Bill Text: NY A10706 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
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 67-18)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-17 - substituted by s8114 [A10706 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A10706-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10706 IN ASSEMBLY June 13, 2016 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Fahy) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes 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- 9 er a felony or misdemeanor, are entitled to counsel at the expense of 10 the state. 11 New York state has chosen to fulfill its obligation to provide repre- 12 sentation to indigent persons accused of a crime by requiring each coun- 13 ty outside New York city and New York city to implement and fund a plan 14 to provide such representation. In 2006 the Commission on the Future of 15 Indigent Legal Services concluded that a system of county operated and 16 funded indigent defense services failed to satisfy the constitutional 17 obligation to protect the rights of indigent persons accused of a crime. 18 Such Commission recommended that funding for indigent legal services 19 come from the State's general fund rather than from the counties. 20 New York state has entered into an agreement to settle a class action 21 lawsuit that alleged deprivation of the right to counsel in five coun- 22 ties. The agreement acknowledges that the Office of Indigent Legal 23 Services and the Indigent Legal Services Board are authorized "to moni- 24 tor and study indigent legal services in the state, to recommend meas- 25 ures to improve those services, to award grant monies to counties to 26 support their indigent representation capability, and to establish 27 criteria for the distribution of such funds." While the settlement EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15873-01-6A. 10706 2 1 agreement pertains to only five counties, its criteria establish a stan- 2 dard for providing indigent legal services that should apply statewide. 3 The legislature finds and declares that in all criminal proceedings 4 against people unable to afford counsel, New York state is constitu- 5 tionally required to provide public defense services. The legislature 6 further finds that the state is obligated to undertake initiatives to 7 improve the quality of indigent defense, ensure representation at 8 arraignment, implement caseload standards for providers of indigent 9 legal services, and implement statewide standards for determining eligi- 10 bility for mandated representation. Mandating counties to finance the 11 state's obligation to provide indigent legal services imposes a signif- 12 icant uncontrollable financial burden on counties dependent on real 13 property taxes to fund needed services, and subject to a state imposed 14 tax cap. 15 The legislature finds and declares that in order to fulfill its 16 constitutional obligation to provide indigent legal services, the state 17 shall pay counties the full amount necessary to ensure the delivery of 18 quality legal services for indigent criminal defendants in a consistent 19 manner throughout the State. 20 § 2. Section 722-e of the county law, as added by chapter 878 of the 21 laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows: 22 § 722-e. Expenses. All expenses for providing counsel and services 23 other than counsel hereunder shall be a county charge or in the case of 24 a county wholly located within a city a city charge to be paid out of an 25 appropriation for such purposes and shall be reimbursed by the state to 26 the county or city providing such services, provided, however, that in 27 the state fiscal year beginning: 28 (a) April first, two thousand seventeen, the state shall provide 29 reimbursement for not less than twenty-five percent of such expenses; 30 and 31 (b) April first, two thousand eighteen, the state shall provide 32 reimbursement for not less than thirty-five percent of such expenses; 33 and 34 (c) April first, two thousand nineteen, the state shall provide 35 reimbursement for not less than forty-five percent of such expenses; and 36 (d) April first, two thousand twenty, the state shall provide 37 reimbursement for not less than fifty-five percent of such expenses; and 38 (e) April first, two thousand twenty-one, the state shall provide 39 reimbursement for not less than sixty-five percent of such expenses; and 40 (f) April first, two thousand twenty-two, the state shall provide 41 reimbursement for not less than seventy-five percent of such expenses; 42 and 43 (g) every year thereafter, the state shall provide reimbursement for 44 the full amount of such expenses. 45 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 832 of the executive law is amended by 46 adding a new paragraph (n) to read as follows: 47 (n) to adopt, promulgate, amend or rescind rules and regulations to 48 carry out the provisions of this section, including to (i) ensure the 49 presence of counsel at the first appearance of any eligible defendant 50 charged with a crime, (ii) establish caseload/workload regulations for 51 attorneys providing mandated representation, and (iii) improve the qual- 52 ity of mandated representation. 53 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 98-b of the state finance law, as 54 amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is 55 amended to read as follows:A. 10706 3 1 3. Amounts distributed from such fund shall be limited to amounts 2 appropriated therefor and shall be distributed as follows: 3 (a) The office of court administration may expend a portion of the 4 funds available in such fund to provide assigned counsel paid in accord- 5 ance with section thirty-five of the judiciary law, up to an annual sum 6 of twenty-five million dollars. 7 (b) [An] In addition to the amounts paid to each county and the city 8 of New York pursuant to section seven hundred twenty-two-e of the county 9 law and in accordance with sections eight hundred thirty-two and eight 10 hundred thirty-three of the executive law an annual amount [of forty11million dollars shall be made available to the city of New York from12such fund for the provision of services pursuant to article eighteen-B13of the county law; provided that the city of New York shall continue to14provide at minimum the aggregate amount of funding for public defense15services including, but not limited to, the amount of funding for16contractors of public defense services and individual defense attorneys,17that it provided, pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law18during its two thousand nine--two thousand ten fiscal year] shall be 19 paid to such counties and city equal to the amount paid from such fund 20 to such counties and city in March two thousand ten. 21 (c) [Within the first fifteen days of March two thousand eleven, each22county other than a county wholly contained within the city of New York,23shall receive ninety percent of the amount paid to such county in March24two thousand ten. Within the first fifteen days of March two thousand25twelve, each county other than a county wholly contained within the city26of New York shall receive seventy-five percent of the amount paid to27such county in March two thousand ten. Within the first fifteen days of28March two thousand thirteen, each county other than a county wholly29contained within the city of New York shall receive fifty percent of the30amount paid to such county in March two thousand ten. Within the first31fifteen days of March two thousand fourteen, each county other than a32county wholly contained within the city of New York shall receive twen-33ty-five percent of the amount paid to such county in March two thousand34ten. For all state fiscal years following the two thousand thirteen--two35thousand fourteen fiscal year, there shall be no required annual36payments pursuant to this paragraph. Notwithstanding the provisions of37this paragraph, for each of the four required payments made to counties38within the first fifteen days of March two thousand eleven, two thousand39twelve, two thousand thirteen and two thousand fourteen, Hamilton and40Orleans counties shall receive such percentage payments based on the41amounts that each county would have received in March two thousand ten42had it satisfied the maintenance of effort requirement set forth in43paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this section in effect on such44date.45(d)] Remaining amounts within such fund, after accounting for annual 46 payments required in paragraphs (a)[,] and (b) [and (c)] of this subdi- 47 vision and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of 48 this section shall be distributed in accordance with sections eight 49 hundred thirty-two and eight hundred thirty-three of the executive law. 50 § 5. This act shall take effect April 1, 2017.