New state law will increase civil legal aid for Alaskans in need

A bill seeking to increase civil legal aid for Alaskans who can’t afford attorneys has become law without Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature.

The measure, introduced by Juneau Democratic Rep. Sara Hannan, passed earlier this month with support from 27 out of 40 House members and 17 of 20 Senate members.

Under the new law, one-quarter of court system filing fees can be appropriated each year to an existing civil legal services fund, which subsidizes attorneys for low-income Alaskans who need legal representation in civil cases.

In effect, that will direct roughly $400,000 in additional state funding next year toward those legal services, potentially allowing hundreds of additional indigent Alaskans to receive free assistance on matters that include domestic violence protective orders, applications for government benefits, and child support.

The civil legal services fund was created in 2007 and updated in 2018, when lawmakers agreed to appropriate up to 10% of annual court fees toward the fund. Since then, the need for legal aid has outpaced the state’s spending, according to Hannan and other supporters of the measure.

A similar bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House near the end of the 2024 session.

Recent annual appropriations to the fund, which depend on court filing fees and other figures, ranged from $280,000 to $360,000. The new law will more than double the allowable annual appropriation from court filing feeds the fund, to a total of $766,000, according to the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.

The funding goes toward the Alaska Legal Services Corp., the only organization in the state dedicated to assisting low-income Alaskans with civil matters. The nonprofit corporation reported this year turning away half the Alaskans who asked for its help due to a lack of resources.

It reported handling 5,455 cases involving nearly 15,000 Alaskans in 2025, up from 2,880 cases involving just over 6,000 Alaskans in 2016.

The Alaska Legal Services Corp. has an annual budget of roughly $10 million, only a fraction of which comes from the state. Other funding sources include the federal government, tribes and private donations. In addition to its allocation from the civil legal services fund, the corporation has received an annual $400,000 state grant since 2022, down from $450,000 in preceding years.

The corporation’s director, Maggie Humm, estimated that for every additional $100,000 in funding, it can help 182 additional Alaskans.