STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1697 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAY, GOUNARDES, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi- gations and Government Operations AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to the creation of the division of research and analysis to assist the legislature The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature seeks to create a new 2 nonpartisan division which shall provide assistance to the legislature 3 with analysis of issues and policies in order to facilitate the lawmak- 4 ing process. This division shall serve all members of both house cham- 5 bers equally and without bias. The legislature further intends to create 6 a division that shall empower the legislature by providing independent 7 and trustworthy information to the legislature, and will maintain 8 adequate staffing to allow the legislature to consider the best inter- 9 ests of the state. 10 § 2. Section 7-a of the legislative law, as amended by chapter 746 of 11 the laws of 1974, and the third undesignated paragraph as added by chap- 12 ter 867 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 7-a. Legislative library, librarian and assistants. 1. (a) There 14 shall be a legislative library to be located in the state capitol in 15 rooms assigned by the commissioner of general services, conveniently 16 accessible to the members of both houses of legislature, and such 17 library shall be open throughout the year. 18 (b) Such library shall be suitably furnished, equipped and maintained 19 under the direction of the legislative librarian, within the amount of 20 any moneys available therefor by appropriation, subject to joint rules, 21 if any, that may be adopted by the senate and assembly in relation ther- 22 eto. There shall be, for such library, a legislative librarian and such 23 assistant librarians and other employees as may be provided for in the 24 legislative appropriation bill. Such librarian, assistant librarians and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02138-01-5S. 1697 2 1 other employees shall be chosen by the temporary president of the senate 2 and speaker of the assembly. One of the assistant librarians shall be 3 assigned by the legislative librarian to have charge of the legislative 4 correspondents' room in the capitol. The legislative librarian and 5 assistant librarians heretofore chosen by the president of the senate 6 and speaker of the assembly, and in office when this section as hereby 7 amended takes effect, shall continue to serve until their successors 8 shall be chosen. The salaries and compensation of the legislative 9 librarian, assistant librarians and other employees shall be payable 10 from moneys appropriated in the legislative appropriation bill. During a 11 vacancy in the office of legislative librarian, the assistant librarian 12 who shall have been longest in the service of the state as a legislative 13 employee, shall be employed as acting legislative librarian with the 14 powers and duties of such librarian, and shall receive during such peri- 15 od the compensation herein prescribed for the legislative librarian. 16 Such librarian shall have charge of the legislative library, but the two 17 houses of the legislature may, by joint rules, regulate the use of the 18 library and prescribe the powers and duties of the legislative librarian 19 and the assistant librarians. 20 (c) The legislative librarian, the assistant librarians and employees 21 of the legislative library shall be considered to be employees of the 22 legislature for all purposes. 23 2. (a) There shall be a separate division of the legislative library, 24 known as the division of research and analysis, which shall be nonparti- 25 san in nature and shall aid the legislature in providing research 26 support. 27 (b) (1) The legislative librarian shall encourage, assist, and promote 28 the division of research and analysis in: 29 (i) providing research support at the request of members of both hous- 30 es of the legislature to aid such members with the analysis of issues 31 and development of policy; 32 (ii) rendering to the legislature the most effective and efficient 33 service; 34 (iii) responding most expeditiously, effectively, and efficiently to 35 the special needs of the legislature; and 36 (iv) empowering the legislature by allowing the division of research 37 and analysis to provide an independent source of information. 38 (2) The legislative librarian shall grant and accord to the division 39 of research and analysis complete research independence and the maximum 40 practicable administrative independence consistent with these objec- 41 tives. 42 (c) (1) A director shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly 43 and the majority leader of the senate to head the division of research 44 and analysis from a list of three nominees for such position. 45 (2) Such list of nominees shall be compiled and provided to the speak- 46 er of the assembly and majority leader of the senate by a committee, 47 which shall be chaired by the chancellor of the state university of New 48 York and comprised of the presidents of Binghamton university, the city 49 university of New York graduate center, Stony Brook university, the 50 state university of New York at Albany, and the state university of New 51 York at Buffalo. 52 (3) The director shall serve for a term of four years and may be reap- 53 pointed at the end of each term in the manner of the original appoint- 54 ment. The director may only be removed from office upon agreement by the 55 temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly andS. 1697 3 1 affirmed by a two-thirds majority vote by both the senate and the assem- 2 bly. 3 (d) Staffing decisions for the division of research and analysis shall 4 be at the discretion of the legislative librarian and director of the 5 division of research and analysis and subject to appropriation by the 6 legislature. All staffing decisions made pursuant to this paragraph 7 shall be without regard to political affiliation, and solely on the 8 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. 9 (e) It shall be the duty of the division of research and analysis, 10 without partisan bias, to provide the following: 11 (1) upon request made by a member of the legislature, prepare and 12 transmit to such member a concise memorandum which shall provide rele- 13 vant research and analysis in response to the specific request of such 14 member. Such memorandum shall be confidential and not subject to public 15 disclosure; 16 (2) upon request, or upon its own initiative in anticipation of 17 requests, prepare and provide memoranda for general distribution regard- 18 ing information, research and reference materials on general issues or 19 legislation that the division of research and analysis shall deem useful 20 to all members of the legislature. Such information shall be public in 21 nature and available for public disclosure; and 22 (3) at the direction of the director, prepare and provide memoranda 23 for general distribution regarding general analysis of broad issues that 24 the division of research and analysis shall deem useful to all members 25 of the legislature. Such information shall be public in nature and 26 available for public disclosure. 27 (f) The particular nature of a request from a member of either house 28 of the legislature, pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision, shall 29 be determined by the staff members of the division of research and anal- 30 ysis, with a preference of making such memoranda available to the 31 public, if feasible, without disclosing specific legislative activity of 32 any members of the legislature. 33 (g) The director of the division of research and analysis shall 34 prepare and present to the speaker of the assembly and the majority 35 leader of the senate at the beginning of each regular session of the 36 legislature a separate and special report covering, in summary and in 37 detail, all phases of activity of the division of research and analysis 38 for the immediate preceding fiscal year, and shall include in such 39 report a description of the efforts made by the director to make addi- 40 tional division of research and analysis products which are not deemed 41 confidential products or services available for public disclosure. 42 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 43 it shall have become a law.