New York City Bar Association Releases 2015 State Legislative Agenda

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kathryn Inman
(212) 382-6656

New York City Bar Association Releases 2015 State Legislative Agenda

New York, February 4, 2015 – The New York City Bar Association has released its 2015 New York State Legislative Agenda. This agenda represents only a portion of the dozens of positions generated by our committees over the course of each legislative session. It focuses on issues that are relevant to the current legislative debate or of particular importance to the City Bar, as well as legislative proposals drafted by our committees.

The following are the agenda items for 2015:

• Support efforts to bring about meaningful ethics, rules and campaign finance reform to end Albany’s “pay to play” culture and bring greater transparency to the legislative process.
• Support adequate funding for civil legal services.
• Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years old for all crimes.
• Modernize New York’s public procurement construction laws to provide public owners with a wider variety of procurement and delivery modes, as necessary and appropriate, to reduce costs, speed delivery and improve quality and safety.
• Provide state funding to support legal representation of unaccompanied migrant youth.
• Support access to justice initiatives, including proposals to consolidate the state’s major trial courts and requiring judicial appointments by a commission of lawyers and non-lawyers.
• Support the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act so that gender identity and gender expression are included as protected classes under the New York Human Rights Law.
• Support the Women’s Equality Act.
• Extend Temporary Disability Insurance benefits to cover family care leave from the workplace.
• Support efforts to require the New York State Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders to consult a validated risk instrument when it makes a recommendation to the court regarding the appropriate risk level of a sex offender.
• Advance City Bar-drafted bill to amend the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law to better protect art authenticators against frivolous lawsuits.
• Advance City Bar-drafted bill to clarify and expand the category of claimants under the Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment Act so that individuals are not unreasonably or arbitrarily barred from bringing claims.
• Advance City Bar-drafted legislation to amend the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law related to the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act and to amend the Real Property Tax Law to coordinate the treatment of three types of tax transparent entities eligible for real property tax abatements.
• The City Bar’s 2015 New York State Legislative Agenda can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/1Duo9kb

About the Association
The New York City Bar Association, since its founding in 1870, has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the legal profession, promoting reform of the law and access to justice, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association, through its 24,000 members, continues to work for political, legal and social reform while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities. www.nycbar.org