NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - It's cheaper, faster and greener, and if New York court officials get their way, electronic filing could become the standard for filing and serving cases statewide.

In the report -- which was delivered last week to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the legislature -- Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau called on lawmakers to pass proposed legislation that would allow for the gradual expansion of e-filing in New York, a move that could result in "hundreds of millions of dollars" of savings to the court system.

The legislation would allow Pfau to mandate e-filing in criminal and Surrogate's Court cases, and in all commercial cases in New York City, regardless of the amount of damages sought. It would also allow her to mandate e-filing in tort cases and contract cases city-wide, and in most matrimonial and election-law proceedings in Livingston, Monroe, Rockland, Tompkins, and Westchester counties, as well as three other counties that have yet to be determined.

"When a technology is available that clearly can markedly improve the efficiency with which the courts conduct business, it would be irresponsible in these challenging times were the courts to fail to make the greatest possible use of the technology -- particularly when the technology brings benefits to all it affects," the report says.

New York has had a relatively slow start with e-filing, beginning with a pilot program in 1999. Twelve years later, some 300,000 cases have been filed through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System. Approximately 4.5 million cases are filed each year in New York state courts.

MANDATORY E-FILING

In May 2010, mandatory e-filing began in New York County Supreme Court in newly-filed commercial cases. Mandatory e-filing of commercial and tort cases was introduced in Westchester County Supreme Court in stages, starting this past Feb. 1. It became mandatory in Rockland County Supreme Court on June 1 in all types of cases, except those expressly excluded by state statute.

Other jurisdictions around the country have moved much more quickly, the report said. E-filing is now authorized in 41 states, and it is already mandatory for all civil cases in neighboring Connecticut. E-filing is available in all federal district and bankruptcy courts, a spokesman for the federal judiciary said.

New York City Bar Association President Samuel W. Seymour welcomed Pfau's proposal.

"The City Bar has for years urged increased use of e-filing as good for litigants, lawyers and the courts. We urge swift legislative approval of expanded e-filing," he said in an e-mailed statement.

New York State Bar Association President Vincent Doyle III said the association's House of Delegates adopted a report and resolution in 2007 that recommended moving toward e-filing in all of the state courts in all parts of the state.

"We view Judge Pfau's report and the proposed legislation [as] very consistent with that," Doyle said. "It's something that has to be done gradually, so the attorneys in the state and the parties can get acclimated to the process. It is the wave of the future and we think the courts and county clerks should be moving toward that."

(Reporting by Jennifer Golson)