A05602 Summary:
BILL NO | A05602 |
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SAME AS | No Same As |
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SPONSOR | Raga |
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COSPNSR | Epstein, Alvarez, Reyes |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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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. |
A05602 Memo:
Go to topNEW 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.
A05602 Text:
Go to top 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