ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION amending Rule III of the Assembly rules, in relation
to the introduction of bills and resolutions

RESOLVED, That Rule III of the Assembly rules is amended to read as
follows:
RULE III

BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Section 1. Contents.
a. Title.
(1) The title of every bill shall briefly state the subject thereof.
(2) The title of every bill amending or repealing any provision of a
consolidated law shall refer to such law.
(3) The title of every bill amending or repealing any unconsolidated
law shall refer to such law by its short title, if it have one; if it
have no short title, the title of such bill shall state the chapter
number, year of enactment and the complete title of the original bill or
a short summary of the provisions to which the law relates.
(4) If such bill is amending or repealing a proposed provision of law
contained in a bill that has not been enacted into law, the title shall
state the number of the bill containing the proposed provision of law to
be amended or repealed, with suffix, if there be one, and the subject of
the provisions to which the amendatory bill relates.
b. Bill sections.
(1) In any bill, each section proposing an amendment to or the repeal
of: (i) any consolidated law, or any part thereof; or (ii) the Family
Court Act, the Court of Claims Act, the Uniform District Court Act, the
Uniform Justice Court Act, the Uniform City Court Act, the New York City
Charter, the Administrative Code of the City of New York, the New York
City Civil Court Act, the New York City Criminal Court Act, or the Char-
ter of the City of Buffalo, or any part thereof shall refer to such law,
act, charter or code.
(2) In any bill, each section proposing an amendment to or the repeal
of an unconsolidated law having a short title, or any part thereof,
shall refer to such law by its chapter number and year of enactment and
its short title. If an unconsolidated law shall have no short title,
each section shall state the chapter number and year of enactment of
such law and a short summary of the provisions to which the law relates
or the complete title of the original bill.
(3) If such section amends or repeals a proposed provision of law
contained in a bill that has not been enacted into law, each section
shall state the number of the bill containing such proposed provisions
of law to be amended or repealed, with suffix, if there be one.
(4) If the portion of the law proposed to be amended has been added,
renumbered or amended since the original enactment or last general
revision of the law of which it is a part, such section shall also state
the chapter number and year of the last act adding, renumbering or
amending the same, as the case may be.
c. Body.
(1) Every bill amending, adding to or repealing existing law, upon its
introduction, and if reprinted, must, in the body of the bill have:
(a) All new matter to be added to or inserted in existing law under-
scored;
(b) All matter to be eliminated by amendment from existing law printed
in its proper place in the bill enclosed in black-faced brackets;

(c) The word "repealed," when any existing law or part thereof is
proposed to be repealed, printed in boldface type; and
(d) Whenever it is proposed to amend only a part of a word in existing
law, the whole of such word shall be printed in its proper place
enclosed in black-faced brackets and the whole word as proposed shall be
underscored.
(2) Whenever a bill is amended by eliminating proposed new matter,
such new matter shall be omitted in the reprint of the bill.
d. Explanatory note.
There shall be appended at the end of every bill introduced in the
Assembly, which proposes the repeal or extension of any existing law, or
part thereof, merely by reference thereto, without setting forth the
text thereof, an explanatory note which shall briefly and concisely
state the subject matter of the law, or part thereof, proposed to be
repealed or extended, unless such subject matter is stated in the title
of such bill.
e. Nonconforming bills.
Whenever it shall be called to the attention of the Speaker that any
bill introduced is not drawn or printed in accordance with the
provisions of this Rule, the Speaker may, in his or her discretion,
direct the Index Clerk to cause such bill to be immediately amended and
reprinted so as to comply therewith, and when reprinted said bill shall
be restored to the place it held when such direction was given.
f. Introducer's memorandum.
There shall be appended to every bill introduced in the Assembly, an
introducer's memorandum setting forth the purpose of the bill, a summary
of its provisions, a statement of its fiscal impact on the state, a
statement of its impact on the regulation of businesses and individuals
and a statement as to whether the bill imposes or changes any fine, term
of imprisonment, forfeiture of rights or other penal sanction, together
with the nature of such imposition or change in a format and length to
be prescribed by the Speaker. Whenever a bill is amended by its sponsor,
it shall be the duty of the sponsor to file an amended memorandum
setting forth the same material as required in the original memorandum.
In addition, whenever a bill is reported by a committee as amended, it
shall be the duty of the committee to submit an amended memorandum.
º 2. Introduction.
a. Every bill introduced in the House shall be in duplicate and accom-
panied by the introducer's memorandum in quadruplicate. Such bill shall
be presented by the introducer to the Index Clerk and delivered by the
Index Clerk to the Office of Assembly Revision for the purposes set
forth in subdivision a of section eight of this Rule. Thereafter, such
bill shall be referred to a standing committee, other than the Committee
on Rules, by the Speaker, assigned a number, printed and placed on the
desks of the members. The Index Clerk shall, on the day of its introduc-
tion, cause such bill to be transmitted to the printer. A copy of each
bill shall be available for public inspection in the Office of Assembly
Revision. The Office of Assembly Revision shall maintain a photocopy
machine for use by the public to copy any such bill at a per page price
to be established by the Speaker pursuant to the "Freedom of Information
Law".
b. On or after November fifteenth of a calendar year, a member and
member-elect may submit a bill, in accordance with subdivision a of this
section, for introduction at the commencement of the following legisla-
tive session. Such prefiled bill shall be assigned a number and referred
to a committee, but shall not be deemed introduced until the commence-
ment of such legislative session.

