§ 97-V — The New York interest on lawyer account (IOLA) fund

New York § 97-V

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law STF: State Finance
• Art. 6: Funds of the State

Text

* § 97-v. The New York interest on lawyer account (IOLA) fund. 1.\nThere is hereby established in the custody of the state comptroller a\nfiduciary fund to be known as the New York interest on lawyer account\n(IOLA) fund. A board of trustees shall be appointed to administer the\nNew York IOLA fund.\n 2. The board shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the\ngovernor. All members shall be residents of the state of New York and\nshall be knowledgeable and supportive of the delivery of civil legal\nservices to the poor and the improvement of the administration of\njustice. At least eight of the members shall be attorneys licensed to\npractice law in the state of New York. Two members shall be appointed\nupon the recommendation of the temporary president of the senate, at\nleast one of whom shall be an attorney; two members shall be appointed\nupon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, at least one of\nwhom shall be an attorney; one member shall be appointed upon the\nrecommendation of the minority leader of the senate; and one member\nshall be appointed upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the\nassembly. Two members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the\ncourt of appeals, each of whom shall be an attorney. The governor shall\ndesignate one of the members of the board as chairman.\n a. The term of office shall be three years, provided, however, that of\nthe members first appointed, five shall be appointed for terms expiring\non December thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-four, five shall be\nappointed for terms expiring on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred\neighty-five and five shall be appointed for terms expiring on December\nthirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-six. Vacancies shall be filled in\nthe manner of original appointments for the remainder of the term.\n b. The members shall receive no compensation for their services as\nmembers, but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses\nincurred in the performance of their duties.\n c. The members shall be considered employees of the state for the\npurposes of section seventeen of the public officers law.\n d. No member of the senate or assembly shall be eligible to serve as a\nmember of the board.\n 3. a. The board shall have the power to receive, hold and manage any\nmoneys and property received from any source. It shall distribute funds\nas grants and contracts to not-for-profit tax-exempt entities for the\npurpose of delivering civil legal services to the poor and for purposes\nrelated to the improvement of the administration of justice, including,\nbut not limited to, the provision of civil legal services to groups\ncurrently underserved by legal services, such as the elderly and the\ndisabled, and the enhancement of civil legal services to the poor\nthrough innovative and cost-effective means, such as volunteer lawyer\nprograms and support and training services.\n b. No less than seventy-five percent of the total funds distributed in\nany fiscal year shall be allocated to not-for-profit tax-exempt\nproviders for the purpose of delivering civil legal services to the\npoor. The funds distributed annually to legal services providers shall\nbe allocated according to the geographical distribution of poor persons\nthroughout the state based on the latest available figures from the\nUnited States department of commerce, bureau of census, as prescribed by\nrules and regulations of the board of trustees.\n c. The remaining funds shall be allocated for purposes related to the\nimprovement of the administration of justice, including, but not limited\nto, the provision of civil legal services to groups currently\nunderserved by legal services, such as the elderly and the disabled, and\nthe enhancement of civil legal services to the poor through innovative\nand cost-effective means, such as volunteer lawyer programs and support\nand training services.\n d. The board shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration\nof the IOLA fund to carry out the purposes and provisions of this\nsection and of section four hundred ninety-seven of the judiciary law.\nSuch regulations shall be adopted in accordance with article two of the\nstate administrative procedure act.\n e. The board may employ and remove such personnel as it may deem\nnecessary for the performance of its functions and fix their\ncompensation within the amounts made available therefor and may allocate\nfunds for the actual and necessary nonpersonnel administrative costs of\nthe program. No more than ten percent of the funds available in any\nfiscal year shall be spent on personnel and related services, and on\nnecessary nonpersonnel administrative costs of the program provided,\nhowever, that such limitations may be waived by the board by the\nadoption of a resolution and such waiver shall remain in effect until\nthe board determines by a subsequent resolution that the program is\nfully operational.\n f. The board shall insure that grants and contracts are made with\nnot-for-profit providers of civil legal services for the poor to provide\nstable, economical and high quality delivery of civil legal services to\nthe poor throughout the state.\n g. Notwithstanding any statute or rule to the contrary, the board\nshall maintain all papers, records, documents or other information\nidentifying an attorney, client or beneficial owner of an IOLA account\non a private and confidential basis and shall not disclose such\ninformation unless such disclosure is necessary to accomplish the\npurposes of this section and section four hundred ninety-seven of the\njudiciary law, or unless disclosure is pursuant to compulsory legal\nprocess.\n h. All payments from the IOLA fund shall be made by the state\ncomptroller upon certification and authorization of the board of\ntrustees of the fund.\n 4. a. The board of trustees shall establish by regulation a specific\ndollar amount equivalent to the cost of administering a segregated\ninterest bearing account for a client or beneficial owner. This dollar\namount may be used by participating attorneys as a guide when\ndetermining whether the moneys are qualified funds.\n b. The board of trustees shall also establish by regulation the\nqualifications of a recipient of funds and the nature and scope of civil\nlegal services to be provided to poor persons by the funds disbursed\nunder this section.\n 5. If it shall appear to the satisfaction of the board of trustees\nthat, because of a mistake of fact, error in calculation or erroneous\ninterpretation of the provisions of this chapter or of section four\nhundred ninety-seven of the judiciary law, or of any regulation adopted\nby the board, a banking institution has remitted to the IOLA fund any\nmoneys not required by such provisions to be remitted, the board shall\nrefund such moneys upon application of any aggrieved party. Any such\nrefund shall be paid from the IOLA fund without interest and without the\ndeduction of any service charge, and shall be and constitute a full\nsatisfaction and discharge of any claim for such refund.\n * NB There are 2 § 97-v's\n