§ 106-B — Election of one or more town justices for two or more towns

§ 106-b. Election of one or more town justices for two or more towns.\n 1. Two or more towns within the same county, acting by and through\ntheir town boards, are authorized to jointly undertake a study relating\nto the election of one or more town justices who shall preside in the\ntown courts of each such town. Such study shall be commenced upon and\nconducted pursuant to a joint resolution adopted by the town board of\neach such town. Such joint resolution or a certified copy thereof shall\nupon adoption be filed in the office of the town clerk of each town\nwhich adopts the resolution. No study authorized by this subdivision\nshall be commenced until the joint resolution providing for the study\nshall have been filed with the town clerks of at least two towns which\nadopted such joint resolution.\n 2. Within thirty days after the conclusion of a study conducted\npursuant to subdivision one of this section, each town which shall have\nadopted the joint resolution providing for the study shall publish, in\nits official newspaper or, if there be no official newspaper, in a\nnewspaper published in the county and having a general circulation\nwithin such town, notice that the study has been concluded and the time,\ndate and place of the town public hearing on such study. Each town shall\nconduct a public hearing on the study, conducted pursuant to subdivision\none of this section, not less than twenty days nor more than thirty days\nafter publication of the notice of such public hearing.\n 3. The town board of each town party to the study shall conduct a\npublic hearing upon the findings of such study, and shall hear testimony\nand receive evidence and information thereon with regard to the election\nof one or more town justices to preside over the town courts of the\ntowns which are parties to the joint resolution providing for the study.\n 4. Within sixty days of the last public hearing upon a study conducted\npursuant to subdivision one of this section, town boards of each town\nwhich participated in such study shall determine whether the town will\nparticipate in a joint plan providing for the election of one or more\ntown justices to preside in the town courts of two or more towns. Every\nsuch joint plan shall only be approved by a town by the adoption of a\nresolution by the town board providing for the adoption of such joint\nplan. In the event two or more towns fail to adopt a joint plan, all\nproceedings authorized by this section shall terminate and the town\ncourts of such towns shall continue to operate in accordance with the\nexisting provisions of law.\n 5. Upon the adoption of a joint plan by two or more towns, the town\nboards of the towns adopting such plan shall each adopt a joint\nresolution providing for:\n a. the election of one or more town justices at large to preside in\nthe town courts of the participating towns;\n b. the abolition of the existing office of town justice in the\nparticipating towns; and\n c. the election of one or more town justices shall occur at the next\ngeneral election of town officers and every fourth year thereafter.\n 6. Upon the adoption of a joint resolution, such resolution shall be\nforwarded to the state legislature, and shall constitute a municipal\nhome rule message pursuant to article nine of the state constitution and\nthe municipal home rule law. No such joint resolution shall take effect\nuntil state legislation enacting the joint resolution shall have become\na law.\n 7. Every town justice elected to preside in multiple towns pursuant to\nthis section shall have jurisdiction in each of the participating towns,\nshall preside in the town courts of such towns, shall maintain separate\nrecords and dockets for each town court, and shall maintain a separate\nbank account for each town court for the deposit of moneys received by\neach town court.\n 8. In the event any town court operated pursuant to a joint plan\nenacted into law pursuant to this section is without the services of the\none or more town justices because of absence or disability, the\nprovisions of section one hundred six of this article and the town law\nshall apply.\n