c. Each time a bill is amended and reprinted, a letter of the alpha-
bet, starting with "A", shall be added to its number.
d. All bills, whether introduced in the House or communicated by
message from the Senate, or by the Governor pursuant to Article VII of
the Constitution, shall be deemed to have had their first reading unless
otherwise ordered by the House and shall be referred to a standing
committee, to consider and report thereon. At any time the Speaker may,
with the consent of the House, change the reference of any bill. Every
message from the Senate communicating an amendment to an Assembly bill
shall, except with unanimous consent for immediate passage, be referred
to the committee which reported the bill with power to report at any
time.
e. No bill shall be introduced in the House except in one of the
following modes:
(1) by a member;
(2) by a report of a standing committee;
(3) by order of the House;
(4) by message from the Senate; and
(5) by the Governor under Article VII of the Constitution.
f. (1) Any Assembly bill introduced in the regular legislative session
of the first year of the term of the Assembly shall be deemed to be
reintroduced for the second year of such term, provided such bill was:
(a) not reported from a standing committee;
(b) reported and referred;
(c) recommitted to a standing committee; or
(d) referred back to a standing committee by the Committee on Rules
immediately prior to adjournment sine die.
(2) Any Assembly bill which in the first year of the term of the
Assembly was passed by the Assembly and did not become law, was not
vetoed, or was substituted by a Senate bill which did not become law or
which was not vetoed, shall be deemed to be reintroduced for the second
year of such term and shall be ordered to the order of third reading,
except that:
(a) any such bill which in such first year required a home rule
message for passage shall be referred to the committee to which such
bill was originally referred;
(b) upon request of the introducer or the chairperson of the committee
to which such bill was originally referred, such bill shall be committed
to the committee to which it was originally referred provided, however,
such request may not be made later than the second Wednesday following
the commencement of the second year of the term of the Assembly;
(c) any such bill making an appropriation of money which was not
referred to a committee pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph,
shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means; and
(d) upon the request of the chairperson of the Committee on Ways and
Means, any bill not referred to a committee pursuant to subparagraph (a)
or (b) of this paragraph, which in such first year was reported and
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to section six of
Rule IV shall be committed to the Committee on Ways and Means provided,
however, such request may not be made later than the second Wednesday
following the commencement of the second year of the term of the Assem-
bly.
g. When a bill is submitted or proposed by the Governor by authority
of Article VII of the Constitution, it shall become, for all legislative
purposes, a legislative bill, and upon receipt thereof by the Assembly
it shall be endorsed "Budget Bill" and be given a number by the Index
Clerk, and shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and be
printed. Bills submitted by the Governor, other than those submitted

pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution, shall carry the designation
"Introduced at the request of the Governor".
h. Whenever a member requests the preparation of legislation from the
Legislative Bill Drafting Commission, the bill drafter assigned to
prepare such legislation shall determine if a similar bill has already
been introduced, and, if a similar bill has been introduced, the Legis-
lative Bill Drafting Commission, on forms prescribed by the Commission,
shall notify the member of such fact and inform him that subdivision b
of section three of this Rule permits a member to become a multi-sponsor
of a bill already printed by filing a request therefor with the Index
Clerk. Notwithstanding that a similar bill has previously been intro-
duced, a member shall have the right to have the legislation requested
prepared by the Commission for introduction.
º 3. Multi-sponsorship. a. Any number of members of the Assembly may
join in the multi-sponsorship of a bill. When a bill is first intro-
duced and before it is printed, the names of all multi-sponsors shall
appear on the printed bill upon the following conditions:
(1) Multi-sponsors shall file a written request to act as such with
the Index Clerk of the Assembly on forms provided. The request so filed
shall indicate that the first name appearing on the bill shall be deemed
the introducer and all others deemed multi-sponsors.
(2) The introducer shall at all times retain exclusive control of the
bill.
(3) After a multi-sponsored bill has been printed, any multi-sponsor
desiring to withdraw from such multi-sponsorship shall file a written
request on forms provided, so that such member's name will be stricken
as a multi-sponsor from the records of the Index Clerk. The printed
bill, however, shall not be reprinted.
b. Members of the Assembly and members-elect may multi-sponsor bills
that have been pre-filed and bills introduced after the opening of each
legislative session upon the following conditions:
(1) After a bill has been introduced and printed and before final
passage any member or members may file with the Index Clerk, on forms
provided, to become a multi-sponsor of such bill, which forms must be
signed by [the introducer and] the multi-sponsor.
(2) Such bill shall not be reprinted solely for the purpose of adding
or deleting names of multi-sponsors.
(3) The introducer shall at all times retain exclusive control of such
bill.
(4) Any member, having become a multi-sponsor of a bill, may withdraw
from such by filing a written request with the Index Clerk, on forms
provided, requesting such member's name be stricken as a multi-sponsor
from such clerk's records.
(5) Any member who has become a multi-sponsor of a bill in the manner
set forth herein shall have the right to distribute such bill bearing
the endorsement "multi-sponsored by" and insert his or her own name as
multi-sponsor.
º 4. Final day. a. The final day for the unlimited introduction of
bills, including those recommended by the state government, local
governments, public authorities and other public corporations and all
departments, agencies and other instrumentalities thereof shall be the
last Tuesday in May of the second year of the term of the Assembly.
After the last Tuesday in May of such second year, no bill shall be
introduced except by the Committee on Rules, by message from the Senate
or, with the consent of the Speaker, by members elected at a special
election who take office on or after the first Tuesday in May.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section,
bills may be introduced at any time by unanimous consent of the House.
º 5. Resolutions.
a. Original resolutions, concurrent or otherwise other than privileged
resolutions may be introduced by a member under the proper order of
business on or before the last Tuesday in May of the second year of the
term of the Assembly. After the last Tuesday in May of such second year
no such resolution shall be introduced except by the Committee on Rules
or by message from the Senate or, with the consent of the Speaker, by
members elected at a special election who take office on or after the
last Tuesday in May. Such resolutions shall be in quadruplicate and
bear the name of the introducer and shall be referred to a standing
committee for consideration and report. No such resolution may be
introduced unless copies thereof first shall have been furnished to the
Speaker, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader. Before the House
may vote on a resolution, copies of such resolution shall be placed on
each member's desk THREE DAYS prior to such vote. THE SPEAKER AND THE
MINORITY LEADER MAY WAIVE THE THREE DAY REQUIREMENT.
b. The following resolutions and motions relating thereto shall be
considered privileged and their presentation and consideration shall be
in order under any order of business:
(1) resolutions recalling a bill from the Senate;
(2) resolutions returning a bill to the Senate;
(3) resolutions relating to the disposition of matters immediately
before the House;
(4) resolutions relating to the business of the day including
adjournment or recess;
(5) resolutions relating to the impeachment of State or judicial
officers;
(6) resolutions relating to printing bills, documents or chapter
slips;
(7) resolutions relating to the reports of joint legislative commit-
tees; and
(8) resolutions in [memorium] MEMORIAM or honorific in nature.
c. Messages from the Senate communicating a concurrent resolution
shall, if objection is made to immediate consideration, be referred to
the appropriate committee with power to report at any time.
d. Concurrent resolutions proposing amendments to the Constitution of
the State and concurrent resolutions ratifying proposed amendments to
the Constitution of the United States shall, for all legislative
purposes, be deemed to be and treated as bills.
e. All resolutions calling for or leading to expenditures, except
resolutions for printing extra copies of bills, documents and chapter
slips, shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and all
other resolutions shall be referred to the appropriate standing commit-
tee or to an assembly calendar, as the Speaker may designate.
f. All resolutions shall be adopted by a majority vote of the members
present and voting, provided, however, concurrent resolutions proposing
amendments to the Constitution of the State or ratifying amendments to
the Constitution of the United States and resolutions calling for or
leading to the expenditure of money shall be adopted by a vote of a
majority of all the members elected to the Assembly.
º 6. Amendments.
a. No amendment to a bill may be offered unless the member proposing
the amendment delivers three copies of the bill with the proposed amend-
ment correctly marked thereon and six copies of the detailed description
of such amendment to the Clerk of the Assembly.

