NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2346A
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to increasing the amount
of allowance that trial and grand jurors are entitled to in each court
of the unified court system
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to increase the entitled allowance
amount that trial and grand jurors receive in each court of the unified
court system
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision (a) of § 521 of the judiciary
law to increase the allowance amount of jury duty pay to seventy-two
($72) dollars per day for every day of physical .attendance when the
court convenes pursuant to the limitations of section 519 of the judici-
ary law.
Section two of the bill amends § 519 of the judiciary law to reflect the
increased amount of a juror's daily wages to seventy-two dollars ($72)
per eligible day.
Section three of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation would provide for an increase in the amount of jury
duty pay equal to the sum of seventy-two ($72) dollars to reflect the
increased cost of living since the last jury duty pay increase approval
over twenty years ago. To burden our citizens with an unfair wage for
adhering to their judicial duty is a disservice to the citizens of New
York. Currently, food and transportation costs, parking and other
expenses associated with being a juror make it economically unfeasible
and heavily burden our citizens who must abide by their civic obli-
gations.
This legislation would increase the amount of jury duty pay from forty
dollars to seventy-two dollars, thus providing a fairer wage and a more
willing jury pool.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: S.793-A - Passed Senate
2020: S.793 - Judiciary
2019-2020: A.4673-A (DenDekker)/S.5709 - Reported to Ways and
Means/Judiciary
2018: A.5433 (DenDekker) - Reported to Ways and Means
2017: A.5433 (DenDekker) - Judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of April succeeding the date on
which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2346--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 25, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, EPSTEIN, MITAYNES, KELLES, BURDICK,
SIMON, GALLAGHER, SAYEGH, SEAWRIGHT, GIBBS, DARLING, FORREST, ZINER-
MAN, WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary --
reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- recommit-
ted to the Committee on Ways and Means 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 judiciary law, in relation to increasing the amount
of allowance that trial and grand jurors are entitled to in each court
of the unified court system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 521 of the judiciary law, as
2 amended by chapter 302 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, trial and
5 grand jurors in each court of the unified court system shall be entitled
6 to an allowance equal to the sum of [forty] seventy-two dollars per day
7 for each and every day of physical attendance wherein the court
8 convenes, except that no person who is employed shall be entitled to
9 receive such allowance if, pursuant to section five hundred nineteen of
10 this article, his or her employer is prohibited from withholding the
11 first [forty] seventy-two dollars of wages of such person during such
12 period and such person's daily wages equal or exceed [forty] seventy-two
13 dollars. If such person's daily wages are less than [forty] seventy-two
14 dollars, he or she shall be entitled to receive an allowance hereunder
15 equal to the difference between [forty] seventy-two dollars and the
16 amount of his or her daily wages. Such fees and those expenses actually
17 and necessarily incurred in providing food and lodging for jurors shall
18 be a state charge payable out of funds appropriated to the office of
19 court administration for that purpose.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01541-04-4
A. 2346--A 2
1 § 2. Section 519 of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 85 of the
2 laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 519. Right of juror to be absent from employment. Any person who is
4 summoned to serve as a juror under the provisions of this article and
5 who notifies his or her employer to that effect prior to the commence-
6 ment of a term of service shall not, on account of absence from employ-
7 ment by reason of such jury service, be subject to discharge or penalty.
8 An employer may, however, withhold wages of any such employee serving as
9 a juror during the period of such service; provided that an employer who
10 employs more than ten employees shall not withhold the first [forty]
11 seventy-two dollars of such juror's daily wages during the first three
12 days of jury service. Withholding of wages in accordance with this
13 section shall not be deemed a penalty. Violation of this section shall
14 constitute a criminal contempt of court punishable pursuant to section
15 seven hundred fifty of this chapter.
16 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
17 the date on which it shall have become a law.
