NY State Senate Bill 2025-S549

Senate Bill S549

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Provides for the establishment of a separate office of family court judge for the county of Essex

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to judiciary

2025-S549 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3220
Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §131, Fam Ct Act
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S6870, A8692
2019-2020: S2023, A4656
2021-2022: S4721, A4921
2023-2024: S30, A3086

2025-S549 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for the establishment of a separate office of family court judge for the county of Essex.

2025-S549 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S549

SPONSOR: STEC
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to establishing a
separate office of judge of the family court for the county of Essex

 
PURPOSE:

This bill provides for the establishment of a separate office of family
court judge for the county of Essex.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Amends section 131 of the family court act by adding a new subdivision
(w) where there shall be a separate office of judge of the family court
for the county of Essex and the compensation payable for such separate
office of judge of the family court shall be the same as the compen-
sation payable to the judge of the county court of the county of Essex.

JUSTIFICATION:

In Essex County, one full-time judge presides over six courts, including
serving as a full-time Family Court judge.  In 2021, the Essex County
family court handled 961 new cases and 2,942 appearances. In 2022, the
family court grappled with 883 new cases and more than 2,700 appear-
ances.  These caseloads more than justify in a separate office of a full
time family court judge in Essex County.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023/2024: Referred to Judiciary; A3086 referred to Judiciary

2021/2022: S4721 referred to Judiciary; A4921 referred to Judiciary*

2020/2019: S2023 referred to Judiciary; A4656 referred to Judiciary

2018/2017: 56870 referred to Finance; A8692 referred to Judiciary

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

The compensation payable for this separate office of judge of the family
court shall be the same as the compensation payable to the judge of the
county court of the county of Essex.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1, 2024.

2025-S549 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    549
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEC  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act,  in  relation  to  establishing  a
   separate office of judge of the family court for the county of Essex

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 131 of the family court act is amended by adding  a
 new subdivision (y) to read as follows:
   (Y)  THERE SHALL BE A SEPARATE OFFICE OF JUDGE OF THE FAMILY COURT FOR
 THE COUNTY OF ESSEX AND  THE  COMPENSATION  PAYABLE  FOR  SUCH  SEPARATE
 OFFICE  OF  JUDGE  OF  THE FAMILY COURT SHALL BE THE SAME AS THE COMPEN-
 SATION PAYABLE TO THE JUDGE OF THE COUNTY COURT OF THE COUNTY OF ESSEX.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately  except  that  the  family
 court judge for the county of Essex provided for in this act shall first
 be elected at the general election to be held in November 2025 and shall
 first take office January 1, 2026.
 
 
 
 

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02345-01-5

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.