b. A copy of each amendment offered by the sponsor of a bill shall be
provided by Journal Operations to the chairperson and ranking minority
member of any standing committee that previously reported such bill.
c. Prior to the commencement of debate on a bill to which an amendment
is offered by a member other than the introducer, the Clerk of the
Assembly shall make copies thereof and cause one copy to be placed on
the desk of each member of the House. When there is more than one amend-
ment to a bill and one of such amendments is adopted, any of the other
amendments so offered shall, if so requested by the member offering
same, be debated and voted upon immediately after such adoption,
provided, however, that such other amendments are offered to those
provisions of the bill not changed by the adopted amendment and are
consistent with the provisions of the adopted amendment.
d. If a motion to amend prevails, the Clerk of the Assembly shall
distribute copies of the bill with the amendment correctly marked there-
on together with copies of the detailed description of the amendment to
the appropriate Assembly offices for purposes of renumbering and print-
ing the bill as amended.
e. No amendment shall be allowed to any bill which is not germane to
the original object or purpose thereof.
F. A ROLL CALL OF EACH FLOOR AMENDMENT OFFERED AND CONSIDERED BEFORE
THE HOUSE SHALL BE AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT THROUGH THE LEGISLA-
TIVE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS OF THE VOTE.
º 7. Reading of bills. a. Every bill shall receive three separate
readings, and on three different days, previous to its passage, except
when ordered to a third reading pursuant to paragraph two of subdivision
f of section two of this Rule, by unanimous consent or when made a
special order, or when accompanied by a message of necessity pursuant to
section [14] FOURTEEN of Article III of the Constitution. NO MESSAGE OF
NECESSITY SHALL BE ACCEPTED FROM THE GOVERNOR UNLESS AT LEAST TWO-THIRDS
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE HAVE APPROVED THE MESSAGE.
b. Bills placed on the order of second reading, as provided for in
subdivision g of section six of Rule IV, shall be subject to debate
before the motion to order them to a third reading is entertained.
One-half hour shall be allowed for such debate, but no person shall
speak more than fifteen minutes, except by consent of the House. The
main question, however, if ordered, shall be on the advancement of the
bill; but when amendments are pending the question shall first be taken
upon such amendments in their inverse order.
c. All bills on the order of second reading shall be ordered to third
reading unless otherwise ordered pursuant to subdivision b of this
section or pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of section ten of
Rule IV.
d. No bill shall be considered for third reading until it shall have
been on the printed Calendar of the House on two legislative days on
that order, except where made a special order by report of the Committee
on Rules, in which case it may be considered on second and third reading
on the same day.
e. In all cases where unanimous consent is asked for advancing a bill
or entertaining a motion or resolution out of its order, it shall be the
duty of the Speaker to proclaim such request and determine if such
consent will be granted.
f. A bill appearing on the Calendar may be "starred" by or at the
request of the introducer, whereupon all further action on such bill
shall be suspended, although it retains its place on the Calendar. Other
than for the purpose of amendment or recommittal, a star may not be
removed from a bill until one day after the request therefor. A bill on
any order of third reading which has been laid aside by or at the

request of the introducer on three separate days shall be automatically
starred.
g. Substitution of Bills. Where there is a Senate bill in a standing
committee and the identical Assembly bill is on the order of second or
any order of third reading, the Senate bill may be substituted for the
Assembly bill upon a motion by, or on behalf of, the introducer and a
vote of a majority of the members present and voting. The motion to
substitute may also be made on an identical Assembly bill which has been
passed, recalled, vote reconsidered and restored to third reading.
º 8. Revision and engrossing.
a. The Office of Assembly Revision shall examine and correct all
bills, for the purpose of avoiding repetitions, insuring accuracy in the
text and references, and consistency with the language of the existing
statutes. Any recommendation of the Office of Assembly Revision which
requires further amendment of the bill shall be handled by the member
introducing it or by the Majority or Minority Leader as a regular amend-
ment to the bill.
b. All bills when ordered to a third reading except Senate bills which
have not been amended in the House, or bills, which have been made a
special order on second and third reading, shall be sent to the Index
Clerk to be jacketed with the proper jurat for certification of final
passage. Each such bill shall, after passage by both Houses, be
engrossed, if so ordered by the Speaker, or stamped "Official Copy" in
which case it shall be deemed to have been engrossed.
º 9. Transmittal of bills to the Governor. All Assembly bills passed
by the Assembly and sent to the Senate for action shall, upon passage
and return by the Senate to the Assembly, be transmitted by the Index
Clerk to the Governor within ten legislative days after receipt from the
Senate, except that any bill returned for transmittal to the Assembly
after the first of May and before the first of June shall be transmitted
to the Governor within thirty days of such receipt, and any bill
returned for transmittal to the Assembly on or after the first of June
shall be transmitted to the Governor within forty-five days of such
receipt.