Directs the chief administrative judge of the New York unified court system to conduct a study on the office of court administration's housing court guardian ad litem program and to publish a report on such study.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5602
SPONSOR: Raga TITLE OF BILL:
An act directing the chief administrative judge of the New York unified
court system to conduct a study on the office of court administration's
housing court guardian ad litem program
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The bill directs a study of the current state-wide Guardian Ad Litem
program utilized by parties in landlord-tenant civil actions, including
the quantity of Guardian Ad Litem appointments and costs associated with
appointment.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides instructions on the content of the report,
including(1) the total amount of Guardians Ad Litem appointed in New
York State for fiscal years ending in 2024 and 2025; (2) the number of
Guardian Ad Litem appointments which have been reimbursed, whether by
municipal,state, or federal agencies or charitable private or religious
organizations; (3) an accounting of all funding streams and budget allo-
cations specifically identified for the Guardian Ad Litem program; (4)
an analysis of current Guardian Ad Litem compensation and proposals for
Guardian Ad Litem compensation structure to better incentivize Guardian
Ad Litem recruitment and retention.
Section 2 provides the timeline of the report and the entities that
should receive a copy of the report.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State courts face many difficulties in guaranteeing access to
justice to vulnerable litigants, particularly those with mental impair-
ment. To help address these unique difficulties and aid impaired liti-
gants in advocating for themselves in housing court proceedings, the
Access to Justice Program of the New York State Courts has instituted a
Guardian Ad Litem program. By aiding impaired litigants in advocating
for themselves, accessing social services for which they qualify, and
facilitating the resolution of litigation, Guardians Ad Litem offer an
invaluable service to vulnerable New Yorkers. With the steady increase
of both eviction proceedings and mental health disorders, Guardians Ad
Litem will continue to serve a necessary role in New York's housing
courts. This study and report will aid in understanding the full extent
to which the Access to Justice's Guardian Ad Litem program serves New
Yorkers state-wide, and the identification of funding streams which keep
this vital program running.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024 - Referred to Judiciary
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5602
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 18, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RAGA, EPSTEIN, ALVAREZ -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT directing the chief administrative judge of the New York unified
court system to conduct a study on the office of court adminis-
tration's housing court guardian ad litem program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The chief administrative judge of the New York unified
2 court system, in consultation with New York state courts access to
3 justice program, the unified court system's guardian and fiduciary
4 services office, the housing part of the New York city civil court, New
5 York city human resources administration and any other department, divi-
6 sion, board, bureau, commission, agency or public authority of the state
7 or any political subdivision thereof deemed necessary by the commission-
8 ers, shall prepare a comprehensive study and report on the access to
9 justice program's housing court guardian ad litem program. Such study
10 shall include an analysis of: (1) the total amount of guardians ad litem
11 appointed in New York state during fiscal years ending in 2025 and 2026;
12 (2) the number of guardian ad litem appointments which have been reim-
13 bursed, whether by municipal, state, or federal agencies or charitable
14 private or religious organizations; (3) an accounting of all funding
15 streams and budget allocations specifically identified for the guardian
16 ad litem program; (4) an analysis of current guardian ad litem compen-
17 sation and proposals for guardian ad litem compensation structure to
18 better incentivize guardian ad litem recruitment and retention.
19 § 2. The chief administrative judge of the New York unified court
20 system shall publish such report to the governor, the temporary presi-
21 dent of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of
22 the senate, and the minority leader of the assembly, no later than the
23 first day of July of the year succeeding the date on which this act
24 shall have become a law.
25 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02550-01-5
