STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9895
IN ASSEMBLY
February 25, 2020
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Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Libraries and Education Technology
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring a public
hearing to be held prior to the closure of a library
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 268 of the education law, as amended by chapter
2 476 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 268. Abolition. 1. Any library established by public vote of any
4 municipality or district, or by vote of the common council of any city,
5 or by vote of the board of trustees of any village, or by action of
6 school authorities, or by vote of the tribal government of an Indian
7 reservation, or under section two hundred fifty-five of this [chapter]
8 part, may be abolished by majority vote at an election, or at a meeting
9 of the electors duly held, provided that due public notice of the
10 proposed action [shall have been] is given and a public hearing regard-
11 ing the proposed action is held at least ninety days prior to the date
12 of the proposed vote, or by vote of such tribal government. If any such
13 library is abolished, its property shall be used first to return to the
14 regents, for the benefit of other free association or public or school
15 libraries in that locality, the equivalent of such sums as it may have
16 received from the state or from other sources as gifts for public use.
17 After such return any remaining property may be used as directed in the
18 vote abolishing the library, but if the entire library property does not
19 exceed in value the amount of such gifts, it may be transferred to the
20 regents for public use, and the trustees shall thereupon be free from
21 further responsibility. No abolition of a public library shall be
22 lawful until the regents grant a certificate that its assets have been
23 properly distributed and its abolition completed in accordance with law.
24 2. Any public library, free library, or association library as defined
25 in subdivision two of section two hundred fifty-three of this part may
26 close a branch by a majority vote of the board of trustees of such
27 library, provided that due public notice of the proposed action is given
28 and a public hearing regarding the proposed action is held by the board
29 of trustees of such library at least ninety days prior to the date of
30 the proposed vote.
31 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15380-01-0