Establishes minimum educational requirements of certain town and village justices
This bill requires towns and villages to adopt a local law if they want to mandate that their justices (who handle minor civil and criminal cases) must be licensed attorneys admitted to practice law in New York. It does not impose this requirement statewide; instead, it allows each town or village to decide by majority vote of its governing body whether to adopt the requirement. If adopted, the change would take effect at the start of the next judicial term following the election after the local law is passed. The bill sets a clear, concrete policy change for local justice eligibility but leaves implementation entirely to individual municipalities.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 17, 2025
Last action May 18, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
3
May 18, 2026
Committee
REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES
lower
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
lower
1 primary · 12 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Bill Magnarelli
DDemocratic
Co
Catalina Cruz
DDemocratic
Co
Harvey Epstein
DDemocratic
Co
Karen McMahon
DDemocratic
Co
Karines Reyes
DDemocratic
Co
MaryJane Shimsky
DDemocratic/Working Families
Co
Nader Sayegh
DDemocratic
Co
Noah Burroughs
DDemocratic/Working Families
Co
Pat Carroll
DDemocratic/Working Families
Co
Phil Ramos
DDemocratic
Co
Phil Steck
DDemocratic
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about A 2551
Scope: NY
Hi! I can help you understand A 2551. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline