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A05366 Summary:

BILL NO	A05366
SAME AS	SAME AS S05414
SPONSOR	Bores
COSPNSR	Bichotte Hermelyn, Cunningham, Raga, Gonzalez-Rojas, Burdick, Simone, Lee, De Los Santos, Magnarelli, Sillitti, Kelles, Hyndman, Epstein, Seawright, Dinowitz, Gallagher, Gibbs, Simon, Weprin, Cruz, Glick, Rajkumar, Davila, Tannousis, Tapia, Forrest, Carroll, Burgos, Rivera, Taylor, Dickens, Zaccaro, Rosenthal L, Fall, O'Donnell, Dais, Jackson, Reilly, Reyes, Pirozzolo, Alvarez, Benedetto, Septimo, Shimsky, Hevesi, Berger, Rozic, Mamdani, Sayegh, Levenberg, Stirpe, Zinerman
MLTSPNSR
Amd Art 6 §6, Constn
Authorizes the legislature to increase the number of justices of the supreme court in any judicial district.

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A05366 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A5366                  Revised 3/8/2023
 
SPONSOR: Bores

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing amendments to
article 6 of the constitution, in relation to the number of supreme
court justices in any judicial district
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
 
The act would remove the current constitutional limitation on the number
of Supreme Court justices, allowing the legislature to set the number of
justices, as they can for every other court.
 
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The amendment strikes out a single clause of a single sentence from
article 6 of the constitution, removing the limitation of one supreme
court justice per fifty thousand occupants of a district.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
The current constitutional cap on the number of supreme court justices
has placed undue strain on the judicial system, resulting in a severe
backlog of cases. At least two jurisdictions have reached the limit: New
York's first and twelfth judicial districts. Judges across the state are
overburdened, and families are left in limbo awaiting legal resolution.
These delays disproportionately harm people of color and the econom-
ically disadvantaged.
 
This legislation will increase the maximum number of Supreme Court
justices, providing more flexibility for judicial districts to meet the
needs of the public. This will expedite court processes, improve the
public's experience of the judicial system, and ultimately ensure that
the courts are better able to serve all New Yorkers.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
This is a new bill.
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
 
None.
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
That the foregoing amendments be referred to the first regular legisla-
tive session convening after the next succeeding general election of
members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19
of the constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of
such election.

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