2023 New York Laws › EXC - Executive › Article 30 - Indigent Legal Services › 833 - Indigent Legal Services Board.

§  833.  Indigent legal services board. 1. There is hereby created the
indigent legal services board hereinafter referred to in this section as
the "board". The purpose of such board shall be to  monitor,  study  and
make  efforts  to  improve  the quality of services provided pursuant to
article  eighteen-B  of  the  county  law.  No  active  prosecutor,  law
enforcement  official  or person providing prosecution-related services,
or employee of such a prosecutor, official or person, shall be appointed
to or serve on such board. The board shall consist of nine  members  who
shall be appointed as follows:
(a) one shall be the chief judge of the court of appeals, who shall be
the chair of the board;
(b)  one  shall  be appointed by the governor on the recommendation of
the temporary president of the senate;
(c) one shall be appointed by the governor on  the  recommendation  of
the speaker of the assembly;
(d)  one  shall  be  appointed by the governor from a list of at least
three attorney nominees submitted by the New York state bar association;
(e) two shall be appointed by the governor from a  list  of  at  least
four nominees submitted by the New York state association of counties;
(f)  one  shall  be appointed by the governor and shall be an attorney
who has provided public defense services for at least five years;
(g) one attorney who shall be appointed by the governor; and
(h) one shall be appointed by the governor, from a  list  of  no  more
than  two  nominees  submitted by the chief administrator of the courts,
each of whom shall be a judge or justice, or retired judge  or  justice,
who  was elected to the supreme, county or family court, or appointed to
the criminal court or family court in the city  of  New  York,  and  has
substantial  experience  presiding  as  such a judge or justice in trial
matters before such court.
2. All members of the board shall be  appointed  for  terms  of  three
years   such  terms  to  commence  on  August  first,  and  expire  July
thirty-first, provided, however, that the chief judge of  the  court  of
appeals  shall  serve ex officio; and provided further, that the initial
term of the member appointed pursuant to paragraph (d), the first of the
two members appointed pursuant to paragraph (e) and the member appointed
under paragraph (g) of subdivision one of this section shall be for  two
years.    Initial  appointments  must  be  made within sixty days of the
effective date of this subdivision. Any member chosen to fill a  vacancy
created  otherwise than by expiration of term shall be appointed for the
unexpired term of the member whom he or she  is  to  succeed.  Vacancies
caused by expiration of a term or otherwise shall be filled promptly and
in  the  same  manner  as  original  appointments.  Any  member  may  be
reappointed for additional terms.
A member of the  board  shall  continue  in  such  position  upon  the
expiration  of  his  or  her  term  until  such  time  as  he  or she is
reappointed or his or her successor is appointed, as the case may be.
3. Membership on the board shall not  constitute  the  holding  of  an
office,  and members of the board shall not be required to take and file
oaths of office before serving on the board. The board  shall  not  have
the right to exercise any portion of the sovereign power of the state.
4.  The  board  shall meet at least four times in each year. The first
meeting of the board shall be held within thirty days of the appointment
of the full board or within sixty days after the effective date of  this
subdivision, whichever occurs earlier. Special meetings may be called by
the  chair  and  shall  be  called by the chair upon the request of five
members of the board. The board may establish its  own  procedures  with
respect  to  the  conduct  of  its meetings and other affairs; provided,
however, that the quorum and majority provisions of section forty-one of

the general construction law shall  govern  all  actions  taken  by  the
board.
5.  The  members  of the board shall receive no compensation for their
services but shall  be  allowed  their  actual  and  necessary  expenses
incurred in the performance of their functions hereunder.
6.  No  member  of  the  board  shall be disqualified from holding any
public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office
or employment, by reason of his or  her  appointment  pursuant  to  this
section, notwithstanding the provisions of any other general, special or
local law, ordinance or city charter.
7. The board shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(a)   To  evaluate  existing  indigent  legal  services  programs  and
determine the type of indigent legal services that should be provided in
New York state to best serve the interests  of  persons  receiving  such
services;
(b)  To  consult with and advise the office of indigent legal services
in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of such office;
(c) To accept, reject or modify recommendations made by the office  of
indigent  legal  services  regarding  the  allocation  of  funds and the
awarding of grants, including incentive grants, from the indigent  legal
services  fund  created  pursuant to section ninety-eight-b of the state
finance law. When acting on such a recommendation, the board  shall  set
forth the basis for its determination; and
(d)  To  advise  and  to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  governor,
legislature and judiciary.