The Law Revision Commission was established in 1934 (Chapter 597) upon the recommendation of the Commission on the Administration of Justice. The latter commission, established in 1930 (Chapter 727) to collect information and to report and make recommendations to the state legislature on the administration of justice in New York State, proposed creation of a Law Revision Commission in its 1934 report. Known as the world's oldest continuous body for legal reform through legislation, the commission is comprised of five gubernatorial appointees and the chairs of the senate and assembly judiciary and codes committees. The governor designates the chair of the commission.
In 1970 the commission expanded the focus of its research and recommendations to include public law, in addition to issues relating to private law. The commission's organizational structure has not changed since it was established in 1934. The Law Revision Commission has contributed to important legislative acts in a number of areas, including the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (1936); right to counsel of defendants charged with nonindictable crimes (1940); lowering the age of majority in New York State from 21 to 18 (1974); and sex discrimination (1976, 1977). The commission has also studied and prepared legislation concerning virtually all areas touched by state law, including legal procedures, penal law, commercial activities, real property, domestic relations, corporations, insurance, and securities regulations.
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The Law Revision Commission analyzes state law and investigates issues affecting or affected by laws in order to make recommendations to the legislature for reforming and modernizing the law. It accomplishes this by examining New York State's common and statute law and current judicial decisions to discover defects and recommend reforms; receiving and considering proposed changes in the law from the American Law Institute, bar associations, the Commission for the Promotion of Uniformity of Legislation in the United States, members of the judiciary, other public officials, and the general public; and recommending to the legislature changes needed to modify or eliminate antiquated and inequitable rules of law and to accommodate state law to changing social conditions. The commission's recommendations and proposed statutory revisions are issued as annual reports and are published in McKinney's Session Laws of New York.
