A09754 Summary:

BILL NOA09754
 
SAME ASNo same as
 
SPONSORWeinstein
 
COSPNSRRosenthal, Peoples-Stokes, Lupardo, Buchwald, Bronson, Jaffee, O'Donnell, Brindisi, Santabarbara, Fahy, Weprin, Ramos, Pretlow, Steck, Otis, Abinanti, Morelle, McDonald, Mayer, Schimel, Lavine, Englebright, Thiele, Weisenberg, Ryan, Hooper, Solages, Paulin, Hennessey, Titus
 
MLTSPNSRGlick, Goodell, Nolan, Palumbo, Saladino, Sweeney
 
Amd SS121 & 131, Fam Ct Act
 
Increases the number of family court judges in the city of New York, and the counties of Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Onieda, Oswego, Schenectady, Suffolk and Westchester.
Go to top    

A09754 Actions:

BILL NOA09754
 
05/20/2014referred to judiciary
06/02/2014reported referred to ways and means
06/02/2014reported referred to rules
06/02/2014reported
06/02/2014rules report cal.42
06/02/2014ordered to third reading rules cal.42
06/02/2014passed assembly
06/02/2014delivered to senate
06/02/2014REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
Go to top

A09754 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9754             REPLACEMENT 5/28/14
 
SPONSOR: Weinstein
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the family court act, in relation to the number of judges of the family court   PURPOSE OF BILL: This measure would amend the Family Court Act to establish 20 new Family Court judgeships.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF BILL: Section 1: Would amend § 121 of the Family Court Act to increase the number of Family Court Judges in the City of New York from 47 to 56. Section 2: Would amend § 131 of the Family Court Act to increase the number of Family Court Judges, each by one, in the following counties: Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Oneida, Oswego, Sche- nectady, Suffolk and Westchester.   EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER: Amends § 121 and § 131 of the Family Court Act.   JUSTIFICATION: This measure would amend the Family Court Act to establish 20 new Family Court judgeships, as follows: * In New York City, nine new judgeships, effective January 1, 2015. * Outside New York City, one new judgeship in each of the following 11 counties, effective January 1, 2015 (with each judgeship first being filled at the November 2014 general election): Albany, Broome, Chautau- qua, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Oneida, Oswego, Schenectady, Suffolk and Westchester. While the past several decades have seen increasing legislative recogni- tion of the needs of children and families in New York, in the form of landmark statutes promoting child permanency and enhancing family justice, these salutary efforts have not been matched by provision for a corps of Family Court Judgeships sufficiently large to meet the greater caseloads and complexity of proceedings in our courts today. The conse- quences of this neglect, if not attended to soon, will be disturbing, indeed heartbreaking - and utterly unacceptable: justice delayed for children and families whose safety and welfare can require immediate intervention, children growing up in foster care instead of permanent homes, children graduating from Family Court to Criminal Court instead of high school and college, missed opportunities and spiraling ineffi- ciency for juvenile and legal defense agencies. This measure will go a long way toward redressing this unintended and lamentable condition. If enacted, it would represent the first major infusion of new Family Court Judges in New York in over three decades and begin to provide the State's family justice system with the resources needed to protect the most vulnerable members of our communi- ty.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill, 2014.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: $5 million for the period from January 1, 2015 through March 31, 2015.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately, provided that the additional Family Court Judges provided by § 2 shall first be elected at the general election to be held in November 2014, and shall first take office Janu- ary 1, 2015.
Go to top

A09754 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9754
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 20, 2014
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  WEINSTEIN  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to the number of judg-
          es of the family court
 
          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  209 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 121. Number of judges. The family court within the city of New  York
     4  shall  consist  of  [forty-four  judges  and, as of July first, nineteen
     5  hundred ninety, shall consist of forty-five  judges  and,  as  of  April
     6  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  shall  consist  of  forty-seven]
     7  fifty-six judges, effective January first,  two  thousand  fifteen.  [At
     8  least  one of the persons appointed to the office of judge of the family
     9  court created by this section, shall be a  resident  of  the  county  of
    10  Richmond  and  hereafter there] There shall be at least one family court
    11  judge resident in each county of the city of New York.  [The  amount  of

    12  compensation  for  such  new  family  court judges shall be equal to the
    13  compensation payable to existing family court judges in the city of  New
    14  York.]
    15    §  2.  Section  131 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
    16  subdivision (u) to read as follows:
    17    (u) There shall be an additional family court judge for  each  of  the
    18  following  counties:   Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Erie, Monroe, Nassau,
    19  Oneida, Oswego, Schenectady, Suffolk and Westchester.  The  compensation
    20  of  each  such  additional  family  court judge shall be the same as the
    21  compensation paid to each existing family court judge in the county  for
    22  which it is established.
    23    §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that

    24  the additional family court judges provided for by section two  of  this
    25  act  shall first be elected at the general election to be held in Novem-
    26  ber 2014 and shall first take office January 1, 2015.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15309-01-4
Go to top