Senate Bill S7917

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7917

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to repeal subdivision 12 of section 3 of the public officers
law, relating to qualifications for holding office in the city of
Troy, Rensselaer county; and to repeal subdivision 6 of section 30 of
the public officers law, relating to vacancies in city offices in the
city of Troy, Rensselaer county

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

Relates to qualifications for holding office in the city of Troy,
Rensselaer county and to vacancies in city offices in the city of
Troy, Rensselaer county; repealer

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 repeals subdivision 12 of section 3 of the public officers
law.

Section 2 repeals subdivision 6 of section 30 of the public officers
law.

Section 3 is the effective date.

              

 JUSTIFICATION :

In 1975, the City of Troy submitted a home rule message to amend NYS
Public Law to exempt appointed public officers in the City from a
residential requirement. Although many other cities in New York State
require a public officer to be a resident of the community, the 1975
amendment has created a culture key public officers living outside the
City. These public officers are key members of the city government,
including department heads and members of planning and zoning boards.
It is in the city's best interest to have the individuals holding
these positions be Troy City residents.

It is also important to note that Local Law 4 of 1984 of the City of
Troy requires non-public officers (employees of the City) to be Troy
residents. This shows a disparity between the requirements for
employees and those for city officers that this bill seeks to address.

To clarify, while the Troy City Council strongly encourages police and
firefighters to reside in our city, these employees are covered under
a separate state law and would not be impacted by this bill.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.