Bill Text: NY S06197 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Provides that certain local elections outside of New York City shall be in an even-numbered year.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-27 - PRINT NUMBER 6197D [S06197 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S06197-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6197--B

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 14, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. SKOUFIS, BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Elections  --
          recommitted  to  the  Committee on Elections in accordance with Senate
          Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted  as  amended  and recommitted to said committee -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the election law, the town law and the village  law,  in
          relation to moving certain elections to even-numbered years

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 6-202  of  the  election  law,  as
     2  added by chapter 359 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
     3    1.  Party  nominations of candidates for village offices in any county
     4  shall be made at a party caucus or at a primary election, as  the  rules
     5  of the county committee, heretofore or hereafter adopted consistent with
     6  the provisions of this chapter shall provide. If the rules of the county
     7  committee  of  any  political  party  provide that party nominations for
     8  village offices of that party in any or all villages in the county shall
     9  be made at a village primary election, such primary  election  shall  be
    10  held  [forty-nine  days  prior  to the date of the village election] the
    11  first Tuesday after the second  Monday  in  June  before  every  general
    12  election  in an even-numbered year unless otherwise changed by an act of
    13  the legislature.  In the event a village elects its officers on  a  date
    14  not  in  November,  such  primary election shall be held forty-nine days
    15  prior to the date of the village election.   In the event  there  is  no
    16  village committee with a chairman, the chairman of the county committee,
    17  or such other person or body as the rules of such committee may provide,
    18  shall designate an enrolled member of the party who is a qualified voter
    19  of  the  village  as  the village election chairman. The chairman of the
    20  county committee of each party in which nominations in any  village  are
    21  made  at  a  primary election shall file with the board of elections, at
    22  least one week before the first day to file  designating  petitions  for
    23  such  primary  elections, a list of the name and address of the chairman

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08253-10-2
        S. 6197--B                          2

     1  of the village committee or the village election chairman in  each  such
     2  village.  Such  village chairman shall have general party responsibility
     3  for the conduct of the village caucus or primary  election.  Such  nomi-
     4  nations  shall be made not more than fifty-six, nor less than forty-nine
     5  days prior to the date of the village election.
     6    § 2. Paragraphs a and b of subdivision 1  of  section  15-104  of  the
     7  election  law, paragraph a as amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 1983
     8  and paragraph b as amended by chapter 565  of  the  laws  of  1998,  are
     9  amended to read as follows:
    10    a. The general village election shall be held on the [third Tuesday in
    11  March  except in any village which presently elects, or hereafter adopts
    12  a proposition to elect, its officers on a  date  other  than  the  third
    13  Tuesday  in  March] Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November
    14  in an even-numbered year except in any village which as of the effective
    15  date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-two that  amended
    16  this paragraph elects its officers on a date not in November.
    17    [b. In any village in which the general village election, or a special
    18  village  election for officers pursuant to this chapter, is scheduled to
    19  be held on the third Tuesday of March, for any year in which the  seven-
    20  teenth day of March shall fall on such Tuesday, the board of trustees of
    21  such  village shall provide, by the resolution prescribed by paragraph b
    22  of subdivision three of this section, that such election shall  be  held
    23  on  the  eighteenth  day of March. Any provision of a resolution adopted
    24  pursuant to this subdivision shall not  otherwise  alter  the  political
    25  calendar for any such election, which shall continue to be computed from
    26  the  third  Tuesday of March. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivi-
    27  sion five of this section, any provision of a resolution adopted  pursu-
    28  ant  to  this  subdivision  shall be effective only if such provision is
    29  specifically published as provided by this section.]
    30    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 6-200 of the election law, as  added  by
    31  chapter 359 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
    32    1. This title applies to all general and special village elections for
    33  officers  which are conducted by the board of elections [on a date other
    34  than the date of the general election] and all the  provisions  of  this
    35  chapter, not inconsistent with this title, shall apply.
    36    § 4. Section 80 of the town law is amended to read as follows:
    37    §  80.  Biennial town elections. [Except as otherwise provided in this
    38  chapter, a] A biennial town election for the election of  town  officers
    39  and  for  the  consideration of such questions as may be proposed by the
    40  town board or the duly qualified electors, pursuant to the provisions of
    41  this chapter, shall be held on the Tuesday  next  succeeding  the  first
    42  Monday in November of every [odd-numbered] even-numbered year. All other
    43  town  elections  are  special elections. A town election or special town
    44  election held pursuant to this chapter, shall be construed as a  substi-
    45  tute,  for  a town meeting or a special town meeting heretofore provided
    46  to be held by law, and a reference in any  law  to  a  town  meeting  or
    47  special  town meeting shall be construed as referring to a town election
    48  or special town election.
    49    § 5. Subdivision 4 of section 17-1703-a of the village law,  as  added
    50  by  chapter 960 of the laws of 1977 and the opening paragraph as amended
    51  by chapter 30 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
    52    4. In any case in which the proposition provided  for  in  subdivision
    53  one of this section shall have resulted in favor of the local government
    54  operating  principally  as a town, then, at the regular village election
    55  next ensuing, all offices to be filled thereat shall be filled for terms
    56  to end at the conclusion of the then current calendar year. The term  of
        S. 6197--B                          3

