Court rejects fee increase for legal aid.

The Florida Supreme Court has declined--for now--to allow the Bar to increase annual membership fees in order to provide additional funding for legal aid through The Florida Bar Foundation.

A split 4-3 court said July 9 that while Florida is facing a significant decrease in funding for legal aid and there is an urgent need for new solutions to ensure that every person has equal access to the judicial system, "because we believe this issue requires further study and a more comprehensive approach, we decline to adopt petitioners' proposed amendment at this time."

A little over a year ago, a group of Bar members petitioned the court to amend Bar rules to allow the Board of Governors to raise annual membership fees--which now stand at $265--by up to $100, with the extra money going to the Foundation to be divided among legal aid agencies around the state.

The Foundation has seen revenue from the IOTA program plummet over the past few years because of historically low interest rates. Despite cuts to legal aid programs, the Foundation is running out of reserves. The rule change could have provided up to $ 10 million a year to the Foundation.

The Bar Board of Governors unanimously opposed the petition to raise the membership fees and last year approved a $6 million loan to the Foundation to be dispersed over two years and repaid over seven years, to tide the Foundation over until interest rates begin to rise.

While the majority said they agreed with the petitioners that there is an urgent need to develop new solutions and sustainable sources of funding for legal aid, the proposal did not present the type of comprehensive solution that is needed to address the crisis in legal aid funding.

"We think a more encompassing approach can be developed through the work of the newly established Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice," the majority said. "The commission's work will provide studied and comprehensive recommendations to improve access to justice in this state."

The majority said while the increased fee proposal warranted consideration, adopting any one approach to the problem at this stage "would be premature."

Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and Justices Barbara Pariente, Charles Canady, and Ricky Polston concurred in the per curiam opinion. Justice Fred Lewis dissented with an opinion, as did Justice Peggy Quince, in which Justice James Perry concurred.

"I join the majority in rejecting the petition at this time because it does not require...