A07739 Summary:
BILL NO | A07739 |
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SAME AS | SAME AS S01571 |
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SPONSOR | Simon |
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COSPNSR | Burdick, McDonald, Sillitti, Hevesi, Davila |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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Amd 211, Judy L | |
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Requires the ethics commission of the unified court system to post each state-paid judge's annual financial disclosures on the ethics commission's public website for five years beginning with filings made on January 1, 2018. |
A07739 Memo:
Go to topNEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)   BILL NUMBER: A7739 SPONSOR: Simon
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to requiring the ethics commission of the unified court system to post judges' annual financial disclosures on the commission's website   PURPOSE: To ensure that financial disclosures filed by state-paid judges and justices are posted for public review on the ethics commission website.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends subdivision 4 of section 211 of the judiciary law by adding a new subsection (b) which states that financial disclosures and amendments that are required to be filed by any state-paid judge or justice shall be posted on the ethics commission for the unified court system's website for public review. The statements shall be posted with- in 30 days of receipt of the statement, or 10 days of receipt of an amendment. Section 2 sets the effective date.   EXISTING LAW: Click here   JUSTIFICATION: Financial disclosure statements filed by state-paid judges and justices are not currently readily accessible for the public. Under current law, those wishing to inspect judicial financial disclosure forms must first file a written request for public inspection. This request is to be filed "in a timely manner determined by the needs of the inspector, the number of statements requested, and the workload of the Ethics Commis- sion staff at the time of the request." Review of the documents are to be done by email, regular mail, or at the Ethics Commission office, and office inspections must be scheduled during business hours. This is in contrast to the public inspection process for elected officials' finan- cial disclosure forms, which are available online for at least five years and within 30 days of receipt by the ethics commission, and are currently posted for every year from 2013 to present. It is imperative that the public have access, in a timely and convenient manner, to financial disclosure information of our judges and justices. Such forms provide important information about possible affiliations and financial interests. This bill improves transparency by setting the same public inspection requirements for judges and justices' financial disclosures as it does for other elected officials.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2022: Died in Rules   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None   LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
A07739 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7739 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY June 6, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to requiring the ethics commission of the unified court system to post judges' annual finan- cial disclosures on the commission's website The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 211 of the judiciary law, as 2 amended by chapter 188 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 4. (a) By September first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, the chief 5 judge, after consultation with the administrative board, shall approve a 6 form of annual statement of financial disclosure which form shall apply 7 to all judges, justices, officers and employees of the courts of record 8 of the unified court system, who receive annual compensation at or above 9 the filing rate defined by paragraph (l) of subdivision one of section 10 seventy-three-a of the public officers law or are determined to hold a 11 policy-making position pursuant to the rules and regulations promulgated 12 pursuant to this subdivision. Such form of annual statement of financial 13 disclosure shall be substantially similar to the form set forth in 14 subdivision three of section seventy-three-a of the public officers law. 15 Within one year after approval of such form, the chief judge shall cause 16 the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules or regulations 17 which require every judge, justice, officer and employee of the courts 18 of record of the unified court system, who receives annual compensation 19 at or above the filing rate defined by paragraph (l) of subdivision one 20 of section seventy-three-a of the public officers law or is determined 21 to hold a policy-making position, to report the information required by 22 the approved form effective first with respect to a filing which shall 23 be required in nineteen hundred ninety-one (generally applicable to 24 information for the preceding calendar year) and thereafter, effective EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05621-01-3A. 7739 2 1 for future annual filings. Such rules and regulations shall also provide 2 for the determination, by the appointing authority, of policy-makers who 3 shall be required to file the annual statement of financial disclosure 4 required by this subdivision. Any judge, justice, officer or employee of 5 the courts of record of the unified court system who, pursuant to such 6 rules or regulations, is required to file a completed annual statement 7 of financial disclosure and who makes such filing in accordance with the 8 requirements contained in such rules or regulations, shall be deemed to 9 have satisfied the requirements of any other law mandating the filing of 10 a completed annual statement of financial disclosure for the applicable 11 calendar year which might otherwise apply to such judges, justices, 12 officers or employees, and no duplicate filing shall be required on 13 account of any other such law, notwithstanding the provisions of such 14 other law. 15 (b) The ethics commission for the unified court system shall post on 16 its website for public review for at least five years beginning for 17 filings made on January first, two thousand eighteen, the annual state- 18 ment of financial disclosure and any amendments filed by each person 19 subject to the reporting requirements of this subdivision who is a 20 state-paid judge or justice, regardless of his or her annual rate of 21 compensation. Such statements shall be posted within thirty days of 22 receipt of such statement or within ten days of its receipt of an amend- 23 ment that reflects any corrections of deficiencies identified by the 24 commission or by the reporting individual after such individual's 25 initial filing. Except upon an individual determination by the commis- 26 sion that certain information may be deleted from a reporting individ- 27 ual's annual statement of financial disclosure, none of the information 28 in the statement posted on the commission's website shall be otherwise 29 deleted. 30 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.