On Wednesday, July 18, the House and Senate approved a $41.88 billion budget for fiscal year 2019. Included in the budget was $21,040,000 for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, which is a $3 million increase for legal aid.
“We are grateful to the conference committee members and to the House and Senate leadership for the much needed increase in civil legal aid funding, and urge Gov. Baker to approve this funding,” said Martin W. Healy, MBA Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Counsel. “Increasing funding for MLAC is essential to addressing the significant unmet legal needs of the most vulnerable citizens in the commonwealth,” he said.
The governor has 10 days to act on the fiscal year 2019 budget. Click here to read a letter from the MBA to Gov. Baker about MLAC's budget.