What's happening
This bill waives the attorney registration fee for New York lawyers working in public service jobs.
Why it matters
Impacts government and nonprofit attorneys statewide. By referencing the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness definition, this bill would benefit lawyers working for government agencies and 501(c)(3) nonprofits throughout New York, not just those in a particular city or region.
Removes a financial barrier to public interest legal work. The $375 biennial registration fee, while modest, can be a significant expense for attorneys in lower-paying public service jobs. Waiving this fee could help recruit and retain legal talent in critical public sector roles.
Aligns New York’s attorney licensing with federal public service standards. Using the federal definition for public service jobs ensures consistency and could make it easier for attorneys to navigate both state and federal requirements if they are pursuing student loan forgiveness or similar programs.
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Who cares
Attorneys Employed in Public Service Jobs
Lawyers working in qualifying public service roles (as defined by 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)(B)) will directly benefit from the waiver of the biennial registration fee, reducing their personal and professional expenses.
Public Interest Law Organizations and Employers
Entities that hire or represent public service attorneys may find recruitment and retention easier, as the cost of maintaining bar registration for their employees is lowered.
Legal Aid and Nonprofit Clients
Individuals and communities served by public service attorneys could see indirect benefits if the fee waiver encourages more attorneys to enter or remain in public service roles, potentially increasing legal representation availability.
State Judiciary and Bar Administration
These bodies will need to adapt administrative processes to verify public service employment and implement the fee waiver, which may affect their operations and revenue streams.
Headline styles
Waive Attorney Registration Fee
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
10053
IN SENATE
April 24, 2026
Introduced by Sen. SUTTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to waiving the biennial attorney registration fee for New York attorneys who are employed in a public service job
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 468-a of the judiciary law, as amended by section 9 of part K of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
4. The biennial registration fee shall be three hundred seventy-five dollars, sixty dollars of which shall be allocated to and be deposited in a fund established pursuant to the provisions of section ninety-seven-t of the state finance law, fifty dollars of which shall be allocated to and shall be deposited in a fund established pursuant to the provisions of section ninety-eight-b of the state finance law, twentyfive dollars of which shall be allocated to be deposited in a fund established pursuant to the provisions of section ninety-eight-c of the state finance law, and the remainder of which shall be deposited in the attorney licensing fund. Such fee shall be required of every attorney who is admitted and licensed to practice law in this state, whether or not the attorney is engaged in the practice of law in this state or elsewhere, except attorneys who certify to the chief administrator of the courts that they have either retired from the practice of law or are employed in a public service job as defined by 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)(B).
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07902-01-5
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to waiving the biennial attorney registration fee for New York attorneys who are employed in a public service job
Purpose
Waives the biennial registration fee for New York attorneys who work in a public service job
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:ò
Section 1 amends Section 468-a of the Judiciary Law, to allow New York attorneys who are employed in a public service job, as set forth by 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m) (3) (S), to be eligible for a waiver of the biennial attorney registration fee collected by the New York Office of Court Administration.
Section 2 sets forth the effective date of this legislation.
Justification
As the nation's student debt crisis has continued to balloon in recent years, law school graduates have been especially crippled by the cost of their education. In 2015, The New York Times reported that the average student loan debt carried by an American law school graduate was approx- imately $140,000. This is in stark contrast to the average student loan debt of $37,712 carried by students receiving an undergraduate degree in 2016.
Recognizing that massive student loan debt brings a negative impact upon the nation's economy, often disenabling professionals from making 'big ticket' purchases for up to thirty years in their futures, the federal government implemented several reforms related to the repayment of student loan debt. These included the establishment of the income-based repayment programs, as well as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLFP), now codified at 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m). Graduates who are employed full-time by government organizations and most 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups are eligible for participation in the PSLFP, which forgives the balance of a graduate's student loan debt after making ten years of payments on student loans, while employed by such an organiza- tion. The PSLFP seeks to incentivize students to work in government and/or non-profit positions where employers typically cannot afford the salaries that can be earned in the private sector.
Building upon this theme, this legislation seeks to waive the biennial attorney registration fee for New York attorneys who are employed in a public service job as defined by the PSLFP. This fee, currently pegged at $375 every two years, comes in addition to costly aspects of main- taining one's bar license; including fees associated with mandatory continued legal education and an attorney's admission to practice before federal courts. As the State of New York and other organizations neces- sarily seek out the best and brightest attorneys to work on behalf of the People, this legislation takes an important step toward incentiviz- ing lawyers to accept positions in public service.
Legislative history
S.7439 of 2025 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Finance
S.3262 of 2023-2024 (Hoylman-Sigal): Died in Finance
A.696 of 2023-2024 (Dinowitz): Died in Judiciary
S.719-A of 2021 (Hoylman): Died in Finance
A.1862 of 2021 (Dinowitz): Died in Judiciary
S.3819-A of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Judiciary
A.6085-A of 2019-2020 (Dinowitz): Died in Judiciary
S.0987 of 2018 (Peralta): Died in Judiciary
S.0987 of 2017 (Peralta): Died in Finance
Fiscal impact on the state
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however that effective immediately, the addi- tion, amendment and/or repeal of the rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of the foregoing provisions of this act on its effec- tive date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.