Bill > H1484

This bill establishes a ten-year pilot program, administered by the Attorney General's office, to help rural communities in Massachusetts recruit attorneys by offering financial incentives. Eligible communities must be in counties with a population of 250,000 or less and be designated as eligible by the Attorney General, who will consider factors like demographics, the local bar's age and size, economic development, and geographic distribution of assistance, with a limit of three participants per county annually. Attorneys participating in the program must agree to practice in an eligible rural community for at least five years and will receive incentive payments equal to 75% of the average Massachusetts law school tuition and fees from July 1, 2017, paid in five equal annual installments; if an attorney breaches this agreement, they must repay all received funds, which could lead to disciplinary action. The program has a total cap of 100 attorneys, and no new participants will be accepted ten years after its start date, and individuals who have previously participated in similar state or federal programs for underserved areas are ineligible. The bill also appropriates $500,000 from the general fund to the Attorney General's office for these payments and requires the Attorney General to report annually on the program's status to legislative committees and the Supreme Judicial Court.