Bill Text: NY A09467 | 2023-2024 | 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 13-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-22 - held for consideration in judiciary [A09467 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09467-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9467

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 14, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          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:
    23    2. Funds available pursuant to  this  article  may  be  used  for  any
    24  purpose  having as its end enhancement of the justice courts' ability to
    25  provide suitable and sufficient services to  their  respective  communi-
    26  ties.  These  purposes  may  include, but shall not be limited to, costs

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14670-01-4
        A. 9467                             2

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