Bill Text: NY S04027 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires fire and library district budget votes to occur on the same day as the school district election.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-02 - RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN [S04027 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-S04027-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 4027 2011-2012 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E March 14, 2011 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ZELDIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law and the town law, in relation to requiring library and fire district budget proposal elections to occur on the same day as the school district budget vote; and to repeal certain provisions of the town law relating thereto THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 2 259 of the education law, as amended by chapter 184 of the laws of 2007, 3 is amended to read as follows: 4 (1) Except as provided in subparagraph two of this paragraph, whenever 5 qualified voters of a municipality, in a number equal to at least ten 6 per centum of the total number of votes cast in such municipality for 7 governor at the last gubernatorial election, shall so petition and the 8 library board of trustees shall endorse, the question of establishing or 9 increasing the amount of funding of the annual contribution for the 10 operating budget of a registered public or free association library by 11 such municipality to a sum specified in said petition, shall be voted on 12 [at the next general election of such municipality] THE SAME DAY AS THE 13 SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET VOTE IS HELD FOR SUCH MUNICIPALITY, provided that 14 due public notice of the proposed action shall have been given. An 15 increase in library funding provided pursuant to this paragraph shall 16 not apply to a municipal budget adopted prior to the date of such 17 election. 18 S 2. Section 105 of the town law, as amended by chapter 240 of the 19 laws of 2006 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 20 2007, is amended to read as follows: 21 S 105. Fire district estimates and budget. 1. The board of commission- 22 ers of each fire district shall submit the fire district budget on or 23 before the [seventh] TWENTIETH day of [November] APRIL to the budget EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06987-01-1 S. 4027 2 1 officer. The fire district budget shall be in the form prescribed by and 2 pursuant to subdivision one of section one hundred seven of this arti- 3 cle, and shall be adopted in the manner prescribed in section one 4 hundred eighty-one of this chapter. 5 2. The budget officer shall affix the fire district budget to the 6 annual town budget[, established pursuant to section one hundred nine of 7 this article,] as a part thereof. No change shall be made by the budget 8 officer or the town board in the budget submitted by a fire district. 9 3. SUCH FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET PROPOSAL SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE VOTE 10 OF THE ELECTORS ON THE SAME DAY AS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET VOTE IS 11 HELD FOR SUCH MUNICIPALITY. IF THE BUDGET PROPOSAL IS REJECTED, THE 12 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SHALL SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS, A REVISED FIRE 13 DISTRICT BUDGET PROPOSAL. IF SUCH PROPOSAL IS NOT ADOPTED, THE BOARD OF 14 COMMISSIONERS SHALL SUBMIT A BUDGET WITH APPROPRIATIONS EQUAL TO THE 15 APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR. 16 S 3. Section 109 of the town law is REPEALED. 17 S 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 181 of the town law, as 18 amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 (a) The board of commissioners of each fire district shall hold a 21 public hearing on the [third] FOURTH Tuesday in [October] APRIL to 22 discuss the contents of the proposed budget. The hearing shall be 23 conducted and scheduled in a manner that maximizes participation. Notice 24 of such public hearing shall be published at least once in the official 25 newspaper, or if no official newspaper has been designated, in any news- 26 paper having general circulation in the district. At least five days 27 shall elapse between the date of the first publication of the notice and 28 the date specified for the hearing. The notice of hearing shall state 29 the time when and the place where the public hearing will be held, the 30 purpose thereof and that a copy of the proposed budget is available at 31 the office of the town clerk or clerks and fire district secretary where 32 it may be inspected by any interested person during office hours. In the 33 case of a fire district that maintains an internet website, the notice 34 of hearing shall also state that the proposed budget is posted on the 35 fire district's website. The town clerk or clerks shall cause a copy of 36 the notice to be posted on the signboard of the town or towns, main- 37 tained pursuant to subdivision six of section thirty of this chapter, 38 not later than five days before the day designated for such hearing. The 39 notice shall also be posted on the municipal and/or fire district 40 website or websites, if one exists. At such hearing, any person may be 41 heard in favor of or against the proposed budget as compiled, or for or 42 against any item or items therein contained. 43 S 5. The state board of elections shall promulgate rules and regu- 44 lations for the implementation of voting for the library and fire 45 district budget proposal, on the same day as the school district budget 46 vote for each municipality. 47 S 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 48 sections one, two, three, and four of this act shall take effect January 49 1, 2013.