Bill Text: NY A05256 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for the chief administrator of the courts to, upon request by a municipality, ensure the assignment and presence of a uniformed court officer during court proceedings or a law enforcement officer where no uniformed court officer is available.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-12 - referred to judiciary [A05256 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A05256-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5256

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 12, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. TAGUE, BLANKENBUSH, HAWLEY, E. BROWN, DeSTEFANO,
          MANKTELOW, LEMONDES, BEEPHAN -- read once and referred to the  Commit-
          tee on Judiciary

        AN  ACT  to  amend the uniform justice court act, the judiciary law, and
          the criminal procedure law, in relation to providing for the  presence
          of  either a uniformed court officer or law enforcement officer during
          court proceedings

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Section 109 of the uniform justice court act is amended by
     2  adding a new closing paragraph to read as follows:
     3    Provided, however, that the chief administrator of the  courts  shall,
     4  upon  request by the municipality, ensure the assignment and presence of
     5  a uniformed court officer during court proceedings. If a uniformed court
     6  officer is not available, the chief administrator of the courts shall be
     7  responsible for coordinating and ensuring the presence of a law enforce-
     8  ment official during  such  court  proceedings.  Political  subdivisions
     9  which  provide  security  services  for  the courts shall be entitled to
    10  reimbursement from the state. No costs associated with facilitating  the
    11  presence of a law enforcement officer in lieu of a uniformed court offi-
    12  cer shall be incurred by the municipality.
    13    §  2.  Section  216  of  the  judiciary law is amended by adding a new
    14  subdivision 7 to read as follows:
    15    7. The chief administrator of the courts shall, upon  request  by  the
    16  municipality,  ensure  the  assignment and presence of a uniformed court
    17  officer during court proceedings. If a uniformed court  officer  is  not
    18  available,  the  chief  administrator of the courts shall be responsible
    19  for coordinating and ensuring the presence of a law enforcement official
    20  during such court proceedings.
    21    § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 849-h of the judiciary law, as added  by
    22  chapter 280 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08450-01-5
        A. 5256                             2

     1    2.  Funds  available  pursuant  to  this  article  may be used for any
     2  purpose having as its end enhancement of the justice courts' ability  to
     3  provide  suitable  and  sufficient services to their respective communi-
     4  ties. These purposes may include, but shall not  be  limited  to,  costs
     5  associated  with  hiring  nonjudicial court security or reimbursement of
     6  costs for utilizing local law enforcement services; automation of  court
     7  operations;  improvement  or expansion of court facilities; provision of
     8  appropriate means for the recording of court proceedings;  provision  of
     9  lawbooks,  treatises and related materials; and provision of appropriate
    10  training for justices and for nonjudicial court  staff.  Except  as  may
    11  otherwise  be  provided by rule of the chief administrator, funds avail-
    12  able pursuant to this article shall not be used to  compensate  justices
    13  [and  nonjudicial  court  staff],  nor  shall they be used as a means of
    14  reducing funding provided by a town or village to its justice court.
    15    § 4. Subdivision 4 of section 849-i of the judiciary law,  as  amended
    16  by chapter 127 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
    17    4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the chief administrator
    18  shall  not approve any application for funding in excess of [thirty] two
    19  hundred and fifty thousand dollars unless such application  is  a  joint
    20  application  and the aggregate funding sought thereunder does not exceed
    21  an amount equaling the product of the number of joint applicants  making
    22  such application and [thirty] two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
    23    §  5. Subdivision 1 of section 219-b of the judiciary law, as added by
    24  chapter 548 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
    25    1. There shall be established a New York state court  officer  academy
    26  (hereinafter referred to in this section as the "academy"). This academy
    27  shall  serve  as a center for the provision of education and training to
    28  New York state court officers and other non-judicial  employees  of  the
    29  New  York  state courts. For the purpose of this section, New York state
    30  court officers shall include court officers assigned to or employed by a
    31  unified justice court.
    32    § 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 21 of section  2.10  of  the  criminal
    33  procedure  law,  as added by chapter 843 of the laws of 1980, is amended
    34  to read as follows:
    35    a. Uniformed court officers [of the unified court  system],  who  have
    36  received  and  completed  training  at  the New York state court officer
    37  academy.
    38    § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    39  it shall have become a law.