S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9524

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 11, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Local Governments

AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the town law, in  relation
  to  establishing  a  petition process to change the elective office of
  assessors

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new arti-
cle 17-B to read as follows:
                              ARTICLE 17-B
                  PETITION PROCESS TO ELIMINATE CERTAIN
                                POSITIONS
SECTION 797-A. DEFINITIONS.
        797-B. PROCESS UPON PETITION OR RESOLUTION.
        797-C. PETITION TO START THE  PROCESS  TO  CHANGE  THE  ELECTIVE
                 OFFICE OF ASSESSORS.
  S 797-A. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE:
  1.  THE TERM "QUALIFIED ELECTOR" SHALL MEAN A PERSON WHO IS REGISTERED
TO VOTE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE ELECTION LAW.
  2. THE TERM "PARTICIPATING MUNICIPALITY" SHALL MEAN A TOWN OR  VILLAGE
THAT  HAS STARTED THE PETITION PROCESS PURSUANT TO SECTION SEVEN HUNDRED
NINETY-SEVEN-B OF THIS ARTICLE.
  S 797-B. PROCESS UPON PETITION OR RESOLUTION.  1.  THE  PROCESS  SHALL
START IN A MUNICIPALITY ONCE A PETITION FROM THE RESIDENTS IS FILED WITH
THE MUNICIPAL CLERK.
  2.  UPON  RECEIVING  A  PETITION FROM THE RESIDENTS, THE PARTICIPATING
MUNICIPALITY SHALL SUBMIT THE QUESTION OF THE CHANGE OF  OFFICE  OF  THE
ASSESSORS TO THE VOTERS.
  3.  A CERTIFICATE OF THE ELECTION SHALL BE FILED WITH THE SECRETARY OF
STATE, WITH THE CLERKS OF EACH PARTICIPATING MUNICIPALITY, AND WITH  THE
CLERKS  OF  EACH  COUNTY  IN WHICH ANY PART OF THE PARTICIPATING MUNICI-
PALITY IS LOCATED.
  4. IF THE MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST ON THE REFERENDUM IN EACH PARTICIPAT-
ING MUNICIPALITY, ARE IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, THE MUNICIPALITY WITHIN THIRTY

