A07231 Summary:

BILL NO    A07231 

SAME AS    Same as S 3641

SPONSOR    Weinstein (MS)

COSPNSR    Lentol

MLTSPNSR   



Authorizes the state comptroller to distribute certain funds from the indigent
legal services fund to certain counties.

A07231 Actions:

BILL NO    A07231 

03/26/2009 referred to judiciary
03/30/2009 reported referred to ways and means
03/30/2009 reported referred to rules
03/30/2009 reported 
03/30/2009 rules report cal.11
03/30/2009 substituted by s3641
           S03641  AMEND=  JOHNSON C
           03/25/2009 REFERRED TO RULES
           03/26/2009 ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.127
           03/30/2009 PASSED SENATE
           03/30/2009 DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
           03/30/2009 referred to judiciary
           03/30/2009 substituted for a7231
           03/30/2009 ordered to third reading rules cal.11
           03/30/2009 passed assembly
           03/30/2009 returned to senate
           03/30/2009 DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
           03/30/2009 SIGNED CHAP.9

A07231 Votes:

A07231 Memo:

BILL NUMBER:A7231

TITLE  OF BILL:   An act authorizing the state comptroller to distribute
certain funds from the indigent legal services fund to certain counties

PURPOSE OF BILL:

This bill would permit five counties to receive funding from  the  Indi-
gent Legal Services Fund (ILSF) even though they did not meet the statu-
tory maintenance of effort (MOE) formula.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section  1 of the bill would amend State Finance Law S 98-b to allow the
Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) to make a distribution of funds in
the ILSF to counties that failed to meet the MOE requirements in section
98-b(4)(c). A county would receive its full share from the  distribution
to  be made on March 31, 2009, if it could show that the amount of local
funds expended On indigent defense in 2008 exceeded the  average  annual
amount  of  local funds expended during the 2005, 2006 and 2007 calendar
years. If a county does not qualify for ILSF funds based on this  three-
year  averaging,  it  could  still receive an ILSF distribution, but its
share would be  reduced  by  the  percentage  decrease  in  local  funds
expended  in the 2008 calendar year. Any money deducted from the noncom-
pliant county shares would be distributed to all of the remaining  coun-
ties that met the MOE, according to their percentage share of the state-
wide sum of local funds expended by each county.

Section 2 of the bill provides that the act would take effect immediate-
ly  and  would  be deemed to have been in full force and effect on March
31, 2009.

EXISTING LAW:

State Finance Law S 98-b establishes the ILSF, which is the fund through
which OSC distributes the State contribution to indigent services to the
counties and New York City. This year, the  fund  contains  about  $76.5
million.

To  be  eligible  for  its  share of the fund, a county must meet an MOE
formula designed to ensure that the State funds do  not  supplant  local
funds, and are used to improve the quality of indigent defense services.
If  counties  fail to meet the MOE, they receive no State funds, and the
shares of the non-compliant counties are distributed  to  the  compliant
counties.  Under  the  law,  all  distributions from the ILSF from funds
received during a calendar year must  be  made  by  March  31st  of  the
following year.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:

This  year, five counties, Delaware, Herkimer, Nassau, Otsego and Wayne,
did not meet the MOE, and they are therefore not eligible to receive any

funds from the ILSF as part of the March 31, 2009 distribution. If  they
had  met  the  MOE,  these counties would have received approximately $3
million. This loss of ILSF funding will place serious fiscal burdens  on
these  counties,  and the quality of indigent representation provided in
the counties would likely suffer.

This bill would permit OSC, in the March 31, 2009 distribution, to  make
a  full  or  partial ILSF distribution to the five counties that did not
meet the MOE. These distributions would be  made  under  either  of  two
scenarios.  First,  if a county could establish that the amount of local
funds expended in 2008 exceeded the average annual amount of local funds
expended during 2005,2005 and 2007, it could receive its  full  distrib-
ution  from  the  fund. Second, if a county could not satisfy the three-
year averaging formula, it would receive a distribution of  ILSF  funds,
but its share would be reduced by the percentage decrease in local funds
expended in the 2008 calendar year.

It  is anticipated that, under the modified formula in this bill, Nassau
County would qualify for a full distribution of  ILSF  funds,  and  that
Delaware,  Herkimer,  Otsego and Wayne would receive reduced shares. The
money not distributed to these four noncompliant counties would then  be
included  in  the  amount  to  be distributed to the compliant counties.
Because these distributions must be made by  March  31,2009,  this  bill
must  become  law  by  March  27, 2009, in order to give OSC the time to
re-calculate the amount of each county's distribution.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

This bill will have no impact of the  State  financial  plan  but  would
provide  fiscal  relief  to  the five counties that did not meet the MOE
formula.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill would become effective immediately and would be deemed to have
been in full force and effect on or before March 31, 2009.