BILL NUMBER: S7455
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
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:
S.5482 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Passed Senate, Died in Rules
A.5304 of 2023-2024 (Dinowitz): Died in Judiciary
 
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.