     1  office  of  each  other  elected  village  office  shall also end at the
     2  conclusion of said then current calendar year, notwithstanding that  any
     3  such term of office originally extended beyond such date. The offices of
     4  supervisor,  four  town councilmen and two town justices shall be filled
     5  by election as hereinafter provided at  the  November  general  election
     6  next  following the effective date of the creation of such town or anne-
     7  xation of such territory; all other town offices  shall  be  appointive.
     8  The  election  of  the  supervisor, councilmen and justices shall be for
     9  terms of office as follows:
    10    (a) If such election is held in [an odd-numbered] the same year  as  a
    11  regular  village  election, then the term of office for supervisor shall
    12  be the term regularly provided by law; the terms of office for two coun-
    13  cilmen shall be the terms regularly provided by law and  the  terms  for
    14  the  other  two  councilmen  shall  be two years each; the term for each
    15  justice shall be the term regularly provided by law. Upon the expiration
    16  of the two year term for councilmen as above  provided,  the  terms  for
    17  such offices shall be as regularly provided by law.
    18    (b)  If  such  election is held in [an even-numbered] a year without a
    19  regular village election, then the term of office for  supervisor  shall
    20  be  one  year;  the terms of office for councilmen shall be one year for
    21  two councilmen and three years for the  other  two  councilmen  and  the
    22  terms  of office for each justice shall be for the remainder of the then
    23  unexpired terms. Thereafter, each office shall be filled  for  the  term
    24  regularly provided by law.
    25    § 6. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law or of any other
    26  general, special or local law, all elections of any position of a county
    27  elected  official,  town  elected official, or village elected official,
    28  except a village elected official who is elected on a date not in Novem-
    29  ber, shall occur on the Tuesday next  succeeding  the  first  Monday  in
    30  November. All such elections shall occur in an even-numbered year.
    31    § 7. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law or of any other
    32  general,  special, or local law, a county elected official, town elected
    33  official, or village elected  official,  with  exception  of  a  village
    34  elected  official  who  is  elected on a date not in November, presently
    35  elected and serving their term as of the enactment  of  this  act  shall
    36  complete their full term as established in local law.
    37    §  8.    Any  county,  town, or village official that is elected in an
    38  odd-numbered year after the effective date  of  this  act,  excluding  a
    39  village elected official who is elected on a date not in November, shall
    40  have  their term expire as if such official were elected at the previous
    41  general election held in an even-numbered year; provided however  in  no
    42  event shall such expiration occur later than December 31 of such follow-
    43  ing  year.  Such  term  shall  be applicable to any general, special, or
    44  local law pertaining to term  limits.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall
    45  prohibit  a  county, town, or village from enacting a local law to alter
    46  or permit alteration of an official's term limit.
    47    § 9. Severability. If any provision of this act  is  held  invalid  or
    48  ineffective  in  whole or in part or inapplicable to any person or situ-
    49  ation, such invalidity or holding shall not affect, impair or invalidate
    50  other provisions or applications of this act that can  be  given  effect
    51  without  the  invalid provision or application, and all other provisions
    52  thereof shall nevertheless be separately and  fully  effective,  and  to
    53  this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
    54    § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.