Bill Text: NY S01104 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to the sale or transfer of certain real property by the state or public authorities; requires mandatory review by the attorney general and comptroller of the sale of certain real property; requires notice to members of the legislature and county executives in districts and counties in which land subject to transfer is located of the proposed transfer of state property between state departments, divisions, bureaus, agencies, state agencies, or to a public authority or public benefit corporation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-19 - referred to governmental operations [S01104 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01104-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1104

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Author-
          ities and Commissions

        AN  ACT to amend the public authorities law and the public lands law, in
          relation to the sale or transfer of certain real property by the state
          or public authorities

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

     1    Section  1.  Section  2897 of the public authorities law is amended by
     2  adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
     3    8. Comptroller and attorney general approval of contracts. a.  Negoti-
     4  ated contracts for the disposal of real property with an estimated  fair
     5  market  value  in  excess  of  two  hundred  fifty thousand dollars to a
     6  private entity shall require supervision in the form of prior review and
     7  approval of such contracts and any such contract entered into  shall  be
     8  submitted to the comptroller and the attorney general for their approval
     9  and shall not be a valid enforceable contract unless it shall first have
    10  been  so  approved.  The  comptroller, in consultation with the attorney
    11  general, shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary
    12  to carry out their responsibilities under this  section,  including  but
    13  not  limited  to  the  standards for approving contracts subject to this
    14  subdivision.
    15    b. Where a contract is subject to mandatory review by the  comptroller
    16  and  the  attorney  general pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision,
    17  the vendor public authority shall include or cause  to  be  included  in
    18  each  such  contract  a  provision  informing  the other party that such
    19  contract is subject to the  comptroller's  and  the  attorney  general's
    20  approval pursuant to this subdivision and the comptroller's authority to
    21  supervise  the  accounts  of public corporations. If the comptroller and
    22  the attorney general have  not  approved  or  disapproved  any  contract
    23  subject  to  his or her approval within ninety days of submission to his

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03336-01-3

        S. 1104                             2

     1  or her office, such contract shall become valid and enforceable  without
     2  such approval.
     3    §  2.  The public lands law is amended by adding a new section 33-a to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 33-a. Comptroller and attorney  general  approval  of  private  sale
     6  contracts.  1. To the extent a public sale is not required and a negoti-
     7  ated contract for the disposal of unappropriated  state  lands  with  an
     8  estimated fair market value in excess of one hundred thousand dollars to
     9  a  private entity is deemed authorized by the provisions of this article
    10  or any other provision of  law,  rule  or  regulation,  such  negotiated
    11  contract  shall  require  supervision  in  the  form of prior review and
    12  approval of such contract and any such contract entered  into  shall  be
    13  submitted to the comptroller and the attorney general for their approval
    14  and  shall  not  be a valid enforceable   contract unless it shall first
    15  have been so approved. The comptroller, in consultation with the  attor-
    16  ney  general,  shall  promulgate  such  rules  and regulations as may be
    17  necessary to  carry  out  their  responsibilities  under  this  section,
    18  including  but  not  limited  to  the  standards for approving contracts
    19  subject to this subdivision.
    20    2. Where a contract is subject to mandatory review by the  comptroller
    21  and  the  attorney  general pursuant to subdivision one of this section,
    22  the vendor shall include or cause to be included in each such contract a
    23  provision informing the other party that such contract is subject to the
    24  comptroller's and the  attorney  general's  approval  pursuant  to  this
    25  section.  If  the comptroller and the attorney general have not approved
    26  or disapproved any contract subject to his or her approval within ninety
    27  days of submission to his   or her office, such  contract  shall  become
    28  valid and enforceable without such approval.
    29    3.  The  provisions of this section shall be effective notwithstanding
    30  the provisions of any other general  or  special  law  relating  to  the
    31  disposal  of lands belonging to the state, and any such statute or parts
    32  thereof relating to such disposal of state lands  insofar  as  they  are
    33  inconsistent with the provisions of this section are hereby superseded.
    34    § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 3 of the public lands law, as amended by
    35  chapter 672 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    36    4.  a.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of this chapter or other
    37  statute, the commissioner of general services, upon the  application  of
    38  any  state  department, or a division, bureau or agency thereof, or upon
    39  the application of any state agency, may transfer to such state  depart-
    40  ment,  division,  bureau,  or  agency, or state agency, the jurisdiction
    41  over any lands, including lands under water, abandoned canal  lands  and
    42  salt  springs  reservation  land,  upon such terms and conditions as the
    43  commissioner may deem just and  proper  and  upon  the  consent  of  the
    44  department,  or a division, bureau or agency thereof, or any state agen-
    45  cy, already having jurisdiction over such lands and notwithstanding  any
    46  other provision of this chapter or other statute, authority to give such
    47  consent  is hereby conferred upon the head of any such state department,
    48  or a division, bureau or agency thereof, or any state agency;  provided,
    49  however,  that  if  the commissioner of general services determines that
    50  any such land under the jurisdiction of any state department, or a divi-
    51  sion, bureau or agency thereof, or any state agency other than a  public
    52  authority  or  public  benefit  corporation  is under utilized or is not
    53  being utilized in a manner consistent with the  best  interests  of  the
    54  state,  such  commissioner  may  on  his own initiative, and without the
    55  application or consent referred to above but subject  to  the  procedure
    56  and  review  provided  in  section  two-a  of this article, transfer the

