S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  10139

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 16, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Weinstein,
  Rosenthal,  Peoples-Stokes,  Lupardo,   Buchwald,   Bronson,   Jaffee,
  O'Donnell,  Brindisi,  Santabarbara,  Fahy,  Weprin,  Ramos,  Pretlow,
  Steck, Otis, Abinanti,  Morelle,  McDonald,  Mayer,  Schimel,  Lavine,
  Englebright,   Thiele,  Weisenberg,  Ryan,  Hooper,  Solages,  Paulin,
  Hennessey, Barrett, Cahill, Glick, Goodell, Nolan, Palumbo,  Saladino,
  Sweeney) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to the number of judg-
  es of the family court

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 121 of the family court act, as amended by  chapter
209 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
  S  121. Number of judges. The family court within the city of New York
shall consist of [forty-four judges and,  as  of  July  first,  nineteen
hundred  ninety,  shall  consist  of  forty-five judges and, as of April
first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  shall  consist  of  forty-seven]
FIFTY-SIX  judges,  EFFECTIVE  JANUARY  FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN. [At
least one of the persons appointed to the office of judge of the  family
court  created  by  this  section,  shall be a resident of the county of
Richmond and hereafter there] THERE shall be at least one  family  court
judge  resident  in  each county of the city of New York. [The amount of
compensation for such new family court judges  shall  be  equal  to  the
compensation  payable to existing family court judges in the city of New
York.]
  S 2. Section 131 of the family court act is amended by  adding  a  new
subdivision (u) to read as follows:
  (U)  THERE  SHALL  BE AN ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT JUDGE FOR EACH OF THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES:  ALBANY, BROOME, CHAUTAUQUA, FRANKLIN, NASSAU, ONEI-
DA, OSWEGO, SCHENECTADY, SUFFOLK, ULSTER AND  WESTCHESTER.  THE  COMPEN-
SATION  OF  EACH SUCH ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT JUDGE SHALL BE THE SAME AS
THE COMPENSATION PAID TO EACH EXISTING FAMILY COURT JUDGE IN THE  COUNTY
FOR WHICH IT IS ESTABLISHED OR, IF THERE IS NO SEPARATELY-ELECTED FAMILY

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15483-07-4
              

A. 10139                            2

COURT JUDGE IN SUCH COUNTY, THE SAME AS THE COMPENSATION PAID TO A JUDGE
OF THE COUNTY COURT IN SUCH COUNTY.
  S  3.  Section  131 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
subdivision (v) to read as follows:
  (V) THERE SHALL BE AN ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT JUDGE FOR  EACH  OF  THE
FOLLOWING  COUNTIES:   DELAWARE, DUTCHESS, ERIE, MONROE, AND WARREN. THE
COMPENSATION OF EACH SUCH ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT  JUDGE  SHALL  BE  THE
SAME AS THE COMPENSATION PAID TO EACH EXISTING FAMILY COURT JUDGE IN THE
COUNTY FOR WHICH IT IS ESTABLISHED 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.
  S 4. Notwithstanding provisions of the election law related to  desig-
nating  petitions,  the  following  rules  shall  apply  to  designating
petitions filed in 2014 for the offices created by section two  of  this
act:
  1. A designating petition for the offices created under this act shall
be  filed  not  earlier than the eighth Monday before and not later than
the seventh Thursday preceding the primary election.
  2. A signature made earlier than thirteen days before the last day  to
file  the  designating  petitions for the offices created under this act
for the primary election shall not be counted.
  3. Petitions must be signed by not less than one and three-quarter per
centum, as determined by the preceding enrollment, of the then  enrolled
voters of the party residing within the county of the family court posi-
tion  created  by  this  act  (excluding  voters  in  inactive  status),
provided, however, that the number of signatures  need  not  exceed  the
following limits:
  (a)  For  the  offices  to  be  filled  by  all the voters of counties
containing more than two hundred fifty thousand inhabitants according to
the last preceding federal enumeration, seven hundred signatures,
  (b) For the offices to be filled by all  of  the  voters  of  counties
containing  more than twenty-five thousand and not more than two hundred
fifty thousand inhabitants, according  to  the  last  preceding  federal
enumeration, three hundred fifty signatures,
  (c) For the offices to be filled by all the voters for any other coun-
ty, one hundred seventy-five signatures.
  4.  All  other  rules related to designating petitions in the election
law, not inconsistent with these provisions shall apply to  such  desig-
nating petitions.
  S 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by a court of compe-
tent  jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair
or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its opera-
tion to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,  section  or  part
thereof  directly  involved  in  the  controversy in which such judgment
shall have been rendered.  It is hereby declared to be the intent of the
legislature that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid
provisions had not been included herein.
  S  6.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the additional family court judges provided for by section two  of  this
act  shall first be elected at the general election to be held in Novem-
ber 2014 and shall first take office January 1, 2015; provided, further,
that the additional family court judges provided for by section three of
this act shall first be elected at the general election to  be  held  in
November 2015 and shall first take office January 1, 2016.