BILL NUMBER: S6049
SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to section 5 of article 3, section 1 of article 5, sections 1, 2, 3, 4,
6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34,
35 and 36-a of article 6, section 1 of article 7, sections 5, 7 and 7-a
of article 8, section 1 of article 9, section 13 of article 13, section
5 of article 14 and section 4 of article 18 of the constitution, in
relation to renaming the supreme court the superior court and the court
of appeals the supreme court
 
PURPOSE:
To rename the Supreme Court the Superior Court and the Court of Appeals
the Supreme Court.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1-Section 35: Amends all sections and articles in the New York
State constitution that references "supreme court" and changes it to
"superior court". Amends all sections and articles in the New York State
constitution that references the "Court of Appeals" and changes it to
"supreme court".
Section 36: Sets the timeline for the introduction of an amendment to
the constitution, as outlined in Article 19 of the constitution.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Due to the prominence of the Supreme Court of the United States, many
residents in New York State falsely believe that the Supreme Court of
the State of New York is the highest court in the Unified Court System
of the State of New York. This is untrue, as the highest court is the
New York Court of Appeals.
A seemingly inconsequential discrepancy causes misrepresentation and
confusion in the general populace when high-profile cases are decided in
the Supreme Court, leading many to believe that a case has finality.
This legislation will propose a constitutional amendment to change the
name of the Supreme Court in NYS to the superior court, and will change
the name of the Court of Appeals of NYS to the Supreme Court in the NYS
Constitution, thereby rectifying this extremely common misconception.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Senate
2021: N/A
2022: S8226, Referred to Judiciary
2023: S3506, Referred to Judiciary
2024: S3506, Advanced to Third Reading
Assembly
2021: No Assembly Same-As
2022: No Assembly Same-As
2023: N/A
2024: A10453, Referred to Judiciary
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendments be
referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
next succeeding general election of members of the Assembly, and, in
conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.