The New York Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced a bill that would bolster the state judicial misconduct watchdog’s powers and authority.

The bill, S4398/A4908, would enable the state Senate and Assembly to receive the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s annual budget without any alterations by the governor’s executive staff; make commission proceedings public when a judge is formally charged with misconduct; and would extend the commission’s jurisdiction to judges who retire or resign while under investigation.