Bill Text: NY A08572 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the immediate incorporation of villages containing one thousand five hundred persons or less; amends the effective date of a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7538 and A.7754.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-22 - substituted by s8007 [A08572 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08572-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8572

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. THIELE, PAULIN -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Local Governments

        AN ACT to amend the village law, in relation  to  the  incorporation  of
          villages;  to amend a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village
          law relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legisla-
          tive bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, in relation to the  effective-
          ness  thereof;  and  to repeal certain provisions of such law relating
          thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section  2-200 of the village law, as
     2  amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law relat-
     3  ing to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in  legislative  bills
     4  numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as follows:
     5    1.  A territory containing a population of at least [two] one thousand
     6  five hundred persons who are regular inhabitants thereof, as hereinafter
     7  defined, may be incorporated as a village under  this  chapter  provided
     8  such  territory does not include a part of a city or village and further
     9  provided the limits of such territory:
    10    a. do not contain more than five square miles; or
    11    b. are coterminous with the entire boundaries of a school, fire,  fire
    12  protection, fire alarm, town special or town improvement district; or
    13    c.  are  coterminous  with  parts  of  the boundaries of more than one
    14  school, fire, fire protection, fire alarm, town special or town improve-
    15  ment district, all of which are wholly contained within such limits  and
    16  within one town; or
    17    d. are coterminous with the entire boundaries of a town.
    18    §  2.  Subparagraph 3 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 2-202
    19  of the village law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending
    20  the village law relating to the incorporation of villages,  as  proposed
    21  in  legislative bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as
    22  follows:
    23    (3) An allegation that such territory  contains  a  population  of  at
    24  least [two] one thousand five hundred regular inhabitants.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11709-09-4
        A. 8572                             2

     1    § 3. Paragraph e of subdivision 1 of section 2-206 of the village law,
     2  as  amended  by  a  chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law
     3  relating to the incorporation of villages, as  proposed  in  legislative
     4  bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as follows:
     5    e. That such territory does not contain a population of at least [two]
     6  one thousand five hundred regular inhabitants;
     7    § 4. Paragraph g of subdivision 1 of section 2-206 of the village law,
     8  as  amended  by  a  chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law
     9  relating to the incorporation of villages, as  proposed in   legislative
    10  bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is REPEALED.
    11    §  5.  Section 2-260  of the village law, as added by a chapter of the
    12  laws of 2023 amending the village law relating to the  incorporation  of
    13  villages,    as   proposed in   legislative bills numbers S. 7538 and A.
    14  7754, is renumbered to be section 2-259.
    15    § 6. Section 5 of a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending  the  village
    16  law  relating  to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legisla-
    17  tive bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as follows:
    18    § 5. This act shall take effect [immediately; provided  however,  that
    19  for village incorporation petitions that have collected signatures prior
    20  to  the  effective date of this act, nothing in this act shall deem such
    21  petition signatures invalid; and provided further, that  the  provisions
    22  of  this  act  shall  apply  to  all such existing village incorporation
    23  petitions, including, without limitation, the new requirements  pursuant
    24  to  section  2-260  of  the village law; and provided further, that such
    25  existing village incorporation petitions shall be required to add  addi-
    26  tional  signatures,  if  necessary, to meet the new population threshold
    27  established by section 2-200 of the village law]  on  January  1,  2024;
    28  provided  that  any village incorporation petitions associated by having
    29  at least one common petition signature witness  on  either  of  the  two
    30  petitions  that  were initially filed on a date in February 2017 and May
    31  2019, respectively, in a town with a  population  of  more  than  ninety
    32  thousand  as  of the latest federal decennial census located in a county
    33  with a population of more than nine hundred thousand as  of  the  latest
    34  federal decennial census: (a) shall not be subject to this act and shall
    35  continue to be subject to the provisions of article 2 of the village law
    36  in  effect  as  of  June  1, 2023, so long as such village incorporation
    37  processes are concluded prior to  January  1,  2040;  and  (b)  if  such
    38  petitions  are  denied,  any  subsequent village incorporation petitions
    39  associated with such petitions shall also continue to be subject to  the
    40  provisions of article 2 of the village law in effect as of June 1, 2023,
    41  so  long  as such incorporation processes associated with such petitions
    42  are complete prior to January 1, 2040.  Provided further, that  for  any
    43  village  incorporation  petitions that were initially filed on a date in
    44  February 2017 and May 2019, respectively, in a town with a population of
    45  more than ninety thousand as of  the  latest  federal  decennial  census
    46  located in a county with a population of more than nine hundred thousand
    47  as  of  the  latest  federal  decennial  census,  a study on the fiscal,
    48  service, and taxation interests of the population which would constitute
    49  the residents of such village and the population which  constitutes  the
    50  residents  of such town in which such village would be established shall
    51  be prepared for such proposed village incorporation,  conducted  by  the
    52  Center  for  Government Research or other qualified institution and such
    53  study shall be posted on the public-facing portion of the department  of
    54  state  website for ninety days prior to the commencement of any referen-
    55  dum for the approval of such a village pursuant  to  article  2  of  the
    56  village  law,  and  provided  that where any subsequent village incorpo-
        A. 8572                             3

     1  ration petitions associated with such petitions shall be filed, then the
     2  requirements of this section shall be deemed satisfied by the  re-publi-
     3  cation  of  such  study,  and  further  provided, however, that (i) such
     4  state-funded  study  shall be submitted for posting on the public-facing
     5  portion of the department of state website by no  later  than  April  1,
     6  2024; (ii) such study shall be posted on the department of state website
     7  no  later  than thirty days after it is submitted for posting; and (iii)
     8  the adequacy of any such state-funded Center for Government Research, or
     9  other qualified institution conducted study shall not  be  a  basis  for
    10  objecting to the village incorporation petition or the scheduling of any
    11  such  referendum  for  approval  of  such village; provided further, the
    12  provisions of this act shall not apply to petitions  where  there  is  a
    13  joint  notice of election specifying a date and time of the election and
    14  signed by the town clerks of each  affected  town  pursuant  to  section
    15  2-214 of the village law, dated December 22, 2023 or earlier.
    16    § 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
    17  of  this  act  or  application  thereof  to  any municipality, person or
    18  circumstances shall be adjudged by any court of  competent  jurisdiction
    19  to  be  invalid  or  unconstitutional,  such  judgment shall not affect,
    20  impair or invalidate the application of the  remainder  thereof  to  any
    21  municipalities,  persons and circumstances, but shall be confined in its
    22  operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section  or  part  thereof
    23  directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
    24  been rendered, and the legislature hereby declares that  it  would  have
    25  enacted  this  article  without the invalid provision or application, as
    26  the case may be, had such invalidity been apparent.
    27    § 8. This act shall take effect immediately,  provided  however,  that
    28  sections one, two, three, four and five of this act shall take effect on
    29  the  same  date  and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023
    30  amending the village law relating to the incorporation of  villages,  as
    31  proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, takes effect.