Authorizes retired supreme court justices to serve as justice of supreme court until age 80; provides that judges of the court of appeals need not retire until the end of the year in which they turn 80; prohibits the appointment of any person over age 70 to the court of appeals.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4395 REVISED 2/11/13
SPONSOR: Weinstein (MS) TITLE OF BILL: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment to section 2 of article 6 of the constitution, in
relation to persons appointed to the court of appeals, and proposing an
amendment to section 25 of article 6 of the constitution, in relation to
service by retired justices and requiring judges of the court of appeals
to retire at age 80
PURPOSE OF BILL: To raise from 76 to 80 the maximum age that retired
justices of the Supreme Court may be certified to continue to serve, and
to raise the retirement age for judges of the court of appeals.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF BILL: Amends Article 6, S2 and 25(b) of the
State Constitution to increase the maximum age for which a judge,
justice or retired justice can serve.
JUSTIFICATION:; The State Constitution requires judges to retire at
the end of the calendar year in which they turn 70. It also authorizes
Supreme Court justices, including justices appointed to the Appellate
Division, to be certified to continue to serve up to three times in two
year increments, until age 76. The certification must find that that his
or her services are necessary to expedite the business of the Court, and
that he or she is physically and mentally competent to fully perform the
duties of the office.
In 1999, The Office of Court Administration's Task Force on Mandatory
Retirement of Judges concluded that "it is in the best interests of the
judiciary and the people of the State of New York to amend the laws
governing mandatory retirement of judges." The two recommendations made
in that, report - creation of a "senior status" and expansion of the
certification process to judges not covered by it - were not acted upon.
This measure takes a different approach - amending the Constitution to
increase the age until which Supreme Court justices can be certified
from 76 to 80, Raising the age that retired justices can serve from 76
to 80 will enable the state judiciary to continue to benefit from the
service of many dedicated, experienced and productive judges currently
being lost.
In addition, this measure would change the retirement age for judges of
the Court of Appeals from 70 to 80, provided that no judge could be
appointed to the Court of Appeals after they have reached the last day
of December of the year in which they turn 70, consistent with the
existing constitutional provision.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2011 - A.8469/S.5827 - Delivered to Secretary of
State.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None antic-
ipated.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This is a constitutional amendment requiring passage
by two successive legislatures and approval by the voters. This would be
second passage and would go before the voters in 2013.
