SB 1165

This bill provides a right to the appointment of counsel at state expense for residential tenants in eviction actions. To implement that right, the bill creates an Office of Civil Legal Aid and a Civil Legal Aid Board to oversee that office. The Civil Legal Aid Board consists of nine members appointed by the state supreme court for staggered three-year terms. No board member may be, or be employed on the staff of, a judicial officer, district attorney, corporation counsel, or the Office of Civil Legal Aid, and no board member may have an ownership interest in residential property that the member makes available for rent or lease to tenants. Under the bill, the board appoints a director for the Office of Civil Legal Aid and approves the budget for that office. In addition, the board establishes guidelines for evaluating attorney conflicts of interest when the director appoints counsel for tenants in eviction actions.

In addition to accepting requests for and making appointments for counsel, the director of the Office of Civil Legal Aid supervises the operation of the Office of Civil Legal Aid and submits an annual report to the Civil Legal Aid Board. The bill also allows the the director, at the board’s direction, to negotiate contracts with local public defender organizations and right-to-counsel programs for counsel appointments. Under the bill, the board must enter into agreements with the State Bar of Wisconsin, local bar associations, law firms, right-to-counsel programs, and private counsel to encourage legal representation without compensation as a service to the state.

Under the bill, an attorney appointed by the director is paid $100 per hour for time spent on an eviction case. That amount is annually increased by the percentage increase in the consumer price index. The bill also provides travel reimbursement to appointed counsel equal to $50 per hour for travel outside the county where the attorney is located.

Under the bill, the director may appoint counsel only if sufficient funds are available. In addition, the director must prioritize appointing counsel for individuals in the counties in which the most residential evictions occur and to individuals who are disproportionately at risk of eviction.