Relates to the membership of the law revision commission

Latest action Mar 10, 2026

Relates to law revision commission membership appointment and review of judicial decisions.

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Where it stands

Out of committee and scheduled for a vote by the full chamber.

Introduced
In committee
Up for a vote
Passed one chamber
Passed
Enacted

New York State Senate

Same as A6611, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Amends the Legislative Law.

Committee

Governmental Operations · New York State Assembly

Also referred to Investigations And Government Operations · New York State Senate.

Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

Section 1 expands board membership. Currently, the governor appoints five members. This bill would add four additional members to be appointed, one each, by the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chief judge of the court of appeals, 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.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Recorded votes

Vote: Committee vote · Investigations And Government Operations
Senate Investigations And Government OperationsMar 10, 2026Result: passed
(6) (1) (0) (0)
Vote: Committee vote · Investigations And Government Operations
Senate Investigations And Government OperationsMay 28, 2025Result: passed
(5) (2) (0) (0)

The sponsor's argument

Why Shelley Mayer says this is needed

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) In 1934, in response to Cardozo's recommendation, the Legislature established the Law Revision Commission,2 an independent governmental body (oldest 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 appointment was in 2014), effectively ended the Commission. By giving the Legislature, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, 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.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.

Full history

Mar 10, 2026
Reported out of committee
REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
NY Senate
Mar 5, 2026
Amend and Recommit to Governmental Operations
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Mar 4, 2026
Amend and Recommit to Investigations and Government Operations
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
NY Senate

Show full history (3 earlier events)

May 28, 2025
Reported out of committee
REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
NY Senate
Mar 6, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Feb 10, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
NY Senate

About this record

Summary: The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.
Source: From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Nov 2, 2026. About our data

Read the record

Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.

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