Bill Text: NY A06202 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires state reimbursement to counties and cities in which a county is located of the full amount of expenditures for indigent legal services.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 63-18)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-06-02 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [A06202 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A06202-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6202--C 2015-2016 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 17, 2015 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. FAHY, LENTOL, AUBRY, McDONALD, STECK, GOTTFRIED, MAGNARELLI, CRESPO, SEPULVEDA, ARROYO, SIMOTAS, MAGEE, COLTON, DUPREY, CROUCH, MONTESANO, RAIA, ROSENTHAL, WOERNER, RUSSELL, BRINDISI, MOSLEY, PALMESANO, LAVINE, BRONSON, SKOUFIS, BARCLAY, BLANKENBUSH, CAHILL, STEC, MURRAY, BARRETT, PEOPLES-STOKES, BUTLER, LUPARDO, LALOR, PICHARDO, LINARES, RIVERA, STIRPE, WALKER, JAFFEE, O'DONNELL, FINCH, RAMOS, RYAN, HUNTER, DAVILA, GRAF, RODRIGUEZ, BRABENEC, OTIS, TITUS, PERRY, OAKS, MAYER, GUNTHER, ENGLEBRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BLAKE, BRENNAN, COOK, GALEF, GIGLIO, GLICK, HAWLEY, HEVESI, HIKIND, LIFTON, LOPEZ, MARKEY, ROBINSON, SCHIMEL, SIMON, SKARTADOS, WEINSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend- ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the county law, the executive law and the state finance law, in relation to indigent defense services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and declaration. It is a fundamental 2 right of all persons in the United States to be represented by counsel 3 in all criminal prosecutions. In the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 4 U.S. 335, the United States Supreme Court ruled that indigent persons 5 accused in state felony cases who were unable to afford counsel had a 6 constitutional right to be defended by an appointed attorney paid by the 7 state. Subsequently, the Supreme Court determined that indigent persons 8 accused of any criminal charge that could result in imprisonment, wheth- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06929-10-6A. 6202--C 2 1 er a felony or misdemeanor, are entitled to counsel at the expense of 2 the state. 3 New York state has chosen to fulfill its obligation to provide repre- 4 sentation to indigent persons accused of a crime by requiring each coun- 5 ty outside New York city and New York city to implement and fund a plan 6 to provide such representation. In 2006 the Commission on the Future of 7 Indigent Legal Services concluded that a system of county operated and 8 funded indigent defense services failed to satisfy the constitutional 9 obligation to protect the rights of indigent persons accused of a crime. 10 Such Commission recommended that funding for indigent legal services 11 come from the State's general fund rather than from the counties. 12 New York state has entered into an agreement to settle a class action 13 lawsuit that alleged deprivation of the right to counsel in five coun- 14 ties. The agreement acknowledges that the Office of Indigent Legal 15 Services and the Indigent Legal Services Board are authorized "to moni- 16 tor and study indigent legal services in the state, to recommend meas- 17 ures to improve those services, to award grant monies to counties to 18 support their indigent representation capability, and to establish 19 criteria for the distribution of such funds." While the settlement 20 agreement pertains to only five counties, its criteria establish a stan- 21 dard for providing indigent legal services that should apply statewide. 22 The legislature finds and declares that in all criminal proceedings 23 against people unable to afford counsel, New York state is constitu- 24 tionally required to provide public defense services. The legislature 25 further finds that the state is obligated to undertake initiatives to 26 improve the quality of indigent defense, ensure representation at 27 arraignment, implement caseload standards for providers of indigent 28 legal services, and implement statewide standards for determining eligi- 29 bility for mandated representation. Mandating counties to finance the 30 state's obligation to provide indigent legal services imposes a signif- 31 icant uncontrollable financial burden on counties dependent on real 32 property taxes to fund needed services, and subject to a state imposed 33 tax cap. 34 The legislature finds and declares that in order to fulfill its 35 constitutional obligation to provide indigent legal services, the state 36 shall pay counties the full amount necessary to ensure the delivery of 37 quality legal services for indigent criminal defendants in a consistent 38 manner throughout the State. 39 § 2. Section 722-e of the county law, as added by chapter 878 of the 40 laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows: 41 § 722-e. Expenses. All expenses for providing counsel and services 42 other than counsel hereunder shall be a county charge or in the case of 43 a county wholly located within a city a city charge to be paid out of an 44 appropriation for such purposes and shall be reimbursed by the state to 45 the county or city providing such services, provided, however, that in 46 the state fiscal year beginning: 47 (a) April first, two thousand seventeen, the state shall provide 48 reimbursement for not less than twenty-five percent of such expenses; 49 and 50 (b) April first, two thousand eighteen, the state shall provide 51 reimbursement for not less than thirty-five percent of such expenses; 52 and 53 (c) April first, two thousand nineteen, the state shall provide 54 reimbursement for not less than forty-five percent of such expenses; and 55 (d) April first, two thousand twenty, the state shall provide 56 reimbursement for not less than fifty-five percent of such expenses; andA. 6202--C 3 1 (e) April first, two thousand twenty-one, the state shall provide 2 reimbursement for not less than sixty-five percent of such expenses; and 3 (f) April first, two thousand twenty-two, the state shall provide 4 reimbursement for not less than seventy-five percent of such expenses; 5 and 6 (g) every year thereafter, the state shall provide reimbursement for 7 the full amount of such expenses. 8 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 832 of the executive law is amended by 9 adding a new paragraph (o) to read as follows: 10 (o) to adopt, promulgate, amend or rescind rules and regulations to 11 carry out the provisions of this section, including to (i) ensure the 12 presence of counsel at the first appearance of any eligible defendant 13 charged with a crime, (ii) establish caseload/workload regulations for 14 attorneys providing mandated representation that allow for meaningful 15 and effective assistance of counsel, and (iii) improve the quality of 16 mandated representation. 17 § 4. Paragraphs (l) and (m) of subdivision 3 of section 832 of the 18 executive law, as added by section 1 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws 19 of 2010, are amended and a new paragraph (n) is added to read as 20 follows: 21 (l) to present findings and make recommendations for consideration by 22 the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight 23 hundred thirty-three of this article; [and] 24 (m) to execute decisions of the indigent legal services board estab- 25 lished pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article, 26 including the distribution of funds[.]; 27 (n) to review the public defense operations of any county for compli- 28 ance with applicable professional standards promulgated by the office 29 and to ensure that recipients of services provided pursuant to article 30 eighteen-B of the county law are provided with meaningful and effective 31 representation before making reimbursement pursuant to section seven 32 hundred twenty-two-e of the county law and before making payment pursu- 33 ant to paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section ninety-eight-b of 34 the state finance law; and 35 § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 98-b of the state finance law, as 36 amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is 37 amended to read as follows: 38 3. Amounts distributed from such fund shall be limited to amounts 39 appropriated therefor and shall be distributed as follows: 40 (a) The office of court administration may expend a portion of the 41 funds available in such fund to provide assigned counsel paid in accord- 42 ance with section thirty-five of the judiciary law, up to an annual sum 43 of twenty-five million dollars. 44 (b) [An] In addition to the amounts paid to each county and the city 45 of New York pursuant to section seven hundred twenty-two-e of the county 46 law and in accordance with sections eight hundred thirty-two and eight 47 hundred thirty-three of the executive law an annual amount [of forty48million dollars shall be made available to the city of New York from49such fund for the provision of services pursuant to article eighteen-B50of the county law; provided that the city of New York shall continue to51provide at minimum the aggregate amount of funding for public defense52services including, but not limited to, the amount of funding for53contractors of public defense services and individual defense attorneys,54that it provided, pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law55during its two thousand nine--two thousand ten fiscal year] shall beA. 6202--C 4 1 paid to such counties and city equal to the amount paid from such fund 2 to such counties and city in March two thousand ten. 3 (c) [Within the first fifteen days of March two thousand eleven, each4county other than a county wholly contained within the city of New York,5shall receive ninety percent of the amount paid to such county in March6two thousand ten. Within the first fifteen days of March two thousand7twelve, each county other than a county wholly contained within the city8of New York shall receive seventy-five percent of the amount paid to9such county in March two thousand ten. Within the first fifteen days of10March two thousand thirteen, each county other than a county wholly11contained within the city of New York shall receive fifty percent of the12amount paid to such county in March two thousand ten. Within the first13fifteen days of March two thousand fourteen, each county other than a14county wholly contained within the city of New York shall receive twen-15ty-five percent of the amount paid to such county in March two thousand16ten. For all state fiscal years following the two thousand thirteen--two17thousand fourteen fiscal year, there shall be no required annual18payments pursuant to this paragraph. Notwithstanding the provisions of19this paragraph, for each of the four required payments made to counties20within the first fifteen days of March two thousand eleven, two thousand21twelve, two thousand thirteen and two thousand fourteen, Hamilton and22Orleans counties shall receive such percentage payments based on the23amounts that each county would have received in March two thousand ten24had it satisfied the maintenance of effort requirement set forth in25paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this section in effect on such26date.27(d)] Remaining amounts within such fund, after accounting for annual 28 payments required in paragraphs (a)[,] and (b) [and (c)] of this subdi- 29 vision and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of 30 this section shall be distributed in accordance with sections eight 31 hundred thirty-two and eight hundred thirty-three of the executive law. 32 § 6. This act shall take effect April 1, 2017.