[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 72 (Friday, April 12, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25856-25857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07762]


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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

45 CFR Part 1607


Governing Bodies

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) FY 2024 appropriation 
enacted on March 9, 2024, included language that lowered the proportion 
of attorneys required to serve on the governing bodies of LSC grant 
recipients from 60% to 33%, and eliminated the requirement that bar 
associations appoint the majority of attorneys. LSC is revising its 
regulation pertaining to recipient governing bodies to be consistent 
with this directive from Congress.

DATES: Comments must be received by LSC by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on May 
13, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stefanie K. Davis, Deputy General 
Counsel, Legal Services Corporation, 3333 K Street NW, Washington, DC 
20007; (202) 295-1563 (phone), (202) 337-6519 (fax), or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The LSC Act of 1974 requires grant recipients to have governing 
bodies composed of at least 60% attorneys. 42 U.S.C. 2996f(c). LSC 
adopted part 1607 and the 60% requirement in 1976. 41 FR 25899, June 
23, 1976. Subsequently, LSC's fiscal year (FY) 1983 appropriation 
included a requirement that a majority of each recipient's governing 
body be composed of attorneys appointed by state or local bar 
associations, also known as the ``McCollum Amendment''. Public Law 97-
276, 96 Stat. 1186. LSC revised part 1607 in 1983 to implement the 
McCollum Amendment. 48 FR 1971, Jan. 17, 1983. The McCollum Amendment 
currently appears in Sec.  502(2)(b)(ii) of LSC's FY 1996 
appropriation, which is incorporated through Sec.  502 of LSC's FY 1998 
appropriation, as referenced in all LSC appropriations from 1998 
through 2024. See, e.g., Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321; Public Law 
105-119, 111 Stat. 2440; Public Law 118-42.
    LSC's FY 2024 appropriation changed the minimum attorney percentage 
to 33% and eliminated the McCollum Amendment requirement. The 
Administrative Provision of this appropriation reiterates the 
incorporation of prior appropriations' restrictions by reference. It 
also includes language stating that for purposes of applying the board 
composition requirements described in LSC's FY 1998 appropriation, the 
requirements would be satisfied if at least 33% of a grant recipient's 
board were composed of attorneys licensed in the state in which legal 
assistance is to be provided. Finally, it includes language stating 
that the McCollum Amendment does not apply. Public Law 118-42, Div. C, 
Title IV, 141 (2024) (emphasis in original). LSC is proposing to revise 
Sec.  1607.3 of its regulations to reflect this change.
    LSC proposes to make the following changes to incorporate the 
statutory changes and to reorganize Sec.  1607.3 for ease of reference. 
First, LSC proposes to delete Sec.  1607.3(b)(1) in its entirety and 
replace it with a new paragraph (b)(1) stating that a recipient's 
governing body must be composed of at least 33% attorneys. By doing so, 
LSC will remove the language implementing the McCollum Amendment. LSC 
also proposes to redesignate existing paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) as 
(b)(1)(i) and (ii), respectively.
    Second, LSC proposes to reorganize the section by relocating the 
categories of governing body members currently located in paragraphs 
(c) and (d) to paragraphs (b)(2) and (3), respectively, and placing the 
processes for appointments into paragraphs under each category. LSC 
believes that restructuring Sec.  1607.3 in this way will make it 
easier for readers to understand the categories of membership on LSC 
recipients' governing bodies and the considerations recipients use to 
recruit and select members.
    Third, LSC proposes to redesignate paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) as 
(c), (d), and (e).
    Finally, LSC proposes to revise redesignated paragraph (e) 
paragraph to reflect the statutory change and allow recipient staff to 
recommend candidates to their governing bodies. LSC believes this 
change would empower recipient staff to identify and propose, clients,

[[Page 25857]]

attorneys, or other community members with relevant expertise for 
appointment to their respective governing bodies.
    On April 2, 2024, the Committee voted to recommend that the Board 
authorize LSC to open rulemaking on part 1607 and authorize publication 
of this NPRM in the Federal Register for notice and comment. On April 
8, 2024, the Board accepted the Committee's recommendation and voted to 
approve publication of this NPRM.

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1607

    Grant program--law, Legal services.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Legal Services 
Corporation proposes to amend 45 CFR part 1607 as follows:

PART 1607--GOVERNING BODIES

0
1. The authority citation for part 1607 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 2996g(e).

0
2. Amend Sec.  1607.3 by:
0
a. Revising paragraph (b);
0
b. Removing paragraphs (c) through (e);
0
c. Redesignating paragraphs (f) through (h) as paragraphs (c) through 
(e), respectively; and
0
d. Revising newly redesignated paragraph (e).
    The revisions read as follows.


Sec.  1607.3  Composition.

* * * * *
    (b) A recipient's governing body must be composed of:
    (1) At least 33% attorneys.
    (i) Attorney members may be selected by the recipient's governing 
body or may be selected by other organizations designated by the 
recipient which have an interest in the delivery of legal services to 
the poor.
    (ii) Selections shall be made to ensure that the attorney members 
reasonably reflect the diversity of the legal community and the 
population of the areas served by the recipient, including race, 
ethnicity, gender, and other similar factors.
    (2) At least one-third eligible client members who are eligible 
client members when initially selected by the recipient.
    (i) Recipients must solicit recommendations for eligible client 
members from a variety of appropriate groups designated by the 
recipient that may include, but are not limited to, client and 
neighborhood associations and community-based organizations that 
advocate for or deliver services or resources to the client community 
served by the recipient.
    (ii) Recipients should solicit recommendations from groups in a 
manner that reflects, to the extent possible, the variety of interests 
within the client community, and eligible client members should be 
selected so that they reasonably reflect the diversity of the eligible 
client population served by the recipient, including race, gender, 
ethnicity, and other similar factors.
    (3) Other members selected by the recipients' governing body or in 
another manner described in the recipient's bylaws or policies. 
Recipients must appoint or select members so that the governing body as 
a whole reasonably reflects the diversity of the areas served by the 
recipient, including race, ethnicity, gender, and other similar 
factors.
    (i) Recipients should consider recruiting and selecting members 
possessing fiscal or nonprofit governance expertise or other skills 
necessary to effectively govern the recipient's operations.
    (ii) Members of a governing body shall not be dominated by persons 
serving as the representatives of a single association, group or 
organization, except that eligible client members may be selected from 
client organizations that are composed of coalitions of numerous 
smaller or regionally based client groups.
* * * * *
    (e) Recipient staff may recommend candidates for governing body 
membership to its governing body and other appointing groups and should 
consult with the appointing organizations to ensure that:
    (1) Appointees meet the criteria for board membership set out in 
this part, including financial eligibility for persons appointed as 
eligible clients, bar admittance requirements for attorney board 
members, and the general requirements that all members be supportive of 
the purposes of the Act and have an interest in and knowledge of the 
delivery of legal services to the poor;
    (2) The particular categories of board membership and the board as 
a whole meet the diversity requirements described in paragraphs 
(b)(1)(ii), (b)(2)(ii), and (b)(3)(ii) of this section;
    (3) Appointees do not have actual and significant individual or 
institutional conflicts of interest with the recipient or the 
recipient's client community that could reasonably be expected to 
influence their ability to exercise independent judgment as members of 
the recipient's governing body.
* * * * *

    Dated: April 8, 2024.
Stefanie Davis,
Deputy General Counsel, Legal Services Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2024-07762 Filed 4-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P