank him for appreciating the importance of civil legal aid and for
appropriating $12 million for the line item for the Massachusetts Legal
Assistance Corporation (MLAC), the statewide entity responsibility for
administering funds to programs providing legal aid to poor people. At the same
time, the Governor's recommendation falls short of the $14.5 million needed by
MLAC.
What I ask our state lawmakers to remember is that last year
MLAC funded programs brought in $27.7 million in new federal revenue. I urge
them to check out MLAC's report, but we're talking about millions of dollars in
food stamps, SSI/SSDI, Medicare Appeals, Federal Tax Appeals, and Federal
Unemployment Benefits appeals. MLAC funded programs won an additional $10.4
million in other benefits for low income residents, including $3.3 million in
child support orders -- potentially reducing dependence on public assistance. As
for homelessness and domestic violence prevention, civil legal aid made possible
by MLAC funding is projected to have saved tax-payers $15.1 million.
Funding for civil legal aid is about fairness and equal access to
justice, but it's also about investing in programs that yield significant social
and economic benefits. Tomorrow, Boston Bar Association members will join their
brothers and sisters from bar associations across the Commonwealth for the Walk
to the Hill Lobbying Day for civil legal aid.
Our message is this: The benefits of civil legal aid are so significant
relative to the investment that Massachusetts cannot afford to shortchange people who have
so little to begin with. On this issue, the interests
of justice and fiscal pragmatism are fully aligned."