STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1511
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the creation of the
fourteenth judicial district consisting of the county of Erie and a
supreme court library at Erie
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 70 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 690
2 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 70. Judicial departments. The state is hereby divided into four
4 judicial departments. The first department shall consist of the counties
5 embraced within the first and twelfth judicial districts; the second
6 department shall consist of the counties embraced within the second,
7 ninth, tenth, eleventh and thirteenth judicial districts; the third
8 department shall consist of the counties embraced within the third,
9 fourth and sixth judicial districts; the fourth department shall consist
10 of the counties embraced within the fifth, seventh [and], eighth and
11 fourteenth judicial districts.
12 § 2. The opening paragraph and the eighth undesignated paragraph of
13 section 140 of the judiciary law, the opening paragraph as amended by
14 chapter 690 of the laws of 2007 and the eighth undesignated paragraph as
15 amended by chapter 10 of the laws of 1948, are amended and a new four-
16 teenth undesignated paragraph is added to read as follows:
17 The state is hereby divided into [thirteen] fourteen judicial
18 districts, pursuant to the provisions of the first section of the sixth
19 article of the constitution, which districts shall be arranged as
20 follows:
21 The eighth judicial district shall consist of the counties of [Erie,]
22 Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Niagara, Genesee, Allegany and Wyom-
23 ing;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03033-01-5
A. 1511 2
1 The fourteenth judicial district shall consist of the county of Erie.
2 The creation of such fourteenth district shall not affect or impair the
3 rights, privileges or compensation of any officer or employee of the
4 supreme court in office on the first day of January, two thousand twen-
5 ty-six in the eighth judicial district as theretofore constituted; each
6 such officer or employee employed in the county of Erie on such date
7 shall thereafter be an officer or employee for the fourteenth judicial
8 district and each such officer or employee employed in the counties of
9 Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Niagara, Genesee, Allegany and Wyoming
10 on such date shall thereafter be an officer or employee for the eighth
11 judicial district.
12 § 3. Subdivisions 8 and 13 of section 140-a of the judiciary law, as
13 amended by chapter 749 of the laws of 2023, are amended and a new subdi-
14 vision 14 is added to read as follows:
15 8. Eighth district, [twenty-eight] five;
16 13. Thirteenth district, nine[.];
17 14. Fourteenth district, seventeen.
18 § 4. The county of Erie shall establish, maintain and expand, if
19 necessary, its court library, as established in accordance with sections
20 813 and 814 of the judiciary law, to accommodate the needs of the four-
21 teenth judicial district. The Charles B. Swartwood Law Library at Elmi-
22 ra shall continue to serve as the court library for the eighth judicial
23 district.
24 § 5. The following named justices or their successors in office on the
25 effective date of this act shall for the remainder of the terms for
26 which they were elected or appointed be justices of the supreme court in
27 and for the eighth judicial district as reconstituted and continued by
28 this act.
29 Grace M. Hanlon
30 Diane Devlin
31 Frank Caruso
32 Paula Feroleto
33 Frank A. Sedita III
34 The following named justices or their successors in office on the
35 effective date of this act shall for the remainder of the terms for
36 which they were elected or appointed be justices of the supreme court in
37 and for the fourteenth judicial district as created and constituted by
38 this act. Any positions that were vacant on June 6, 2025 shall be
39 justices of the eighth judicial district.
40 Deborah A. Chimes
41 Emilio Colaiacovo
42 John DelMonte
43 Daniel J. Ferlong
44 Gerald Greenan III
45 Deborah A. Haendiges
46 Craig D. Hannah
47 John B. Licata
48 Joseph Lorigo
49 Amy C. Martoche
50 Edward A. Pace
51 Catherine Nugent Panepinto
52 Donna M. Siwek
53 Mary Slisz
54 Kelly Vacco
55 Raymond W. Walter
A. 1511 3
1 Dennis E. Ward
2 Paul B. Wojtaszek
3 § 6. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 816 to read
4 as follows:
5 § 816. Supreme court library at Erie. The law library for the county
6 officials of the county of Erie, as now constituted and all of the books
7 therein, shall be the law library of the supreme court of the state of
8 New York in the fourteenth judicial district and shall be in the care
9 and custody and under the control of the justices of the supreme court
10 of the state of New York in the fourteenth judicial district or a major-
11 ity of them, not designated as justices of the appellate division, who
12 shall be the trustees thereof. The trustees shall have power to receive
13 by gift, devise or bequest any property given or conveyed for the
14 purpose of a law library and to hold and manage and dispose of the same,
15 and may make rules and regulations for the management and protection of
16 said library and prescribe penalties for the violation thereof. They may
17 sue for and recover such penalties and may maintain actions for injury
18 to said library. They may also designate from among their number a
19 library committee or committees, the members of which shall have the
20 power to administer the rules and regulations prescribed by the said
21 trustees. The trustees may employ and appoint such persons as they may
22 deem necessary for the proper care, management and maintenance of said
23 library and fix their salaries. The library and the equipment shall also
24 be available for the use of the surrogate, family and criminal court
25 judges, district attorney and other county officials of the county of
26 Erie and the judges of the civil court of the city of Buffalo presiding
27 in such county. The librarian and the assistant librarian, shall, in
28 addition to the duties of librarian and assistant librarian, perform any
29 and all duties as may be required of or imposed upon them by said trus-
30 tees. The trustees may also procure proper furniture for the said
31 library, purchase books therefor and defray all the expenses incidental
32 to its care and management. They shall yearly ascertain the amount
33 necessary for the aforesaid purposes and certify it to the board of
34 estimate who shall provide for raising and paying the same.
35 § 7. It is the intended object of this act to erect, in the fourth
36 judicial department, the fourteenth judicial district, comprised of the
37 county of Erie and to provide for the employees thereof selection,
38 designation, nomination and election in the general election to be held
39 in November, 2026 of justices of the eighth and fourteenth judicial
40 districts consistent with the foregoing provisions of this act. Any
41 other consistent provision of law, rule or regulation which by its terms
42 or in its application aids in the accomplishment of such object shall be
43 given full force and effect. Any provision which is inconsistent with
44 the accomplishment of such object shall be denied force and effect to
45 the extent that it may be applicable thereto.
46 § 8. If any provisions of any section of this act shall be held void
47 or unconstitutional, all other provisions and all other sections of this
48 act which are not expressly held to be void or unconstitutional shall
49 continue in full force and effect.
50 § 9. This act shall take effect immediately provided that sections one
51 through six of this act shall take effect January 1, 2026.
