NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4393
SPONSOR: Fall TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the family court act and the New York city civil court
act, in relation to increasing the number of judges in certain courts
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Provides changes to the New York city civil court act that
would include Richmond County in the increase to family court judges in
the family court system. This includes an addition of at least three
family court judge residents.
Section 2. Allows for the due compensation of those judges that is
consistent with the compensation that other judges in the family court
system already receive and provides for the other counties within New
York City
Section 3. Accounts for the addition of judges in some non-New York City
counties and allows for the compensation of those judges as well.
Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately, with measures for the
reasonable execution of second and third sections.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill, in short, considers Richmond County in the increases to fami-
ly court judges that recently took place across New York. Three family
court judges will be added, effective January 1st, 2025.
When the New York City Civil.Court Act was proposed, Staten Island, in
its entirety, was left out of the bill. This is an affront to the
400,000+ residents of the island who face the same backlog issues and
wait times that have faced countless New Yorkers across the state. This
bill corrects this mistake and ensures that Staten Island is fairly
recognized in this proposal. It also serves to remind the legislature
and other branches of government of the injustice that Staten Island
faces when it is oftentimes overlooked in crucial pieces of legislation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
06/20/24 referred to judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This legislation will take effect immediately, provided, however, that
the positions created by sections two and three of this act shall be
filled by election at the November 5, 2025, election, for a term to
commence on the first day of January 2026, as If such vacancy occurred
on the effective date of this act. Party nominations shall be made as
provided for in section 6-116 and 6-158 of the election law, and the
independent nominations shall be made as provided for by subdivision 10
of section 6-158 of the election law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4393
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 4, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the family court act and the New York city civil court
act, in relation to increasing the number of judges in certain courts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 121 of the family court act, as amended by chapter
2 204 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 121. Number of judges. The family court within the city of New York
4 shall consist of sixty-seven judges, effective January first, two thou-
5 sand twenty-five. There shall be at least one family court judge resi-
6 dent in each county of the city of New York; provided, however, that
7 there shall be at least three family court judge residents in the county
8 of Richmond.
9 § 2. Subdivision 2-b of section 102-a of the New York city civil court
10 act, as added by chapter 204 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as
11 follows:
12 2-b. [Twelve additional] Additional judges of the civil court of the
13 city of New York shall be elected in and from the residents of the
14 following counties in the indicated numbers: from the county of New
15 York, three; from the county of Bronx, three; from the county of Kings,
16 three; [and] from the county of Queens, three; and from the county of
17 Richmond, three. Such additional judges shall receive the same compen-
18 sation as the existing judges of the civil court of the city of New York
19 and shall be elected countywide within the city of New York.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
21 the positions created by sections one and two of this act shall be
22 filled by election at the November 4, 2025 election, for a term to
23 commence on the first day of January, 2026, as if such vacancy occurred
24 on the effective date of this act. Party nominations shall be made as
25 provided for in section 6-116 and 6-158 of the election law, and the
26 independent nominations shall be made as provided for by subdivision 10
27 of section 6-158 of the election law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06485-01-5
