Senate Bill S1752A

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1752A

 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 :

2013-14: S.2828 - Attorney General opinion received; died in Judiciary
2011-12: S.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.