S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1742
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 20, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Judiciary
 
 AN  ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to making
   technical corrections to ensure gender neutrality for the admission to
   practice law and preventing any required disclosure of  mental  health
   history

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Rule 9401 of the civil practice law and rules is amended to
 read as follows:
   Rule 9401. Committee.  The appellate division in each judicial depart-
 ment shall appoint a committee of not less than three practicing lawyers
 for each judicial district within the department,  for  the  purpose  of
 investigating the character and fitness of every applicant for admission
 to  practice  as  an attorney and counselor at law in the courts of this
 state. Each member  of  such  committee  shall  serve  until  [his]  THE
 MEMBER'S  death,  resignation  or  the appointment of [his] THE MEMBER'S
 successor. A lawyer who has been or who shall be appointed a  member  of
 the  committee for one district may be appointed a member of the commit-
 tee for another district within the same department.
   § 2. The opening paragraph and subdivision 1 of rule 9403 of the civil
 practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 226 of the laws  of  1985,
 are amended to read as follows:
   Notwithstanding  rule  9402, any application for admission to practice
 pending before a committee, may be referred to the committee for another
 judicial district in the same or another department by order  or  direc-
 tion  of  the presiding justice of the appellate division of the depart-
 ment embracing the district in which the application  is  pending.  Such
 order  or  direction  may  be  made only upon the written request of the
 [chairman] CHAIRPERSON or acting [chairman] CHAIRPERSON of the committee

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00790-01-3
 A. 1742                             2
              

 
 before which the application is pending and only upon [his]  THE  CHAIR-
 PERSON OR ACTING CHAIRPERSON'S written certification either:
   1.  that  the applicant, since [he] THEY applied to take the bar exam-
 ination or to dispense with such examination or since [he] THEY  applied
 on  motion  to  be  admitted to practice, has changed [his] THEIR actual
 residence to such other judicial district in the same or  other  depart-
 ment, or, if not a resident of the state, has acquired full-time employ-
 ment  in  or  changed  [his] THEIR place of full-time employment to such
 other judicial district in the same or other department; or
   § 3. Rule 9404 of the civil practice law  and  rules,  as  amended  by
 judicial  conference  proposal number 7 for the year 1973, is amended to
 read as follows:
   Rule 9404. Certificate of character and  fitness.    Unless  otherwise
 ordered  by the appellate division, no person shall be admitted to prac-
 tice without a certificate from the proper committee that it  has  care-
 fully  investigated the character and fitness of the applicant and that,
 in such respects, [he] THE APPLICANT is entitled to admission. To enable
 the committee to make such investigation, the justices of the  appellate
 division  are  authorized  to prescribe and from time to time to amend a
 form of statement or questionnaire to be  submitted  by  the  applicant,
 including specifically [his] THE APPLICANT'S present and such past plac-
 es  of  actual  residence as may be required therein, listing the street
 and number, if any, and the period of time [he] THE APPLICANT resided at
 each place. SUCH QUESTIONNAIRE SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY QUESTIONS REQUIRING
 THE DISCLOSURE OF THE APPLICANT'S HISTORY,  DIAGNOSES  OR  TREATMENT  OF
 MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS OR IMPAIRMENT, SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR ADDICTION.
   §  4. Rule 9405 of the civil practice law and rules is amended to read
 as follows:
   Rule 9405. Prior application.   In the event that  any  applicant  has
 made  a  prior application for admission to practice in this state or in
 any other jurisdiction, then upon said statement or questionnaire or  in
 an  accompanying signed statement, [he] THE APPLICANT shall set forth in
 detail all the facts with respect to  such  prior  application  and  its
 disposition.  If  such prior application had been filed in any appellate
 division of this state and if the applicant failed to obtain  a  certif-
 icate  of  good  character  and  fitness  from the appropriate character
 committee or if for any reason such prior application was disapproved or
 rejected either by said committee or said appellate division,  [he]  THE
 APPLICANT  shall obtain and submit the written consent of said appellate
 division to the renewal of [his] THEIR  application  in  that  appellate
 division or in any other appellate division.
   §  5.  Rule  9406  of  the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
 chapter 226 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
   Rule 9406. Proof.  No person shall receive said certificate  from  any
 committee and no person shall be admitted to practice as an attorney and
 counselor  at  law  in  the courts of this state, unless [he] THEY shall
 furnish satisfactory proof to the effect:
   1. that [he supports] THEY SUPPORT the  constitutions  of  the  United
 States and of the state of New York; and
   2.  that  [he has] THEY HAVE complied with all the requirements of the
 applicable statutes of this state, the applicable rules of the court  of
 appeals  and  the  applicable  rules  of the appellate division in which
 [his] THEIR application is pending, relating to the admission  to  prac-
 tice as an attorney and counselor at law.
   §  6.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.