Senate Bill S2828

                                BILL NUMBER:S2828

TITLE OF BILL:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment
to section 2 of article 3 of the constitution, in relation to increasing
the terms of office of members of the legislature and
limiting the terms of office as a member of the legislature any person
may serve

PURPOSE:
This legislation aims to expand and limit legislative terms in an
attempt to reform government. The 16 consecutive years provided by
this amendment for Assembly members and the 18 consecutive years
provided by this amendment for Senators would allow elected-officials
to accrue seniority, but then deprives them of the incumbent's
position for at least one term, so that the voters might choose new
representation in comparison.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:;
This legislation would amend section 2 of article 3 of the
constitution in relation to increasing the terms of office of
Assembly members of the legislature to four years, and the terms of
office of Senators to six years, and limiting the consecutive terms
of office a Senator may serve to three, and an Assembly member to four.

              

JUSTIFICATION:
New York's democracy embodies a tension between the need for
legislators to learn the nature and procedure of their position, and
the desire of the voters for new ideas to filter into government
through a exchange of incumbents and new legislators. In addition,
the two-year legislative terms for which the Constitution presently
provides are not efficient, as members must constantly campaign, and
a significant portion of their time is diverted from legislative
activity.

An expanded term of office would allow lawmakers to concentrate more
fully on legislative activity and on the honing and advocacy of
policy. Adopting staggered terms for the upper and lower legislative
houses would also bolster voter turnout in what were formerly
"off-year" election, rather than general election years.

The three consecutive term limit for Senate positions would force a
turnover of fresh ideas and members within the upper house, as would
the four consecutive term limit for Assembly seats.

The rationale behind limiting the amount of terms, is that eighteen
and sixteen years are, respectively, sufficient time to advocate for
such legislation that is of particular importance to an elected
official before
allowing a new member a potentially similar amount of time to pursue
his or her political agenda. It is theorized that such.turnover of
new ideas might best serve the constituents of each district. This
constant churning of the legislature would allow the issues and
voices of more New Yorkers to be


heard, as well as trigger a sense of urgency to enact important policy
concerns into law.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2011-2012: 5.2891 - Attorney General opinion received; died in Judiciary
A similar bill (A.4145 and S.21 of 2009-2010) has the following
history in the Assembly.
A.4145 (2009-2010) - Referred to Attorney General; Re-Referred to
Judiciary.
S.21 (2009-2010) - Referred to Attorney General; Re-Referred to
Judiciary.
A.7594 (2007-2008) - Referred to Attorney General; Re-Referred to
Judiciary.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

RESOLVED (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendments be
referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in
conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.