Charles Brennan provided testimony in support of House Bill 24-1129, Protections for Delivery Network Company Drivers. CCLP is in support of HB24-1129.
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CCLP testifies in support of an Equal Justice Fund
On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, Lydia McCoy, CCLP’s Executive Director, provided testimony to the House Judiciary Committee for House Bill 24-1286, Equal Justice Fund Authority. CCLP is in support for HB24-1286.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee,
Thank you Chair and members of the committee. I’m Lydia McCoy, Executive Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, and I’m here today in support of House Bill 24-1286.
At CCLP, we believe laws and policies are only as good as their implementation and enforcement. In order for the rules of government to work as intended, all people need access to the support and representation of legal professionals to protect them from harm and help them navigate complex systems.
One example of this is a severe lack of representation at benefit hearings for SNAP, also known as food stamps, when low-income Coloradans appeal a decision on their SNAP benefits. 95% of people making appeals on SNAP decisions in Colorado do so without a lawyer by their side. The result is only eight percent of hearings being decided in their favor, in comparison with 41% being decided favorably on the national level. This is not due to Colorado’s administrative process being better than other states’: according to CCLP research, two-thirds of all cases can be attributed to county agency errors, and only three states have a higher proportion of agency errors than Colorado. To summarize this data: of that 66% of likely favorable hearing outcomes for low-income Coloradans needing help buying food, only eight percent are being decided favorably. And 95% of them do not have a lawyer representing them. These decisions have a direct impact on their ability to feed themselves and their families. This is unacceptable.
As you have heard from previous panels, our state is woefully behind in investing in this crucial aspect of scaffolding good policy. For this reason, I urge you to vote in support of this bill.
Thank you for your time and I welcome any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Lydia McCoy
Executive Director
Colorado Center on Law and Policy
Update 3/11/2024: HB24-1286 passed House Judiciary Committee as amended on March 5th and will be heard in the House Finance Committee.