A state Supreme Court justice in Suffolk County has upheld outside income limits for state legislators – but struck down a section of the law that would strip legislators of their voting rights if they violate the income limits.

Judge Alison Napolitano ruled recently in a 10-page written opinion that the state’s 2022 legislation to increase lawmakers’ base pay from $110,000 to $142,000 while limiting outside income lawmakers can earn in addition to their legislative salary to $35,000 a year is constitutional.

Republicans were asking Napolitano to declare the law unconstitutional under the state and federal constitutions while the state argued limiting outside income falls within the legislature’s legitimate interest in preventing conflicts of interest and ethics issues caused by legislators’ outside earned income.

Napolitano wrote in her decision that placing income limits on elected officials is not a novel concept. Limits were placed on federal lawmakers in 1977 with additional restrictions put in place in 1989.

“Upon a review of all the documents submitted in connection with these instant motions, the court finds that, as the legislature is vested with the inherent authority to ‘self-police’ and discipline its members, the portion of the law dealing with outside income restrictions on members of the state Legislature and the civil penalties against an individual legislator for the willful violation of such restrictions is constitutional.”

Both Will Barclay, Assembly minority leader, and Rob Ortt, Senate minority leader, said the outside income limits could place most of their members in a bind. Ortt wrote in an affidavit to the court on March 14 that 26 Assembly members and 12 state senators will have to either resign or divest themselves from outside income. Ortt and Barclay asked Napolitano for a stay of the outside income limits until Jan. 1, 2027, so that it doesn’t affect legislators who were just sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2025. There has been no ruling by Napolitano on the request from Barclay and Ortt for a stay on the beginning of outside income limits.

“Now, given the ruling of this court, some of my colleagues may be deemed to be in violation of the outside income limit, stripped of their legislative salary, face a civil penalty up to $40,000 and additionally be penalized the value of any gift, compensation or benefit received in connection with such violation,” Ortt wrote.

While income limits, for now, will be allowed to proceed, stripping legislators of their vote on the Senate or Assembly floor will not. Napolitano said the state conceded the legislation doesn’t provide for a length of time that votes would be stripped from legislators, and that lack of definition could lead to voters left without representation in the legislature for as long as two years between elections.

“The court finds this to be a severe burden on voting rights,” Napolitano wrote. “It is also significant that, in addition to the indefinite suspension of a members’ voting rights, any notice requirement to the constituents is notably absent from the legislation. The court questions how a voting constituent would even be informed that they are unrepresented in the event of a member’s suspension based on a violation of the outside income restriction. Upon a review of the papers, the court finds the narrow portion of the law specifically dealing with the suspension of voting rights to be unconstitutional.”