New York State Bar Association Objects to Governor’s Transfer of Funds That Belong by Law to Low-Income New Yorkers
1.25.2024
Richard Lewis, president of the New York State Bar Association, issued the following statement about Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget, which moves $100 million from a fund that pays for low-income New Yorkers to get civil legal services, to the general fund:
“The New York State Bar Association strenuously objects to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s misguided maneuver to take possession of $100 million that rightly belongs to New Yorkers who are about to lose their homes, who are seeking lifesaving medical treatment, who need help recovering from crushing debt or are facing other life-changing civil legal challenges.
“This money is under the purview of the IOLA Fund, which supports 81 non-profit legal services organizations that help New Yorkers in their time of greatest need. The law simply does not allow the governor to divert this money — which comes from escrow on attorney accounts and not from the taxpayers – to the state’s general fund. The New York State Bar Association supports the IOLA Board of Trustees in its unanimous opposition to this misuse of money that was set aside by law to aid low-income New Yorkers.”
