S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7654
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 30, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Judiciary
 
 AN  ACT  to  authorize the office of court administration to pay certain
   judicial compensation
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The legislature finds and declares the following:
   Under New York state law, supreme court justices must retire on Decem-
 ber  31 of the year that they turn 70, unless they request permission to
 continue to serve an additional six  years,  in  three  two-year  terms,
 until  the  age of 76, under a process called certification. Until 2020,
 justices were routinely granted certification. In September 2020, 46  of
 the  49  supreme  court  and  appellate  court justices who applied were
 denied certification by the office  of  court  administration  based  on
 potential  future budget cuts that never materialized, despite an actual
 need for the services of those  justices.  The  justices  who  had  been
 denied  certification  were permitted to reapply in April 2021, but were
 not permitted to resume their service as justices until June  15,  2021.
 15  of the justices denied certification continue to serve the people of
 New York as supreme court justices or appellate division justices. As  a
 result  of that denial of certification, those justices were deprived of
 salaries they otherwise would have  been  paid  for  five  and  one-half
 months, for the period from January 1, 2021 to June 14, 2021, as well as
 the  concomitant pension credit for that period. Those justices who took
 their pensions during that period and continue to work as  of  June  15,
 2023,  will be required to repay the New York state and local employees'
 retirement system the full amount of the pension payments received, with
 interest. In 2021 the legislature allocated  monies  to  the  office  of
 court administration to make those 15 justices whole.
   This  body  is  in  agreement with the office of court administration,
 that in the interest of fairness, and for the purpose of  remedying  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11644-01-3
              

 A. 7654                             2
 
 injury to those justices who were, through no fault of their own, denied
 their  compensation  and the opportunity to continue to serve the people
 of the state of New York, those justices should be made  whole,  to  the
 extent possible, in terms of their salary and their pensions.
   §  2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation,
 the office of court administration  is  authorized  to  pay  to  fifteen
 supreme  court  justices  and  appellate  division  justices,  who  were
 initially denied certification in September 2020 but resumed service  in
 June  2021,  the  salaries they would have earned during the period from
 January 1, 2021 to June 14, 2021. In the event that  any  such  justices
 worked  full-  or part-time during the period of January 1, 2021 to June
 15, 2021, outside earnings from such employment shall be  deducted  from
 the  amount  payable  as judicial compensation, so that his or her total
 wages shall not exceed the amount that such justice would have earned as
 wages from New York state during that period. The office of court admin-
 istration is also authorized to pay to the  New  York  state  and  local
 employees'  retirement  system  the amount that would have been deducted
 and paid to such retirement system for the  pension  credit  accrued  by
 each  justice during that period. All such payments shall be made out of
 moneys appropriated therefor. The New York state  and  local  employees'
 retirement system is authorized to reinstate the fifteen justices to the
 retirement  system  for  that  period nunc pro tunc, and to adjust their
 seniority and credit accordingly. The comptroller is authorized to waive
 the payment of interest by any of the fifteen justices who took  his  or
 her pension during the period from January 1, 2021 to June 14, 2021, and
 is now required to repay it.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.