Bill Text: NY S09444 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates the fourteenth judicial district consisting of the county of Erie and a supreme court library at Erie.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-15 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S09444 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S09444-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9444 IN SENATE May 15, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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; 24 The fourteenth judicial district shall consist of the county of Erie. 25 The creation of such fourteenth district shall not affect or impair the 26 rights, privileges or compensation of any officer or employee of the 27 supreme court in office on the first day of January, two thousand twen- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15587-02-4S. 9444 2 1 ty-five in the eighth judicial district as theretofore constituted; each 2 such officer or employee employed in the county of Erie on such date 3 shall thereafter be an officer or employee for the fourteenth judicial 4 district and each such officer or employee employed in the counties of 5 Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Niagara, Genesee, Allegany and Wyoming 6 on such date shall thereafter be an officer or employee for the eighth 7 judicial district. 8 § 3. Subdivisions 8 and 13 of section 140-a of the judiciary law, as 9 amended by chapter 749 of the laws of 2023, are amended and a new subdi- 10 vision 14 is added to read as follows: 11 8. Eighth district, [twenty-eight] five; 12 13. Thirteenth district, nine[.]; 13 14. Fourteenth district, seventeen. 14 § 4. The county of Erie shall establish, maintain and expand, if 15 necessary, its court library, as established in accordance with sections 16 813 and 814 of the judiciary law, to accommodate the needs of the four- 17 teenth judicial district. The Charles B. Swartwood Law Library at Elmi- 18 ra shall continue to serve as the court library for the eighth judicial 19 district. 20 § 5. The following named justices or their successors in office on the 21 effective date of this act shall for the remainder of the terms for 22 which they were elected or appointed be justices of the supreme court in 23 and for the eighth judicial district as reconstituted and continued by 24 this act. 25 Grace M. Hanlon 26 Diane Devlin 27 Frank Caruso 28 Paula Feroleto 29 Frank A. Sedita III 30 The following named justices or their successors in office on the 31 effective date of this act shall for the remainder of the terms for 32 which they were elected or appointed be justices of the supreme court in 33 and for the fourteenth judicial district as created and constituted by 34 this act. Any positions that were vacant on June 6, 2024 shall be 35 justices of the eighth judicial district. 36 Deborah A. Chimes 37 Emilio Colaiacovo 38 John DelMonte 39 Daniel J. Ferlong 40 Gerald Greenan III 41 Deborah A. Haendiges 42 Craig D. Hannah 43 John B. Licata 44 Joseph Lorigo 45 Amy C. Martoche 46 Edward A. Pace 47 Catherine Nugent Panepinto 48 Donna M. Siwek 49 Mary Slisz 50 Kelly Vacco 51 Raymond W. Walter 52 Dennis E. Ward 53 Paul B. Wojtaszek 54 § 6. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 816 to read 55 as follows:S. 9444 3 1 § 816. Supreme court library at Erie. The law library for the county 2 officials of the county of Erie, as now constituted and all of the books 3 therein, shall be the law library of the supreme court of the state of 4 New York in the fourteenth judicial district and shall be in the care 5 and custody and under the control of the justices of the supreme court 6 of the state of New York in the fourteenth judicial district or a major- 7 ity of them, not designated as justices of the appellate division, who 8 shall be the trustees thereof. The trustees shall have power to receive 9 by gift, devise or bequest any property given or conveyed for the 10 purpose of a law library and to hold and manage and dispose of the same, 11 and may make rules and regulations for the management and protection of 12 said library and prescribe penalties for the violation thereof. They may 13 sue for and recover such penalties and may maintain actions for injury 14 to said library. They may also designate from among their number a 15 library committee or committees, the members of which shall have the 16 power to administer the rules and regulations prescribed by the said 17 trustees. The trustees may employ and appoint such persons as they may 18 deem necessary for the proper care, management and maintenance of said 19 library and fix their salaries. The library and the equipment shall also 20 be available for the use of the surrogate, family and criminal court 21 judges, district attorney and other county officials of the county of 22 Erie and the judges of the civil court of the city of Buffalo presiding 23 in such county. The librarian and the assistant librarian, shall, in 24 addition to the duties of librarian and assistant librarian, perform any 25 and all duties as may be required of or imposed upon them by said trus- 26 tees. The trustees may also procure proper furniture for the said 27 library, purchase books therefor and defray all the expenses incidental 28 to its care and management. They shall yearly ascertain the amount 29 necessary for the aforesaid purposes and certify it to the board of 30 estimate who shall provide for raising and paying the same. 31 § 7. It is the intended object of this act to erect, in the fourth 32 judicial department, the fourteenth judicial district, comprised of the 33 county of Erie and to provide for the employees thereof selection, 34 designation, nomination and election in the general election to be held 35 in November, 2026 of justices of the eighth and fourteenth judicial 36 districts consistent with the foregoing provisions of this act. Any 37 other consistent provision of law, rule or regulation which by its terms 38 or in its application aids in the accomplishment of such object shall be 39 given full force and effect. Any provision which is inconsistent with 40 the accomplishment of such object shall be denied force and effect to 41 the extent that it may be applicable thereto. 42 § 8. If any provisions of any section of this act shall be held void 43 or unconstitutional, all other provisions and all other sections of this 44 act which are not expressly held to be void or unconstitutional shall 45 continue in full force and effect. 46 § 9. This act shall take effect immediately provided that sections one 47 through six of this act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
