Gov. Blunt signs bill funding Missouri's Basic Civil Legal Services

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Jul 16, 2007 by Scott Lauck

Gov. Matt Blunt has signed a bill ensuring five more years of funding for organizations that provide legal services for indigent litigants.

Under the bill, the state's Basic Civil Legal Services Fund, which had been set to expire at the end of the year, will be extended until Dec. 31, 2012. The fund provides about $3.3 million a year to the state's four legal aid agencies, constituting about 20 percent of their total funding. The agencies had estimated that loss of the money could leave up to 10,000 people without services.

Although the bill won heavy approval in both the House and the Senate, it didn't come without concessions. One provision of the bill prevents legal service organizations from filing lawsuits against the state or other political subdivisions.

"Why should we as a Legislature be funding an entity that turns around and uses the money to file lawsuits against the state?" said Rep. Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.

In 2005, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri joined a number of other groups in a federal lawsuit over the state's Medicaid reforms. A judge earlier this year ordered the state to reinstate coverage for durable medical equipment, saying the cuts had not been done under a reasonable standard.

Legal Services director Dan Glazier could not be reached for comment Friday.

Pat McLarney, an attorney with Shook, Hardy & Bacon and a lobbyist who worked to extend the fund's life, said the change had been an early compromise to make sure the bill would pass.

McLarney said the policy change wouldn't prevent lawsuits to obtain proper benefits but would stop "direct lawsuits against the state." McLarney noted that people wishing to file such lawsuits could still seek a private pro bono attorney.

The bill passed in the last few hours of the 2007 session, in part because of other controversial measures tacked on to it. The bill also allows uncertified court reporters to take depositions with the agreement of the attorneys involved. Licensed court reporters fought the bill and a number of legislators opposed it. However, Rep. Shannon Cooper, R-Clinton, used his position as chairman of the House Rules Committee to link the two provisions together.

"We wanted to move it along, so we had to give some concessions along the way, obviously," said Sen. Robert Mayer, R-Dexter, the bill's sponsor.