        S. 1104                             3

     1  jurisdiction over such land to any other state department,  or  a  divi-
     2  sion,  bureau  or agency thereof, or any other state agency other than a
     3  public authority or public benefit corporation.
     4    b.  Should such land be under the jurisdiction of the office of mental
     5  health or the office for people  with  developmental  disabilities  upon
     6  which  a  community  residential facility for the disabled as defined in
     7  section 41.34 of the mental hygiene  law  exists,  the  commissioner  of
     8  general services shall, prior to transferring the jurisdiction over such
     9  land  to  any  other  state  department, or a division, bureau or agency
    10  thereof, or any other state agency other  than  a  public  authority  or
    11  public  benefit  corporation  offer such land for sale at public auction
    12  pursuant to section thirty-three of  this  chapter;  provided,  however,
    13  that  the  provisions  of section four hundred six of the eminent domain
    14  procedure law shall apply to such property.
    15    c.  No transfer of land, as described in this subdivision, or grant or
    16  conveyance of land to a public authority or public  benefit  corporation
    17  shall  be  deemed  valid  unless  notice  is provided in writing to each
    18  member of the legislature in whose district  any  portion  of  the  land
    19  subject  to the proposed transfer is located.  Such notice shall provide
    20  a description of the land, identification of the proposed transferor and
    21  transferee state departments, divisions, bureaus, agencies, state  agen-
    22  cies,  public  authorities  or public benefit corporations and the terms
    23  and conditions of the proposed transfer. Unless within thirty days  from
    24  the  date  such notice is given, a member of the legislature entitled to
    25  notice pursuant to this paragraph objects to such proposed  action,  the
    26  commissioner  of  general services may effect such transfer of jurisdic-
    27  tion. If within thirty days of the giving of such notice,  a  member  of
    28  the legislature entitled to notice pursuant to this paragraph objects to
    29  the  action  proposed  by the commissioner of general services by filing
    30  notice to such effect with the commissioner of  general  services,  such
    31  proposed  action shall be reviewed by the director of the budget and the
    32  secretary of state. They shall affirm or reverse the proposed action  by
    33  the  commissioner  and  that decision shall be final. If they affirm the
    34  proposed action or fail to render a determination within six  months  of
    35  the  date  of  the  notice,  the  commissioner may thereupon effect such
    36  transfer.
    37    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    38  have become a law.
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