Civil Legal Service providers across the State, including The Legal Aid Society, are applauding a decision by Governor Hochl to halt the proposed transfer of $100 million from the Interest on Lawyers Account (IOLA) into the state’s general fund.

IOLA supports 81 non-profit legal organizations across the state, serving individuals with civil legal problems affecting their most basic needs, such as food, shelter, jobs, and access to health care. In the last year, IOLA funding resulted in over 307,000 closed cases, benefiting nearly 640,000 New Yorkers and generating over $3.5 billion of economic benefit to New York.

This year, for the first time in 40 years, this money was in danger of being diverted into the State’s general fund and away from those in need.

“We welcome Governor Hochul’s decision to remove this problematic language from the budget that threatened to dismantle essential legal services relied upon by hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across our state annually,” said Adriene Holder, Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice at Legal Aid. “Budgets reflect values and priorities. In both good and bad fiscal times, budgets should never be balanced on the backs of low-income people, especially in a state that purports to prioritize the needs of underserved communities above all else.”