Senate Bill S586A

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

                                 586--A

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  GIANARIS,  HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, SERRANO, STAVISKY --
  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

AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to designating additional
  participating agencies for purposes of agency assisted voter registra-
  tion

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

  Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 5-211 of the election law,
as  amended  by  chapter  265 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
  Each agency designated as a participating agency under the  provisions
of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution
of  voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section.
The following offices which provide  public  assistance  and/or  provide
state funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons
with  disabilities are hereby designated as voter registration agencies:
designated as the state agencies which provide public assistance are the
office of children and family services,  the  office  of  temporary  and
disability  assistance  and the department of health. Also designated as
public assistance agencies are all agencies  of  local  government  that
provide  such  assistance.  Designated  as  state  agencies that provide
programs primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabil-
ities are the department of labor, office for  the  aging,  division  of
veterans'  affairs,  office  of  mental health, office of vocational and
educational services for individuals with  disabilities,  commission  on
quality of care for the mentally disabled, office [of mental retardation

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

                                                           LBD01378-02-4

S. 586--A                           2

and]  FOR  PEOPLE  WITH  developmental  disabilities, commission for the
blind, office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office  of
the  advocate for the disabled and all offices which administer programs
established or funded by such agencies. Additional state agencies desig-
nated  as voter registration offices are the department of state and the
division of workers' compensation. Such agencies shall  be  required  to
offer  voter  registration forms to persons upon initial application for
services, renewal or recertification for services and change of  address
relating  to  such services. Such agencies shall also be responsible for
providing assistance to  applicants  in  completing  voter  registration
forms,  receiving  and  transmitting the completed application form from
all applicants who wish to have such form transmitted to the appropriate
board of elections. The state board of elections  shall,  together  with
representatives  of  the  department  of  defense, develop and implement
procedures for including recruitment offices of the armed forces of  the
United  States  as  voter  registration offices when such offices are so
designated by federal law. The state board shall also  make  request  of
the  United  States  Immigration  and  Naturalization Service to include
applications for registration by mail with any materials which are given
to new citizens. All institutions of the state university  of  New  York
and  the  city  university  of  New York, shall, at the beginning of the
school year, and again in January of a year in which  the  president  of
the United States is to be elected, provide an application for registra-
tion  to  each  student  in  each  such  institution. The state board of
elections may, by regulation, grant a waiver from  any  or  all  of  the
requirements  of  this section to any office or program of an agency, if
it determines that it is not feasible for  such  office  or  program  to
administer  such requirement.  ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
ARE ALL PUBLIC LIBRARIES, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO OFFER VOTER  REGIS-
TRATION  FORMS  TO  PERSONS  EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER UPON INITIAL
APPLICATION FOR A LIBRARY CARD. ALSO DESIGNATED AS  PARTICIPATING  AGEN-
CIES ARE ALL LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITIES, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO OFFER
VOTER  REGISTRATION  FORMS  TO  PERSONS  UPON  INITIAL  APPLICATION  FOR
SERVICES OR RECERTIFICATION FOR SERVICES. ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPAT-
ING AGENCIES ARE ALL PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, WHICH  SHALL  BE  REQUIRED  TO
OFFER VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS TO ALL SENIORS UPON THEIR GRADUATION.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it  shall  have become a law; provided that the state board of elections
is authorized to promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act on
or before its effective date.