[§607-5.7]  Surcharge for indigent legal
services.  (a)  In addition to the costs and fees prescribed in section
607-5, any person in a civil action in the circuit court who is required to pay
an initial filing fee shall pay an additional surcharge of $25 at the time of
the person's initial filing.  Initial filings for which this surcharge shall be
assessed include;



(1)  Complaints, petitions, interventions,
applications for special proceedings, and answers containing one or more
cross-claims or counter-claims; and



(2)  Third party complaints, but shall not include
post-judgment civil process.



(b)  In addition to the costs and fees
prescribed in section 607-4, any person who files an action for summary
possession in the district court shall pay an additional surcharge of $10 at
the time of the person's initial filing.  Any person in a civil action in the
supreme court who is required to pay an initial filing fee also shall pay an
additional surcharge of $25 at the time of the person's filing.  No surcharge shall
be assessed against:



(1)  Small claims cases;



(2)  Petitions for temporary restraining orders;



(3)  Petitions for protective orders;



(4)  Any party who has received the court's permission
to proceed in forma pauperis; or



(5)  Any party proceeding on behalf of the county or
State.



Surcharges subject to this section shall be limited
to one payment per party.



(c)  There is established a special fund to be
known as the indigent legal assistance fund.  The funds raised under
subsections (a) and (b) shall be transmitted to the administrative director of
the courts and deposited in the indigent legal assistance fund.



(d)  This fund shall be administered by the
administrative director of the courts, or pursuant to contract with the
administrative director of the courts.  If the fund is administered pursuant to
contract with the administrative director of the courts, the contractor shall
be a nonprofit organization that has at least one year's experience in
administering grants to providers of civil legal services for indigents.  The
fund administrator shall receive not more than five per cent of the total
amount collected under this section each fiscal year as compensation for
performing the duties under this section.



(e)  The fund administrator shall annually
accept applications for grants funded from the indigent legal assistance fund
from organizations that provide civil legal assistance to indigent persons. 
Applications shall be received no later than April 15 for assistance in the
following fiscal year.  The fund administrator shall determine the specific
information required of the applicant and, at a minimum, shall require
applicants to provide information concerning:



(1)  Their governance, staffing, and total annual
budget;



(2)  Other funding sources;



(3)  Geographic area of service;



(4)  The number of clients served in the previous
fiscal year; and



(5)  The nature and scope of services provided.



(f)  To be eligible for assistance from the
indigent legal assistance fund, an applicant shall meet all of the following
standards at the time of application:



(1)  Be either a nonprofit organization incorporated
and operated exclusively in Hawaii and determined by the Internal Revenue
Service to be exempt from federal income tax or a program operated exclusively
in Hawaii by an accredited nonprofit law school, which organization or program
provides as its primary purpose and function civil legal services to indigent
persons;



(2)  Have a governing board whose members have no
material conflict of interest and serve without compensation;



(3)  Have bylaws or policies that describe the manner
in which business is conducted, and policies that relate to nepotism and
management of potential conflict of interest situations;



(4)  Have at least one year's experience in providing
civil legal services to indigents;



(5)  Be licensed and accredited, as applicable, in
accordance with the requirements of federal, state, and county governments;



(6)  Agree not to charge client fees for services that
are funded in any part by a grant from the indigent legal assistance fund,
except that token payments for costs and expenses shall not be considered fees;



(7)  Agree to use any grant received under this
section exclusively to provide civil legal services to indigent persons; and



(8)  Have in place sound financial management systems,
a client grievance procedure, a method of ensuring the quality of service
provided, and a policy that provides that no person may interfere with any
attorneys funded in whole or in part by this section in carrying out their
professional responsibilities to their clients, as established by the Hawaii
rules of professional conduct.



(g)  Funds shall be distributed on a pro rata
basis to organizations that meet the criteria in subsection (f), based upon the
portion of their total budget expended in the prior year for civil legal
services to indigent persons as compared to the combined total expended in the
prior year for legal services by all qualifying organizations applying for
funding.  An applicant that provides services other than civil legal services
to indigent persons may establish its proportionate entitlement to funds based
upon financial statements which strictly segregate that portion of the
organization's expenditures in the prior year which were devoted exclusively to
the provision of civil legal services for indigents.



(h)  As used in this section, unless the
context otherwise requires:



"Civil legal services" means direct
legal services provided by attorneys or by attorney-supervised staff to clients
in civil matters, including pro bono, judicial, and administrative advocacy
relating to the civil legal problems of indigents.



"Indigent person" means:



(1)  Any individual whose income is not greater than
one hundred twenty-five per cent of the official poverty line established by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Community Services Block
Grant Act, 42 U.S.C. section 9902;



(2)  Any individual who is eligible for free services
under the Older Americans Act or Developmentally Disabled Act; or



(3)  Any organization or client group whose purpose is
to further the interests of indigent persons and which is at least fifty per
cent composed of persons who meet the requirements of paragraph (1) or (2). [L
1996, c 305, §2; am L 1998, c 121, §§1, 2, 4; am L 2001, c 131, §§1, 2, 4]



 



Note



 



  L 1996, c 305, §3, as amended by L 1998, c 121 and L 2001, c
131, §3 provides:



  "SECTION 3.  The commission on access to justice shall
review on a biennial basis the filing fee surcharge program created by Act 305,
Session Laws of Hawaii 1996, to determine whether it is meeting the civil legal
needs of indigent persons and shall present its findings and recommendations to
the legislature no later than January 1 of that year."