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A05304 Summary:

BILL NOA05304
 
SAME ASSAME AS S05482
 
SPONSORDinowitz
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd Art 6 §25, Constn
 
Provides a mandatory retirement age of 76 for judges and justices.
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A05304 Actions:

BILL NOA05304
 
03/07/2023referred to judiciary
03/08/2023to attorney-general for opinion
04/03/2023opinion referred to judiciary
01/03/2024referred to judiciary
01/08/2024to attorney-general for opinion
01/26/2024opinion referred to judiciary
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A05304 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A5304
 
SPONSOR: Dinowitz
  TITLE OF BILL: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 25 of article 6 of the constitution, in relation to service by retired justices and requiring judges and justices to retire at age 76   PURPOSE: To raise from seventy to seventy-six the maximum age judges or justices of the court may constitutionally serve.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill amends subdivision b of section 25 of article 6 of the constitution to raise the age when a judge of the court of appeals, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of claims, judge of the county court, judge of the surrogate's court, judge of the family court, judge of a court for the city of New York, and judge of the district court must retire from the last day in December in the year in which they turn seventy, to the year when they turn seventy-six. Section two of the bill provides the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Under the New York State Constitution, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of claims, judges of the county court, judges of the surrogate's court, judges of the family court, judges of a court for the city of New York, and judges of the district court are required to retire no later than the end of the year in which they turn seventy. This age was undoubtably chosen in part to help ensure that those on the court were mentally and physically able and competent to perform the full duties of the office and lessen the risk of their suffering from cognitive and physical degeneration. The retirement age of seventy is over 125 years old, going at least as far back as 1894 when it was a part of New York's Constitution which was adopted that year (Article VI, section 12 "No person shall hold the office of Judge or Justice   hereinbefore mentioned of any court longer than until and including the last day of December next after he shall be seventy years of age"). According to the June 27, 2016 Penn Wharton Budget Model's "Mortality in the United States: Past, Present, And Future" from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1900, the life expectan- cy at birth in the United States was 47 years. Since then, we've seen rapid advancements in technology and medicine that has increased the likelihood that individuals seventy years of age and older have the physical and mental capacity to perform at high levels. This is borne out by the CDC's NCHS Data Brief "Mortality in the United States, 2019" which reported that U.S. Life Expectancy increased in 2019 to 78.8 years, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic began.As such, the reason to constitutionally limit judges and justices from serving beyond seventy has less validity. Amending New York's Constitution by increasing the age limit by six years would recognize these advancements. This is especially crucial now as we're suffering from a shortage of legal workers, including judges and justices. Raising the retirement age for judges and justices will help our courts stay healthy by allowing it to keep its most experienced members.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined   EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill must pass two successive legislatures and then placed on the ballot in a general election and would take effect if supported by a majority of New York voters.
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A05304 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          5304
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      March 7, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Judiciary
 
                    CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
 
        proposing  an  amendment to section 25 of article 6 of the constitution,
          in relation to service by retired justices and  requiring  judges  and
          justices to retire at age 76

     1    Section  1.  Resolved  (if  the  Senate concur), That subdivision b of
     2  section 25 of article 6 of  the  constitution  be  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    b.  Each  judge of the court of appeals, justice of the supreme court,
     5  judge of the court of claims, judge of the county court,  judge  of  the
     6  surrogate's  court,  judge of the family court, judge of a court for the
     7  city of New York established pursuant to section fifteen of this article
     8  and judge of the district court shall retire on the last day of December
     9  in the year in which he or she reaches the age of [seventy] seventy-six.
    10  Each [such] former judge of the court of  appeals  and  justice  of  the
    11  supreme  court  may  thereafter  perform  the duties of a justice of the
    12  supreme court, with power to hear and determine actions and proceedings,
    13  provided, however, that it shall be certificated in the manner  provided
    14  by law that the services of such judge or justice are necessary to expe-
    15  dite  the business of the court and that he or she is mentally and phys-
    16  ically able and competent to perform the full duties of such office. Any
    17  such certification shall be valid for a term of two  years  and  may  be
    18  extended as provided by law for an additional term or terms of two years
    19  in the manner provided by law. A retired judge or justice shall serve no
    20  longer  than  until  the last day of December in the year in which he or
    21  she reaches the age of [seventy-six] eighty. A retired judge or  justice
    22  shall  be subject to assignment by the appellate division of the supreme
    23  court of the judicial department of his or her residence.   Any  retired
    24  justice  of the supreme court who had been designated to and served as a
    25  justice of any appellate  division  immediately  preceding  his  or  her
    26  reaching  the  age of [seventy] seventy-six shall be eligible for desig-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD89098-03-3

        A. 5304                             2
 
     1  nation by the governor as a  temporary  or  additional  justice  of  the
     2  appellate  division.  A retired judge or justice shall not be counted in
     3  determining the number of justices in a judicial district  for  purposes
     4  of subdivision d of section six of this article.
     5    §  2.  Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the foregoing be referred
     6  to the first  regular  legislative  session  convening  after  the  next
     7  succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in conform-
     8  ity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for 3
     9  months previous to the time of such election.
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