S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7534
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, the family court act,  the  New  York
   city  criminal  court  act  and  the New York city civil court act, in
   relation to increasing the number of judges in courts

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 140-a of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter
 365 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   § 140-a. Number of supreme court justices in each  judicial  district.
 The  number  of  justices of the supreme court in each judicial district
 shall be as follows:
   1. First district, thirty-eight;
   2. Second district, [fifty-two] FIFTY-THREE;
   3. Third district, seventeen;
   4. Fourth district, fourteen;
   5. Fifth district, nineteen;
   6. Sixth district, eleven;
   7. Seventh district, twenty;
   8. Eighth district, twenty-eight;
   9. Ninth district, [thirty-three] THIRTY-FOUR;
   10. Tenth district, fifty-one;
   11. Eleventh district, [forty-three] FORTY-FOUR;
   12. Twelfth district, twenty-nine;
   13. Thirteenth district, nine.
   No person may serve in the office of  justice  of  the  supreme  court
 unless  he  or she has been admitted to practice law in the state of New
 York for at least ten years as of the  date  he  or  she  commences  the
 duties of office.
   § 2. Section 121 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 365 of
 the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11653-02-3
              

 S. 7534                             2

   §  121. Number of judges. The family court within the city of New York
 shall consist of [sixty] SIXTY-THREE judges,  effective  January  first,
 two  thousand  [twenty-three] TWENTY-FOUR.   There shall be at least one
 family court judge resident in each county of the city of New York.
   §  3.  Section  131 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
 subdivision (w) to read as follows:
   (W) THERE SHALL BE AN ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT JUDGE FOR  EACH  OF  THE
 FOLLOWING  COUNTIES:  ALBANY,  CHEMUNG,  ERIE,  MONROE, NIAGARA, ONEIDA,
 ONONDAGA, ST. LAWRENCE, SUFFOLK, AND WESTCHESTER.   THE COMPENSATION  OF
 EACH SUCH ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT JUDGE SHALL BE THE SAME AS THE COMPEN-
 SATION  PAID  TO  EACH EXISTING FAMILY COURT JUDGE IN SUCH COUNTY OR, IF
 THERE IS NO SEPARATELY-ELECTED FAMILY COURT JUDGE IN  SUCH  COUNTY,  THE
 SAME  AS  THE  COMPENSATION  PAID TO A JUDGE OF THE COUNTY COURT IN SUCH
 COUNTY.
   § 4. Section 20 of the New York city criminal court act, as amended by
 chapter 500 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
   § 20. The court constituted.  The criminal court of the  city  of  New
 York  is hereby established as a single, city-wide court, as provided by
 sections one and fifteen of article six of the constitution; it shall be
 a part of the unified court system for the state, and a court of  record
 with  such power and jurisdiction as are herein or elsewhere provided by
 law. It shall consist of the number of justices of the court of  special
 sessions  of  the  city  of  New York and magistrates of the city magis-
 trates' courts of the city of New York authorized by law  on  the  first
 day  of  March,  nineteen hundred sixty-two. Each of the justices of the
 court of special sessions of the city of New York and each of the magis-
 trates of the magistrates' courts of the city of New York in  office  on
 the  first day of September, nineteen hundred sixty-two shall, until the
 last day of the year in which the term for which he was appointed  would
 otherwise  have expired, be a judge of the criminal court of the city of
 New York. In addition to the judges provided for herein, there shall  be
 [twenty-nine]  THIRTY-ONE additional judges of the criminal court EFFEC-
 TIVE JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND  TWENTY-FOUR.  Such  additional  judges
 shall receive the same compensation as the existing judges of the crimi-
 nal court the city of New York.
   §  5. Section 102-a of the New York city civil court act is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
   2-A. TWO ADDITIONAL JUDGES OF THE CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW  YORK
 SHALL  BE ELECTED IN AND FROM THE RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN
 THE INDICATED NUMBERS: FROM THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, ONE; FROM THE COUNTY
 OF BRONX, ONE.  SUCH ADDITIONAL JUDGES SHALL RECEIVE  THE  SAME  COMPEN-
 SATION AS THE EXISTING JUDGES OF THE CIVIL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
 AND SHALL BE ELECTED COUNTYWIDE WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
   §  6.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
 the positions created by sections one, three and five of this act  shall
 be  filled  by  election at the November 5, 2024 election, for a term to
 commence on the first day of January 2025.