Legal Services Corporation April 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Legal Services Corporation (``LSC'') intends to revise the LSC Grant Assurances for calendar year 2015 funding and is soliciting public comment on the proposed changes. The proposed revisions affect Grant Assurances 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, and 16. The proposed LSC grant assurances for calendar year 2015 funding, in redline format indicating the proposed changes to the current ``LSC 2014 Grant Assurances,'' are available at https://grants.lsc.gov/sites/default/files/Grants/ ReferenceMaterials/2015-GrantAssurances-Proposed.pdf.

This final rule updates the Legal Services Corporation (LSC or Corporation) regulation on legal assistance with respect to criminal proceedings. The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA) amended the LSC Act to authorize LSC funds to be used for representation of persons charged with any criminal offense in tribal courts. This proposed rule will bring the regulations into alignment with the amended provisions of the LSC Act. The proposed rule will also revise the conditions under which LSC recipients can accept or decline court appointments to represent defendants in criminal proceedings.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is the national organization charged with administering Federal funds provided for civil legal services to low-income people. LSC hereby announces the availability of competitive grant funds and is soliciting grant proposals from interested parties who are qualified to provide effective, efficient and high quality civil legal services to eligible clients in the service area(s) of the states and territories identified below. The exact amount of congressionally appropriated funds and the date, terms, and conditions of their availability for calendar year 2015 have not been determined.