Senate Bill S8079

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

                                  8079

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 10, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  DeFRANCISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the county law and the state finance law, in relation to
  indigent defense services

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

  Section  1.  Legislative findings and declaration. It is a fundamental
right of all persons in the United States to be represented  by  counsel
in  all criminal prosecutions. In the case of GIDEON V.  WAINWRIGHT, 372
U.S. 335, the United States Supreme Court ruled  that  indigent  persons
accused  in  state  felony cases who were unable to afford counsel had a
constitutional right to be defended by an appointed attorney paid by the
state. Subsequently, the Supreme Court determined that indigent  persons
accused of any criminal charge that could result in imprisonment, wheth-
er  a  felony  or misdemeanor, are entitled to counsel at the expense of
the state.
  New York state has chosen to fulfill its obligation to provide  repre-
sentation to indigent persons accused of a crime by requiring each coun-
ty  outside New York city and New York city to implement and fund a plan
to provide such representation. In 2006 the Commission on the Future  of
Indigent  Legal  Services concluded that a system of county operated and
funded indigent defense services failed to  satisfy  the  constitutional
obligation to protect the rights of indigent persons accused of a crime.
Such  Commission  recommended  that  funding for indigent legal services
come from the State's general fund rather than from the counties.
  New York state has entered into an agreement to settle a class  action
lawsuit  that  alleged deprivation of the right to counsel in five coun-
ties. The agreement acknowledges  that  the  Office  of  Indigent  Legal
Services  and the Indigent Legal Services Board are authorized "to moni-
tor and study indigent legal services in the state, to  recommend  meas-
ures  to  improve  those  services, to award grant monies to counties to
support their  indigent  representation  capability,  and  to  establish
criteria  for  the  distribution  of  such  funds." While the settlement

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06929-13-6
              

S. 8079                             2

agreement pertains to only five counties, its criteria establish a stan-
dard for providing indigent legal services that should apply statewide.
  The  legislature  finds  and declares that in all criminal proceedings
against people unable to afford counsel, New  York  state  is  constitu-
tionally  required  to  provide public defense services. The legislature
further finds that the state is obligated to  undertake  initiatives  to
improve  the  quality  of  indigent  defense,  ensure  representation at
arraignment, implement caseload  standards  for  providers  of  indigent
legal services, and implement statewide standards for determining eligi-
bility  for  mandated  representation. Mandating counties to finance the
state's obligation to provide indigent legal services imposes a  signif-
icant  uncontrollable  financial  burden  on  counties dependent on real
property taxes to fund needed services, and subject to a  state  imposed
tax cap.
  The  legislature  finds  and  declares  that  in  order to fulfill its
constitutional obligation to provide indigent legal services, the  state
shall  pay  counties the full amount necessary to ensure the delivery of
quality legal services for indigent criminal defendants in a  consistent
manner throughout the State.
  S  2.  Section 722-e of the county law, as added by chapter 878 of the
laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
  S 722-e. Expenses. All expenses for  providing  counsel  and  services
other  than counsel hereunder shall be a county charge or in the case of
a county wholly located within a city a city charge to be paid out of an
appropriation for such purposes AND SHALL BE REIMBURSED BY THE STATE  TO
THE  COUNTY  OR CITY PROVIDING SUCH SERVICES, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN
THE STATE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING:
  (A) APRIL FIRST, TWO  THOUSAND  SEVENTEEN,  THE  STATE  SHALL  PROVIDE
REIMBURSEMENT  FOR  NOT  LESS THAN TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF SUCH EXPENSES;
AND
  (B) APRIL FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  EIGHTEEN,  THE  STATE  SHALL  PROVIDE
REIMBURSEMENT  FOR  NOT  LESS THAN THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT OF SUCH EXPENSES;
AND
  (C) APRIL FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  NINETEEN,  THE  STATE  SHALL  PROVIDE
REIMBURSEMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN FORTY-FIVE PERCENT OF SUCH EXPENSES; AND
  (D)  APRIL  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY,  THE  STATE  SHALL  PROVIDE
REIMBURSEMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT OF SUCH EXPENSES; AND
  (E) APRIL FIRST, TWO THOUSAND  TWENTY-ONE,  THE  STATE  SHALL  PROVIDE
REIMBURSEMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT OF SUCH EXPENSES; AND
  (F)  APRIL  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-TWO, THE STATE SHALL PROVIDE
REIMBURSEMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF  SUCH  EXPENSES;
AND
  (G)  EVERY  YEAR THEREAFTER, THE STATE SHALL PROVIDE REIMBURSEMENT FOR
THE FULL AMOUNT OF SUCH EXPENSES.
  S 3. Subdivision 3 of section  98-b  of  the  state  finance  law,  as
amended  by  section  2  of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is
amended to read as follows:
  3. Amounts distributed from such fund  shall  be  limited  to  amounts
appropriated therefor and shall be distributed as follows:
  (a)  The  office  of  court administration may expend a portion of the
funds available in such fund to provide assigned counsel paid in accord-
ance with section thirty-five of the judiciary law, up to an annual  sum
of twenty-five million dollars.
  (b)  [An]  IN ADDITION TO THE AMOUNTS PAID TO EACH COUNTY AND THE CITY
OF NEW YORK PURSUANT TO SECTION SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO-E OF THE COUNTY
LAW AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS EIGHT HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO  AND  EIGHT

