Assembly Bill A4710

                                BILL NUMBER:A4710

TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the uniform justice court act, in relation to the
location of holding town court proceedings of the towns of Elba,
Oakfield and Batavia

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Allows town court proceedings for the towns of Elba, Oakfield and
Batavia to be held in the town of Elba, Oakfield or Batavia or the
City of Batavia.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new subsection 10 to Section 106 of the Uniform
Justice Court Act. This subsection would allow the Towns of Elba,
Oakfield and Batavia, all located in Genesee County, to hold their
court proceedings in any of the Towns of Elba, Oakfield or Batavia, or
in the City of Batavia, provided such proceedings are held in a
courtroom or other suitable facility open to the public and further
providing that the Town Boards of the Towns of Elba, Oakfield and
Batavia have authorized such extraterritorial proceedings.

Section 2 provides that the act shall take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:
The Towns of Elba, Oakfield and Batavia are adjoining towns located in
              

Genesee County. All three towns are in need of new and upgraded court
facilities. In an effort to share resources and reduce costs for
taxpayers, while providing first class court facilities, these towns
are considering building a single joint court facility that can be
shared by all three town justice courts. Such a plan would offer
substantial economies, would allow these towns to provide for better
facilities than they could afford on their own and represents the type
of cost sharing that is critical for local governments. While current
law allows merger of courts (Uniform Justice Court Act sections 106-a
and 106-b), these towns do not believe that their residents would be
best served by reducing the number of justices and merging their
individual courts. Currently, the towns are considering sitting a
single court facility in the City of Batavia, but this bill offers
them the flexibility to find the best location within the three towns
or within the City of Batavia.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Should provide substantial savings to the local governments.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.