ABA news release: “The American Bar Association House of Delegates approved a resolution today that would encourage states and other jurisdictions to consider innovative approaches to expanding access to justice with the goal of improving affordability and quality of civil legal services. By voice vote, the 596-member House, which is the association’s policy-making body, overwhelmingly supported Resolution 115 after revisions to the initial proposal. Overall, the House adopted more than three dozen measures that included recommendations for governments to review deadly force policies, curb gun violence and lessen the burden for release after a conviction and before sentencing on criminal charges. The all-day session concluded the ABA Midyear Meeting, which began Feb. 13. Proposed by the ABA Center for Innovation and supported by several standing committees of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, Resolution 115 calls for state regulators and bar associations to continue to explore regulatory innovations that have the potential to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of civil legal services…

Of voter-related measures approved by the House, Resolution 108 urges governmental bodies to enact legislation that would allow eligible youth between 16- and 18-years-old to preregister to vote and urges governments to automatically add preregistered teens to the voter rolls when they reach the legal voting age. Two voting proposals — Resolution 112 and Resolution 114 — ask governments to remove voting barriers for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and change residency requirements to make it easier for those without street addresses to use alternative forms of an address to register to vote. The fourth measure related to voting, Resolution 118, urges Congress to protect the security and integrity of U.S. elections by approving legislation that provides for funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to improve election security, including developing appropriate cybersecurity standards and certification processes. The gun safety measures recommend a ban on “ghost guns,” which are firearms made by individuals, without serial numbers or other identifying markings (Resolution 107A); urge stronger gun permitting laws (Resolution 107B); and endorse more awareness and regulations for safe storage of firearms (Resolution 107C)…”