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A New York state disciplinary commission says judges will be asking for punishment if they flout the state's bail law to make a political point. 

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct made the comments in its annual report released Wednesday. 

Last year, state lawmakers approved sweeping changes by eliminating pretrial detention for the wide majority of misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases. The changes, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, did not ban the practice entirely. 

The law remains at the center of a wide-ranging and heated statewide debate over bail, arguments that often pit reform advocates and liberal-leaning Democrats against law enforcement and prosecutors.

The commission does not take a stance on the bail law's efficacy or proposals to change it, according to the report. But, it said judges are obligated to comply and respect the law, despite whatever their individual views on it might be.

A judge who interprets the law in good faith should not worry about punishment "for what may turn out to be legal error that is reversed on appeal," according to the report. 

"However, a judge who purposefully fails to abide by the law, e.g. to make a political point or because s/he personally disagrees with the law, invites discipline," the report reads.

The commission went on to cite a case in which the state Court of Appeals upheld a judge's removal for "willfully disregard[ing] the law," among other things, according to the report.

Prosecutors and law enforcement have decried the state's bail law with heated rhetoric, arguing it did not give judges enough discretion over who remained in jail pretrial. 

Criminal justice reform advocates argue the old system was unfair to poor people and the law prevents arrestees from languishing in jail pretrial for low-level crimes. 

State lawmakers could change to the bail law shortly as they face an approaching April 1 deadline to pass the state budget. 

State Senate Democrats have suggested a proposal that would give judges more say over who stays in jail pretrial, but eliminate cash bail in total.  

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated he wants changes to the bail law to be included in the state budget.

The annual report from the disciplinary commission says it received 1,944 new complaints last year, the majority of which came from either a criminal defendant or a civil litigant. 

The commission also said conduct rules are broken when a judge is convicted of an "alcohol-fueled offense" and the person should expect to be punished.

"The commission's docket seems always to have one or more active inquiries into complaints of public alcohol-fueled misconduct by judges," according to the report.