Allows an affirmation by any person, wherever made, subscribed and affirmed by that person to be true under the penalties of perjury, to be used in a civil action in New York in lieu of and with the same force and effect as an affidavit.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5772
SPONSOR: Lavine TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to an
affirmation by any person, wherever made, in a civil action
PURPOSE:
To allow any person to submit an affirmation under penalty of perjury in
lieu of an affidavit
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends CPLR 2106 to expand the ability to submit an affirma-
tion in lieu of an affidavit from certain health care practitioners to
any person.
Section 2 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The requirement that litigants and other court participants have docu-
ments notarized is unduly burdensome, and federal law removed such
requirements for federal courts decades ago. Attorneys, physicians,
osteopaths and dentists, as well as any person outside the jurisdiction
of the United States, are already exempt from the New York requirement
to submit affidavits and may submit affirmations instead.
This bill will align NeW York with the over 20 states that follow feder-
al practice. It will relieve unnecessary burdens on litigants, non-party
witnesses, county clerks, and courts.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date
upon which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all actions
commenced on or after such effective date and all actions pending on
such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5772
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to an
affirmation by any person, wherever made, in a civil action
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Rule 2106 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended
2 by chapter 380 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
3 Rule 2106. Affirmation of truth of statement. [(a) The statement of an
4 attorney admitted to practice in the courts of the state, or of a physi-
5 cian, osteopath or dentist, authorized by law to practice in the state,
6 who is not a party to an action, when subscribed and affirmed by him to
7 be true under the penalties of perjury, may be served or filed in the
8 action in lieu of and with the same force and effect as an affidavit.
9 (b)] The statement of any person[, when that person is physically
10 located outside the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto
11 Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular
12 possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States] wherever
13 made, subscribed and affirmed by that person to be true under the penal-
14 ties of perjury, may be used in an action in New York in lieu of and
15 with the same force and effect as an affidavit. Such affirmation shall
16 be in substantially the following form:
17 I affirm this ___ day of ______, ____, under the penalties of perjury
18 under the laws of New York, which may include a fine or imprisonment,
19 that [I am physically located outside the geographic boundaries of the
20 United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any
21 territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the
22 United States, that] the foregoing is true, and I understand that this
23 document may be filed in an action or proceeding in a court of law.
24 (Signature)
25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
26 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law and shall apply to
27 all actions commenced on or after such effective date and all actions
28 pending on such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09830-01-3
