North Dakota Code 54-06-20 – Indigent civil legal services fund – Distribution – Continuing appropriation – Records
1. An advisory committee consisting of the lieutenant governor, the director of the office of management and budget or the director’s designee, and the state court administrator shall distribute moneys deposited in the indigent civil legal services fund. Qualified legal service programs may apply for moneys in the fund. The moneys in the fund must be distributed to legal service programs operating in the state which provide, with funds appropriated by the federal legal services corporation, legal services to persons unable to afford private counsel. Allocation of funds among the programs must be based on the population served by each program, the range of legal services offered, alternative sources of funding, and other factors deemed relevant by the advisory committee. The moneys deposited in the indigent civil legal services fund in the state treasury are hereby appropriated to the advisory committee on a continuing basis for the purpose of implementing and administering a program to provide civil legal assistance to indigent individuals.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 54-06-20
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- population: means the number of inhabitants as determined by the last preceding state or federal census. See North Dakota Code 1-01-47
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
2. Recipients of funds distributed by the advisory committee shall comply with the federal Legal Services Corporation Act [42 U.S.C. § 2996 et seq.].
3. Subject to the limitations in this section, funds distributed under subsection 1 may be used to provide legal services to persons unable to afford private counsel in the following types of cases:
a. Public benefits, including temporary assistance to needy families, unemployment compensation, general assistance, the supplemental nutrition assistance program, supplemental security income, or social security disability income; b. Medical assistance; c. Family law matters; d. Housing; e. Consumer issues; and f. Elder law.
4. The advisory committee and each recipient of funds from the indigent civil legal services fund shall maintain records in accord with the generally accepted accounting principles. The records must account for the receipt and expenditure of all funds distributed and received and must be maintained for a period of five years from the close of the fiscal year in which the funds are distributed or received or until audited, whichever is sooner.