NY State Senate Bill 2021-S9573

Senate Bill S9573

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Requires the ethics commission of the unified court system to post judges' annual financial disclosures on the commission's website

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Oct 07, 2022	referred to rules

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2021-S9573 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Judiciary Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §211, Judy L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S1571

2021-S9573 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the ethics commission of the unified court system to post each state-paid judge's annual financial disclosures on the ethics commission's public website for five years beginning with filings made on January 1, 2017.

2021-S9573 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9573

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to requiring the ethics
commission of the unified court system to post judges' annual financial
disclosures on the commission's website

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that financial disclosures filed by state-paid judges and
justices are posted for public review on the ethics commission website.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 4 of section 211 of the judiciary law by
adding a new subsection (b) which states that financial disclosures and
amendments that are required to be filed by any state-paid judge or
justice shall be posted on the ethics commission for the unified court
system's website for public review. The statements shall be posted with-
in 30 days of receipt of the statement, or 10 days of receipt of an

amendment.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Click here

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Financial disclosure statements filed by state-paid judges and justices
are not currently readily accessible for the public. Under current law,
those wishing to inspect judicial financial disclosure forms must first
file a written request for public inspection. This request is to be
filed "in a timely manner determined by the needs of the inspector, the
number of statements requested, and the workload of the Ethics Commis-
sion staff at the time of the request." Review of the documents are to
be done by email, regular mail, or at the Ethics Commission office, and
office inspections must be scheduled during business hours. This is in
contrast to the public inspection process for elected officials' finan-
cial disclosure forms, which are available online for at least five
years and within 30 days of receipt by the ethics commission, and are
currently posted for every year from 2013 to present.

It is imperative that the public have access, in a timely and convenient
manner, to financial disclosure information of our judges and justices.
Such forms provide important information about possible affiliations and
financial interests. This bill improves transparency by setting the same
public inspection requirements for judges and justices' financial
disclosures as it does for other elected officials.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S9573 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9573
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              October 7, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GIANARIS, THOMAS, BRESLIN, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, MAY,
   MYRIE, RIVERA, SEPULVEDA, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered  printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the judiciary law, in relation to requiring the ethics
   commission of the unified court system to post judges'  annual  finan-
   cial disclosures on the commission's website

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section  211  of  the  judiciary  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  188  of the laws of   1990,  is amended to read as
 follows:
   4. (A) By September first, nineteen hundred  eighty-eight,  the  chief
 judge, after consultation with the administrative board, shall approve a
 form  of annual statement of financial disclosure which form shall apply
 to all judges, justices, officers and employees of the courts of  record
 of the unified court system, who receive annual compensation at or above
 the  filing  rate defined by paragraph (l) of subdivision one of section
 seventy-three-a of the public officers law or are determined to  hold  a
 policy-making position pursuant to the rules and regulations promulgated
 pursuant to this subdivision. Such form of annual statement of financial
 disclosure  shall  be  substantially  similar  to  the form set forth in
 subdivision three of section seventy-three-a of the public officers law.
 Within one year after approval of such form, the chief judge shall cause
 the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules or regulations
 which require every judge, justice, officer and employee of  the  courts
 of  record of the unified court system, who receives annual compensation
 at or above the filing rate defined by paragraph (l) of subdivision  one
 of  section  seventy-three-a of the public officers law or is determined
 to hold a policy-making position, to report the information required  by
 the  approved  form effective first with respect to a filing which shall
 be required in nineteen  hundred  ninety-one  (generally  applicable  to
 information  for  the preceding calendar year) and thereafter, effective
 for future annual filings. Such rules and regulations shall also provide
 for the determination, by the appointing authority, of policy-makers who
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD16044-01-2
 S. 9573                             2
 
 shall be required to file the annual statement of  financial  disclosure
 required by this subdivision. Any judge, justice, officer or employee of
 the  courts  of record of the unified court system who, pursuant to such
 rules  or  regulations, is required to file a completed annual statement
 of financial disclosure and who makes such filing in accordance with the
 requirements contained in such rules or regulations, shall be deemed  to
 have satisfied the requirements of any other law mandating the filing of
 a  completed annual statement of financial disclosure for the applicable
 calendar year which might otherwise  apply  to  such  judges,  justices,
 officers  or  employees,  and  no  duplicate filing shall be required on
 account of any other such law, notwithstanding the  provisions  of  such
 other law.
   (B)  THE  ETHICS COMMISSION FOR THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM SHALL POST ON
 ITS WEBSITE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW FOR AT  LEAST  FIVE  YEARS  BEGINNING  FOR
 FILINGS MADE ON JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN, THE ANNUAL STATE-
 MENT  OF  FINANCIAL  DISCLOSURE  AND ANY AMENDMENTS FILED BY EACH PERSON
 SUBJECT TO THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  WHO  IS  A
 STATE-PAID  JUDGE  OR  JUSTICE,  REGARDLESS OF HIS OR HER ANNUAL RATE OF
 COMPENSATION. SUCH STATEMENTS SHALL BE  POSTED  WITHIN  THIRTY  DAYS  OF
 RECEIPT OF SUCH STATEMENT OR WITHIN TEN DAYS OF ITS RECEIPT OF AN AMEND-
 MENT  THAT  REFLECTS  ANY  CORRECTIONS OF DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED BY THE
 COMMISSION OR  BY  THE  REPORTING  INDIVIDUAL  AFTER  SUCH  INDIVIDUAL'S
 INITIAL  FILING.  EXCEPT UPON AN INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION BY THE COMMIS-
 SION THAT CERTAIN INFORMATION MAY BE DELETED FROM A  REPORTING  INDIVID-
 UAL'S  ANNUAL STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, NONE OF THE INFORMATION
 IN THE STATEMENT POSTED ON THE COMMISSION'S WEBSITE SHALL  BE  OTHERWISE
 DELETED.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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