Assembly Bill A2236

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2236
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. SIMON, BURDICK, HEVESI, DAVILA -- read once and
   referred to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00802-01-5
              

 A. 2236                             2
 
 for future annual filings. Such rules and regulations shall also provide
 for the determination, by the appointing authority, of policy-makers who
 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 EIGHTEEN, 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 SUCH JUDGE OR JUSTICE'S ANNU-
 AL  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 AMENDMENT 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.