S 9518 New York Senate · 2023 Regular Session

Relates to prohibiting a court from denying class certification solely because the action involves governmental operations

This bill prevents courts from automatically rejecting class action lawsuits just because the defendant is a government entity. It amends existing civil procedure rules to ensure that judges must evaluate all standard factors for class certification rather than using the involvement of government operations as a sole reason to deny the case. The change directly affects plaintiffs seeking to sue government agencies on behalf of a group of people by removing a specific barrier to filing such collective lawsuits. Although the bill has been vetoed, the text itself establishes a clear procedural rule that would have required courts to consider class certification requests involving the government on the same basis as those involving private parties.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2024
Committee Review
Jun 2024
Senate Passage
Jun 2024
Assembly Passage
Jun 2024
Vetoed
Dec 2024
Introduced May 16, 2024 Vetoed Dec 21, 2024
Floor votes · Senate Jun 3, 2024 · Assembly Jun 4, 2024

How they voted

43–17
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 62
Jun 3, 2024
D Democratic41
39 Yea 1 Nay 1
95% Yea
R Republican21
4 Yea 16 Nay 1
76% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Dec 21, 2024
Vetoed
VETOED MEMO.138
upper
Jun 4, 2024
Lower · Passed
PASSED ASSEMBLY
lower
Jun 3, 2024
Committee
REFERRED TO CODES
lower
Jun 3, 2024
Upper · Passed
PASSED SENATE
upper
Jun 3, 2024
Committee
COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
upper
May 16, 2024
Committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors