BILL NUMBER:  S5737

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to publication of
official reports

This measure is being introduced at the request of the Chief
Administrative Judge on the recommendation of State Reporter{1}.

This measure would amend provisions of the Judiciary Law to change the
timetable for the bidding and award of the contract for publishing the
Judiciary's Official Reports. The Official Reports include the
published decisions of the Court of Appeals ("New York Reports"), the
Appellate Divisions ("Appellate Division Reports") and the Supreme
Court and other trial courts ("Miscellaneous Reports"). See Judiciary
Law § 433-a.

The measure is necessary to recognize the predominant role that
technology now fills in the publication process.

Under present law, contracts for publication of the Official Reports
are let under the direction of the State Reporter (Judiciary Law §
434(2)) for periods of five years (id., § 434(7)). In each year
preceding expiration of a contract, the State Reporter is required, at
least once in June, July and August, to commence the bidding process
              

for a successor contract by publishing notice in newspapers in New
York, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo that a new contract will be let,
and that, on or before September first, sealed proposals for the
successor contract may be submitted. Thereafter, the contract must be
let between October 16th and November 1s1 and commence on January 1st
of the next year.

This timetable was instituted many years ago - when the Official
Reports were only published in a print version. Today, it is
insufficient to permit an orderly transition of both print and
electronic publication processes in the event a successor contract is
to be awarded to a new publisher. Thus, this measure proposes
amendments to the Judiciary Law: (1) to allow for additional
transition time by moving commencement of the bidding process from the
first week of June to the first week of January in the year
immediately preceding the expiration of the contract, and (2) to save
the cost of classified newspaper advertisements for bid notices by
requiring that the request for bids on a new contract be published
exclusively in the State's Procurement Opportunities Newsletter.

To maintain the current quality and timeliness of the Official
Reports, the Law Reporting Bureau publishing process relies heavily on
automation and computer programming. Transition to a new publisher for
the Official Reports would require acquisition, programming and
installation of a new office-wide computer system, re-writing
essential computer programs to accommodate the new publisher's
production system and tests of the equipment and programs sufficiently
in advance of the January first effective date of a new contract{2}.
Even if an award is made and all necessary contract approvals are
obtained from the Attorney General and the Office of the State
Comptroller at the earliest possible time, transition under the
current time frames established by the Judiciary Law would disrupt the
Law Reporting Bureau's operations for several months, result in
overtime costs for technology and other personnel during the
transition period and pose a significant risk to uninterrupted
production of the online version of the Official Reports and the
Official Reports advance sheets and bound volumes in accordance with
weekly publication schedules established to comply with the Judiciary
Law.

Under the current procurement time frame and deadlines for the
publishing contract, in the year in which bids for a successor
contract are to be received, the contract cannot practicably be let
any earlier than October 16 nor any later than November first. In the
period of 61 to 77 days between these dates and January first, when
the successor contract must take effect, that contract must be signed
by the parties and the Chief Judge, and then approved by the Attorney
General and the Office of the State Comptroller. The time required by
these oversight agencies to approve can be considerable, and, as the
State Reporter has advised, the entire process is usually not
completed before late November. Accordingly, we recommend that the
relevant statutory provisions be amended to commence the bid process
during the first week of January of the year immediately preceding the
expiration of the contract and the remaining date provisions be
adjusted to reflect the new commencement date. This should facilitate
a more efficient and timely completion of the bid letting process and
implementation of the successor contract. And, with elimination of an
antiquated requirement for publication of advertisements for bid
notices in newspapers, it would save the State the costs associated
therewith{3}.

This act, which would take effect immediately, would produce some
small savings for the State.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None. New proposal.

{1} The State Reporter is appointed by the Court of Appeals. He or she
heads the State's Law Reporting Bureau. See Judiciary Law § 430.

{2} In connection with the bidding process for the 2016-2020 contract,
representatives of a major legal publisher acknowledged that a
publisher transition under the current statutory timetable would be
exceedingly difficult, and stated that a six-month period would best
allow for the necessary preparation and testing and best assure
uninterrupted publication during a transition.

{3} Article 4-C of the State's Economic Development Law already
requires notice of bids to be published in the State's Procurement
Opportunities Newsletter. There is no cost for this publication.