Senate Bill S7417

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7417

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to direct the state to provide financial assistance to counties
for mandated district attorney salary increases; and making an
appropriation therefor

 PURPOSE :

The bill will require the state to pay state aid and assistance to
each county in the state equal to the difference in the annual
compensation required to be paid to the district attorney of the
county during the 2015 calendar year and the compensation required to
be paid to such district attorney on and after April 1, 2016.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 requires the department of state to pay state aid and
assistance to each county in the state equal to the difference in the
annual compensation required to be paid to the difference n the annual
compensation required to be paid to the district attorney of the
county during the 2015 calendar year, and the compensation required to
be paid to such district attorney on and after April 1, 2016 as a
result of the increase in compensation announced this year.

              

Section 2 states that one million six hundred thousand dollars will be
appropriated to the department of state out of any moneys in the
general fund to the credit of the local assistance account, and made
immediately available. Moneys shall be payable on the audit and
warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the
secretary of state in the manner prescribed by law.

Section 3 of the bill states this act shall take effect immediately.

 JUSTIFICATION :

On December 24, 2015, the New York State Commission on Legislative,
Judicial, and Executive Compensation voted to recommend increasing all
state judge salaries in 2016 and 2018. The recommended increase placed
Supreme Court judges' salaries at $193,000 in 2016 and $203,000.00 in
2018 and placed County Court Judges at 95% of a Supreme Court
Justice's salary. On April 1st the State approved the Commission's
recommendation. State Judicial Law 183-a links judicial salaries with
county district attorneys' (DA's) salaries, requiring DA's salaries to
be equal or higher than either the County Court Judge or Supreme Court
Judge in a county, depending on full or part-time status.

For over 50 years, the state has paid for every DA salary increase
mandated on counties. The state has historically funded these salary
increases through the state budget. On April 1, 2016 the State adopted
a budget that is over $150 billion statewide, but did not include the
approximately $1.6 million for counties to fund the DA salary
increases.  Interestingly, the state also did not include a general
fund allocation for the judges' salaries, forcing those raises to come
out of the Judiciary budget.

The raise will cost each county approximately $30,000.00 in funds not
allocated from their 2016 county budgets - a cost of approximately 1/3
of their total allowable property tax cap growth for all government
operations in 2016. This legislation will provide state funding to
alleviate the burden placed upon counties through this mandate.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None
 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

One million six hundred thousand dollars ($1,600,000)

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately