Bill Text: NY S02136 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits a person currently employed by the governor in the executive chamber or employed as a lobbyist from being appointed to a position that requires approval of the senate.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-15 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S02136 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S02136-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2136 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BORRELLO, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, S. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations AN ACT to amend the public officers law, the public authorities law, the general municipal law and the New York state urban development corpo- ration act, in relation to prohibiting a person employed by the gover- nor in the executive chamber or employed as a lobbyist from being appointed to a position that requires approval of the senate The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3 of the public officers law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 1-b to read as follows: 3 1-b. No person who is serving as a state officer or employee in the 4 executive chamber of the governor, or person who is a lobbyist regis- 5 tered under a state or local law, or person registered as a lobbyist 6 pursuant to article one-A of the legislative law, shall within the peri- 7 od of such service or employment be appointed by the governor to any 8 board, agency or capacity that would require such nomination to be 9 approved by the senate. 10 § 2. Subdivision 1 and the opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of 11 section 2825 of the public authorities law, subdivision 1 as amended by 12 chapter 766 of the laws of 2005 and the opening paragraph of subdivision 13 2 as amended by chapter 174 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as 14 follows: 15 1. No public officer or employee shall be ineligible for appointment 16 as a trustee or member of the governing body of a state or local author- 17 ity, as defined in section two of this chapter, and any public officer 18 or employee may accept such appointment and serve as such trustee or 19 member without forfeiture of any other public office or position of 20 public employment by reason thereof, provided, however, that a public EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04751-01-5S. 2136 2 1 officer or employee serving in the executive chamber of the governor 2 shall be ineligible for any such appointment. 3 Except for members who serve as members by virtue of holding a civil 4 office of the state, [the majority of] the remaining members of the 5 governing body of every state or local authority shall be independent 6 members; provided, however, that this provision shall apply to appoint- 7 ments made on or after the effective date of chapter seven hundred 8 sixty-six of the laws of two thousand five which added this subdivision. 9 The official or officials having the authority to appoint or remove such 10 remaining members shall take such actions as may be necessary to satisfy 11 this requirement and further, shall consider the prospective diversity 12 of the members of a state authority when making their determinations to 13 appoint any member. For the purposes of this section, an independent 14 member is one who: 15 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 and subdivisions 2 and 4 of 16 section 856 of the general municipal law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 17 and subdivision 4 as added by chapter 1030 of the laws of 1969 and 18 subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 356 of the laws of 1993, are amended 19 and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows: 20 (a) Upon the establishment of an industrial development agency by 21 special act of the legislature, the governing body of the municipality 22 for whose benefit such agency is established shall file within six 23 months after the effective date of the special act of the legislature 24 establishing such agency or before the first day of July, nineteen 25 hundred sixty-nine, whichever date shall be later, in the office of the 26 secretary of state, a certificate setting forth: (1) the date of passage 27 of the special act establishing the agency; (2) the name of the agency; 28 (3) the names of the members and their terms of office, specifying which 29 member is the [chairman] chairperson; and (4) facts establishing the 30 need for the establishment of an agency in such municipality. 31 2. An agency shall be a corporate governmental agency, constituting a 32 public benefit corporation. Except as otherwise provided by special act 33 of the legislature, an agency shall consist of not less than three nor 34 more than seven members who shall be appointed by the governing body of 35 each municipality and who shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing 36 authority. Such members may include representatives of local government, 37 school boards, organized labor and business. A member shall continue to 38 hold office until [his] the member's successor is appointed and has 39 qualified. The governing body of each municipality shall designate the 40 first [chairman] chairperson and file with the secretary of state a 41 certificate of appointment or reappointment of any member. Such members 42 shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be entitled 43 to the necessary expenses, including traveling expenses, incurred in the 44 discharge of their duties. 45 4. Any one or more of the members of an agency may be an official or 46 an employee of the municipality. In the event that an official or an 47 employee of the municipality shall be appointed as a member of the agen- 48 cy, acceptance or retention of such appointment shall not be deemed a 49 forfeiture of [his] such person's municipal office or employment, or 50 incompatible therewith or affect [his] such person's tenure or compen- 51 sation in any way. The term of office of a member of an agency who is an 52 official or an employee of the municipality when appointed as a member 53 thereof by special act of the legislature creating the industrial devel- 54 opment agency shall terminate at the expiration of the term of [his] 55 such municipal office.S. 2136 3 1 5. No person who is serving as a public officer or employee in the 2 executive chamber of the governor, or person who is a lobbyist regis- 3 tered under a state or local law, or a person registered as a lobbyist 4 pursuant to article one-A of the legislative law, shall within the peri- 5 od of such service or employment be appointed to serve on any industrial 6 development agency. 7 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 4 of section 1 of chapter 174 of the 8 laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development corpo- 9 ration act, as amended by chapter 280 of the laws of 1984 and as further 10 amended by section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is 11 amended to read as follows: 12 (1) There is hereby created the New York state urban development 13 corporation. The corporation shall be a corporate governmental agency of 14 the state, constituting a political subdivision and public benefit 15 corporation. Its membership shall consist of nine directors as follows: 16 the superintendent of financial services, the [chairman] chairperson of 17 the New York state science and technology foundation, and seven direc- 18 tors to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the 19 senate. No public officer or employee serving in the executive chamber 20 of the governor shall be eligible for such appointment within the period 21 of their service. From the seven directors appointed by [him,] the 22 governor, the governor shall designate the [chairman] chairperson of the 23 corporation and two others who shall all serve at the pleasure of the 24 governor. Of the four remaining directors, one of such directors first 25 appointed by the governor after the effective date of this subdivision 26 as amended shall serve for a term ending January first next succeeding 27 [his] such person's appointment, one of such directors shall serve for a 28 term ending one year from such date, one of such directors shall serve 29 for a term ending two years from such date, and one of such directors 30 shall serve for a term ending three years from such date. Their succes- 31 sors shall serve for terms of four years each. Directors shall continue 32 in office until their successors have been appointed and qualified. In 33 the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of a director by death, 34 resignation or otherwise, the governor shall appoint a successor with 35 the advice and consent of the senate to serve for the balance of the 36 unexpired term. The governor shall appoint the president of the corpo- 37 ration, with the advice and consent of the senate, who shall be the 38 chief executive officer of the corporation and who shall serve at the 39 pleasure of the governor. Such president may be one of the directors 40 appointed by the governor. 41 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
