Bill Text: NY S02914 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to establishing a gender balance in the port authority; requires members of the board of commissioners and any officers of the port authority be appointed in a manner which will ensure that women comprise approximately fifty percent of the membership of the board or as officers of the port authority.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS [S02914 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02914-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2914

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 25, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
          and Commissions

        AN  ACT  to  amend chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to the port
          authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation  to  establishing  a
          gender balance in the port authority

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

     1    Section 1. Article 4 of section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws  of  1921
     2  relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, as amended by
     3  chapter 419 of the laws of 1930, is amended to read as follows:
     4                                 ARTICLE IV
     5    1.  Commissioners.  The port authority shall consist of twelve commis-
     6  sioners, six resident voters from the state of New York, at  least  four
     7  of  whom shall be resident voters of the city of New York, and six resi-
     8  dent voters from the state of New Jersey, at least four of whom shall be
     9  resident voters within the New Jersey portion of the district,  the  New
    10  York  members  to  be chosen by the state of New York and the New Jersey
    11  members by the state of New Jersey in the manner and for the terms fixed
    12  and determined from time to  time  by  the  legislature  of  each  state
    13  respectively,  except  as  herein  provided.  Each  commissioner  may be
    14  removed or suspended from office as provided by the  law  of  the  state
    15  from which he shall be appointed.
    16    2.  Gender  balance in the port authority. a. For the purposes of this
    17  subdivision, the following terms  shall  have  the  following  meanings,
    18  unless the context otherwise requires:
    19    (1)  "gender balance" means an equal number of women and men appointed
    20  as commissioners of the port authority;
    21    (2) "appointing power" means the individual or body charged  with  the
    22  responsibility to appoint others as commissioners to the port authority.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07480-01-3
        S. 2914                             2

     1    b.  (1)  All appointments of commissioners of the port authority shall
     2  be gender balanced.
     3    (2)  No  person shall be appointed or reappointed as a commissioner if
     4  that appointment or reappointment would cause the number of  commission-
     5  ers of one gender to be greater than one-half plus one.
     6    c. (1) An appointing power shall make appointments of commissioners in
     7  a  manner  which  will  ensure  that  women comprise approximately fifty
     8  percent of appointed commissioners.
     9    (2) The appointing power shall appoint a person from the gender  which
    10  has  fewer  appointees  to  any  vacant  position whenever the number of
    11  persons of one gender appointed as commissioners exceeds the  number  of
    12  persons of the other gender.
    13    (3)  In  making  appointments of commissioners, the number of appoint-
    14  ments by an appointing power of one gender may not exceed by  more  than
    15  one  the  number  of appointments from the other gender. When an unequal
    16  number of appointments has been made from each gender, a vacant position
    17  shall be filled by a person from the gender with fewer appointees.
    18    (4) In the event of an uneven  number  of  positions,  the  appointing
    19  power  shall  fill a vacancy with a member of the gender whose represen-
    20  tation was of a lesser number when an opening occurs.
    21    d. The appointing power  shall  undertake  all  efforts  necessary  to
    22  obtain  lists  of  names  of  qualified candidates to be recommended for
    23  appointment, in furtherance of the advancement of  the  policy  of  this
    24  subdivision to achieve equal numbers of appointments of men and women as
    25  commissioners pursuant to this subdivision.
    26    e. Multiple appointing powers charged with the appointment of individ-
    27  uals  as  commissioners shall consult each other to avoid a violation of
    28  this subdivision.
    29    f. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit an indi-
    30  vidual from completing a term for which the person was appointed,  prior
    31  to the effective date of this subdivision.
    32    § 2. Article 4 of section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relat-
    33  ing  to  the  port  authority  of New York and New Jersey, as amended by
    34  chapter 559 of the laws of 2015, is amended by adding a new  subdivision
    35  2-a to read as follows:
    36    2-a. Gender balance in the port authority. a. For the purposes of this
    37  subdivision,  the  following  terms  shall  have the following meanings,
    38  unless the context otherwise requires:
    39    (1) "gender balance" means an equal number of women and men  appointed
    40  to the board of commissioners or as officers of the port authority;
    41    (2)  "appointing  power"  means an individual or body charged with the
    42  responsibility to appoint others to the board  of  commissioners  or  as
    43  officers of the port authority.
    44    b. (1) Appointments made to the board of commissioners or appointments
    45  of officers of the port authority shall be gender balanced.
    46    (2)  No  person  shall  be  appointed  or  reappointed to the board of
    47  commissioners or appointed or reappointed as  an  officer  of  the  port
    48  authority if that appointment or reappointment would cause the number of
    49  members  of  such  board  of  commissioners or number of officers of one
    50  gender to be greater than one-half plus one.
    51    c. (1) An appointing power shall make  appointment  to  the  board  of
    52  commissioners  or the appointment of officers of the port authority in a
    53  manner which will ensure that women comprise approximately fifty percent
    54  of the membership of the board of commissioners or the number  of  offi-
    55  cers of the port authority.
        S. 2914                             3

     1    (2)  The appointing power shall appoint a person from the gender which
     2  has fewer appointees to any  vacant  position  whenever  the  number  of
     3  persons  of  one  gender  appointed  to the board of commissioners or as
     4  officers of the port authority exceeds the  number  of  persons  of  the
     5  other gender.
     6    (3)  In  making appointments to the board of commissioners or as offi-
     7  cers of the port authority, the number of appointments by an  appointing
     8  power  of  one  gender  may  not  exceed  by more than one the number of
     9  appointments from the other gender. When an unequal number  of  appoint-
    10  ments  has been made from each gender, a vacant position shall be filled
    11  by a person from the gender with fewer appointees.
    12    (4) In the event of an uneven  number  of  positions,  the  appointing
    13  power  shall  fill a vacancy with a member of the gender whose represen-
    14  tation was of a lesser number when an opening occurs.
    15    d. The appointing power  shall  undertake  all  efforts  necessary  to
    16  obtain  lists  of  names  of  qualified candidates to be recommended for
    17  appointment, in furtherance of the advancement of  the  policy  of  this
    18  subdivision to achieve equal numbers of appointments of men and women to
    19  appointive positions pursuant to this subdivision.
    20    e. Multiple appointing powers charged with the appointment of individ-
    21  uals  to the board of commissioners or as officers of the port authority
    22  shall consult each other to avoid a violation of this subdivision.
    23    f. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit an indi-
    24  vidual from completing a term for which the person was appointed,  prior
    25  to the effective date of this subdivision.
    26    §  3.  Sections  one  and  two  of this act shall take effect upon the
    27  enactment into law by the state of New Jersey of legislation  having  an
    28  identical  effect  with  this  act, but if the state of New Jersey shall
    29  have already enacted such legislation, section one  of  this  act  shall
    30  take  effect  immediately; provided, however, if chapter 559 of the laws
    31  of 2015 shall not have taken effect on or before such date then  section
    32  two  of  this  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
    33  manner as such chapter of the laws of 2015 takes effect;  provided  that
    34  the  state  of  New  Jersey  shall  notify the legislative bill drafting
    35  commission upon the occurrence  of  the  enactment  of  the  legislation
    36  provided  for  in  sections  one  and  two of this act in order that the
    37  commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective  data  base  of
    38  the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of
    39  effectuating  the  provisions  of  section 44 of the legislative law and
    40  section 70-b of the public officers law.