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD11027-05-0

A. 9524                             2

DAYS OF THE DATE OF THE REFERENDUM SHALL NOTIFY SUCH ASSESSORS  THAT  HE
OR SHE SHALL SERVE OUT THEIR REMAINING TERM.
  5. IF THE MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST ON THE REFERENDUM IN EACH PARTICIPAT-
ING  MUNICIPALITY ARE IN THE NEGATIVE, THE REFERENDUM SHALL FAIL AND THE
PETITION PROCESS MAY NOT BE INITIATED FOR THE SAME  PURPOSE  WITHIN  TWO
YEARS OF THE DATE OF SUCH REFERENDUM.
  S  797-C.  PETITION TO START THE PROCESS TO CHANGE THE ELECTIVE OFFICE
OF ASSESSORS.  1. ELIGIBLE SIGNATURES. TO START THE PETITION PROCESS,  A
PETITION  MUST HAVE SIGNATURES FROM RESIDENTS OF THE JURISDICTION, EQUAL
TO AT LEAST TEN PERCENT OF THE RESIDENT ELECTORS QUALIFIED  TO  VOTE  IN
THE  LAST GENERAL ELECTION. THOSE SIGNING THE PETITION MUST BE QUALIFIED
TO VOTE AT THE TIME OF THE FILING OF THE  PETITION  WITH  THE  MUNICIPAL
CLERK.
  2.  TIME  LIMIT. A SIGNATURE SHALL BE INVALID IF IT IS SIGNED UPON THE
PETITION MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS BEFORE THE PETITION IS  FILED
WITH THE MUNICIPAL CLERK, UNLESS THE GOVERNING BOARD PASSES A RESOLUTION
TO GIVE ADDITIONAL TIME TO COLLECT SIGNATURES.
  3. FORM. THE PETITION SHALL BE IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE FOLLOWING FORM:
                                PETITION
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, ELECTORS OF THE (INSERT TYPE OF MUNICIPALITY - TOWN
OR  VILLAGE)          OF                   (INSERT NAME OF MUNICIPALITY)
, NEW YORK, QUALIFIED TO VOTE AT THE NEXT GENERAL OR  SPECIAL  ELECTION,
DO HEREBY PETITION THAT THERE BE SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS OF (INSERT NAME
OF  MUNICIPALITY)          ,  PURSUANT TO LAW, A PROPOSITION AS FOLLOWS:
(INSERT PROPOSITION SOUGHT TO BE SUBMITTED)  THE  UNDERSIGNED  QUALIFIED
ELECTORS  HEREBY  REQUEST THAT A REFERENDUM VOTE UPON THE ABOVE PROPOSI-
TION BE TAKEN AS PROVIDED BY LAW. IN WITNESS   WHEREOF, WE  HAVE  SIGNED
OUR NAMES ON THE DATES INDICATED NEXT TO OUR SIGNATURES.
   DATE   NAME - PRINT NAME UNDER SIGNATURE  HOME ADDRESS
1. ______ __________________________________ ____________________________
2. ______ __________________________________ ____________________________
3. ______ __________________________________ ____________________________
(ON THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE, AFTER ALL THE NUMBERED SIGNATURES, INSERT A
WITNESS  STATEMENT  OR A STATEMENT BY A NOTARY PUBLIC OR COMMISSIONER OF
DEEDS, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE FOLLOWING FORM:)
I, (NAME OF WITNESS), STATE THAT I AM A REGISTERED VOTER OF THE STATE OF
NEW YORK. I AM A RESIDENT OF THE (TOWN OR VILLAGE) OF (NAME OF  TOWN  OR
VILLAGE).  THE  PERSONS  THAT HAVE SIGNED THIS PETITION SHEET CONTAINING
(FILL IN NUMBER) SIGNATURES, HAVE SIGNED THEIR NAMES IN MY  PRESENCE  ON
THE  DATES  INDICATED  ABOVE  AND  IDENTIFIED  THEMSELVES TO BE THE SAME
PERSONS WHO SIGNED THE SHEET. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS STATEMENT  WILL  BE
ACCEPTED  FOR  ALL PURPOSES AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT, AND IF IT
CONTAINS A MATERIALLY FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME TO THE PENALTIES
OF PERJURY.
___________    _______________________________________
   DATE            SIGNATURE OF WITNESS
(IN LIEU OF THE SIGNED STATEMENT OF A WITNESS WHO IS  A  DULY  QUALIFIED
VOTER  OF THE STATE, QUALIFIED TO SIGN THE PETITION AS A RESIDENT OF THE
TOWN OR VILLAGE, THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT SIGNED BY A NOTARY PUBLIC OR  A
COMMISSIONER  OF  DEEDS  SHALL BE ACCEPTED.) ON THE DATE ABOVE INDICATED
BEFORE ME PERSONALLY CAME EACH OF THE VOTERS WHOSE SIGNATURES APPEAR  ON
THIS  PETITION  SHEET CONTAINING (FILL IN NUMBER) SIGNATURES, WHO SIGNED
SAME IN MY PRESENCE AND WHO, BEING BY ME DULY SWORN, EACH FOR HIMSELF OR
HERSELF, SAID THAT THE FOREGOING STATEMENT MADE AND SUBSCRIBED BY HIM OR
HER, WAS TRUE.
___________    _______________________________________

A. 9524                             3

   DATE         NOTARY PUBLIC OR COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS
  4.  LIBERAL  CONSTRUCTION.  IN  MATTERS OF FORM, THIS SECTION SHALL BE
GIVEN A LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION, AND PRECISE COMPLIANCE IS NOT REQUIRED.
  S 2.  Section 33 of the town law, as amended by  chapter  261  of  the
laws of 1943, is amended to read as follows:
  S  33.  Powers  and  duties of assessors. 1. The assessor or assessors
shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as are, or hereaft-
er may be, conferred or imposed by law.
  When required by the town board in a town  of  the  first  class,  the
assessor  or  assessors  shall keep such office hours for public conven-
ience as the town board shall determine.
  2. EVERY ELECTOR OF THE TOWN SHALL BE ENTITLED TO VOTE AT ANY REFEREN-
DUM HELD THEREON PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF  ARTICLE  SEVEN  OF  THIS
CHAPTER.   IF THE TOWN BOARD SHALL HAVE ADOPTED SUCH A RESOLUTION AND NO
PETITION SHALL HAVE BEEN FILED WITHIN  THE  TIME  SPECIFIED  IN  ARTICLE
SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER FOR A REFERENDUM THEREON, OR, IF A MAJORITY OF THE
VOTES  CAST ON ANY SUCH PROPOSITION SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS
OF ARTICLE SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER BE IN THE AFFIRMATIVE,  THE  OFFICE  OF
ASSESSORS SHALL THEREAFTER BE AN APPOINTIVE OFFICE IN SUCH TOWN, AND THE
TOWN BOARD SHALL APPOINT AN ASSESSOR FOR THE TERM PROVIDED BY THIS CHAP-
TER, BEGINNING ON THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY NEXT SUCCEEDING SUCH BIENNIAL
TOWN  ELECTION  AND THE TERM OF OFFICE OF THE ELECTIVE ASSESSOR FOR WHOM
SUCH SUCCESSOR SHALL BE APPOINTED SHALL EXPIRE  ON  SAID  FIRST  DAY  OF
JANUARY.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.