S. 8079                             3

HUNDRED  THIRTY-THREE  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE LAW AN annual amount [of forty
million dollars shall be made available to the city  of  New  York  from
such  fund  for the provision of services pursuant to article eighteen-B
of  the county law; provided that the city of New York shall continue to
provide at minimum the aggregate amount of funding  for  public  defense
services  including,  but  not  limited  to,  the  amount of funding for
contractors of public defense services and individual defense attorneys,
that it provided, pursuant to  article  eighteen-B  of  the  county  law
during  its  two  thousand  nine--two thousand ten fiscal year] SHALL BE
PAID TO SUCH COUNTIES AND CITY EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT PAID FROM  SUCH  FUND
TO SUCH COUNTIES AND CITY IN MARCH TWO THOUSAND TEN.
  (c)  [Within the first fifteen days of March two thousand eleven, each
county other than a county wholly contained within the city of New York,
shall receive ninety percent of the amount paid to such county in  March
two  thousand  ten.  Within the first fifteen days of March two thousand
twelve, each county other than a county wholly contained within the city
of New York shall receive seventy-five percent of  the  amount  paid  to
such  county in March two thousand ten. Within the first fifteen days of
March two thousand thirteen, each county  other  than  a  county  wholly
contained within the city of New York shall receive fifty percent of the
amount  paid  to such county in March two thousand ten. Within the first
fifteen days of March two thousand fourteen, each county  other  than  a
county  wholly contained within the city of New York shall receive twen-
ty-five percent of the amount paid to such county in March two  thousand
ten. For all state fiscal years following the two thousand thirteen--two
thousand  fourteen  fiscal  year,  there  shall  be  no  required annual
payments pursuant to this paragraph. Notwithstanding the  provisions  of
this  paragraph, for each of the four required payments made to counties
within the first fifteen days of March two thousand eleven, two thousand
twelve, two thousand thirteen and two thousand  fourteen,  Hamilton  and
Orleans  counties  shall  receive  such percentage payments based on the
amounts that each county would have received in March two  thousand  ten
had  it  satisfied  the  maintenance  of effort requirement set forth in
paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this  section  in  effect  on  such
date.
  (d)]  Remaining  amounts within such fund, after accounting for annual
payments required in paragraphs (a)[,] AND (b) [and (c)] of this  subdi-
vision  and  subparagraph  (iii)  of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of
this section shall be distributed  in  accordance  with  sections  eight
hundred thirty-two and eight hundred thirty-three of the executive law.
  S 4. This act shall take effect April 1, 2017.