Governor vetoes civil legal assistance funds.

For the fourth year in a row, Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed funding for the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act.

The $2 million appropriation would have been used by The Florida Bar Foundation to help low-income Floridians with legal needs.

John Patterson, president of The Florida Bar Foundation, said he is "deeply disappointed" the governor chose to veto the appropriation for civil legal assistance.

"We intend to continue to work to ensure that low-income Floridians have access to legal services in matters covered by the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act, such as family law, juvenile law, federal benefits including veterans' benefits, and protection from domestic violence as well as elder and child abuse," Patterson said. "These services stabilize lives, provide independence and self-sufficiency, secure protection from abuse, and give meaning to our pledge of justice for all. They also generate more than $13 of economic impact for every dollar spent by the state, according to a Florida TaxWatch analysis."

John Tupps, a spokesman for the governor, explained the veto by saying over the last two years, through the Attorney General's Office, $15 million has been made available for legal aid services across Florida.

The AG distributed $5 million a year ago from the National Mortgage Settlement directly to civil legal aid offices to assist homeowners in danger of foreclosure. The AG received an additional $10 million from the settlement to distribute directly to civil legal aid offices in FY 2013-14.

Last year, the Legislature also appropriated $2 million under the act, but it too was vetoed.

F.S. [section] 68.105 holds that all appropriations made for the purposes of the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act "shall be used only for legal education or assistance in family law, juvenile law, entitlement to federal benefits, protection from domestic violence, elder abuse, child abuse, or immigration law."

The statute also requires the Foundation to provide the state data on the number of clients served, the types of cases, the...