BILL NUMBER: S4657
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to the law revision
commission
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
To expand the members of the law revision commission from 5 to 10
members, modify the process for selection, clarify the Commission's
purposes, and provide a dedicated funding stream for the Commission.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 expands board membership. Currently, the governor appoints
five members. This bill would add five additional members to be
appointed, one each, by the temporary president of the senate, the
minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority
leader of the assembly, and the attorney general.
Section 2 makes a technical amendment.
Section 3 makes technical amendments and clarifies the Commission's
purposes including that requests from the governor, members of the
legislature, court of appeals judges, and the attorney general will be
prioritized for review.
Section 4 creates a designated funding stream within the joint custody
of the comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance to be
designated as the law revision commission fund.
Section 5 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Justice Benjamin Cardozo, in 1921, frustrated with obsolete laws that
prevented courts from being able to impart justice, advocated for the
creation of a state agency that would be responsible for carrying out
legal research on statutory and decisional law, and make recommendations
to the Legislature(1) In 1934, in response to Cardozo's recommendation,
the Legislature established the Law Revision Commission,(2) an independ-
ent governmental body (theoldest of its kind in the common-law world)
charged with law reform through legislation.
Over the next 82 years, the Commission's recommendations led to the
enactment of more than 300 statutes. In addition, its reports identified
problems and made recommendations that were instrumental in effecting
changes in judge-made law.
At its peak, in the early 2000s, the Commission operated with over a
dozen full time staff, including lawyers and administrative support
personnel, allowing it to properly carry out its functions. Unfortu-
nately, a series of budget cuts culminating with the Commission being
completely defunded in 2016, in conjunction with the then Governor
Andrew Cuomo's decision to stop appointing members to the Commission
(last was appointment in 2014), effectively ended the Commission.
By giving the Legislature and the Attorney General the capacity to
appoint Commission members and by creating a dedicated funding stream,
this bill would breathe new life into the Commission, allowing it to
once again serve its essential role in ensuring that the state's legal
framework remains up-to-date, clear, and effective.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
1 Harvard Law Review, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Dec., 1921)
2 Chapter 597 of the Laws of 1934

Statutes affected:
S4657: 70 legislative law, 71 legislative law, 72 legislative law