S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                    155
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. D'URSO, THIELE, SANTABARBARA, ORTIZ, RAIA, RA,
   LAWRENCE, BRABENEC -- read once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on
   Election Law
 
 AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requests for cancella-
   tion of the designation of a polling place

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section 4-104 of the election law, as
 amended by chapter 694 of the laws  of  1989,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   3. (A) A building exempt from taxation shall be used whenever possible
 as  a  polling  place  if  it  is  situated  in the same or a contiguous
 election district, and may contain as many distinctly  separate  polling
 places  as  public  convenience  may require. The expense, if any, inci-
 dental to its use, shall be paid like the expense  of  other  places  of
 registration and voting. If a board or body empowered to designate poll-
 ing  places chooses a public school building for such purpose, the board
 or agency which controls such building must make  available  a  room  or
 rooms  in  such  building which are suitable for registration and voting
 and which are as close as possible to  a  convenient  entrance  to  such
 building  and must make available any such room or rooms which the board
 or body designating such building determines  are  accessible  to  phys-
 ically disabled voters as provided in subdivision one-a OF THIS SECTION.
 NOT  LATER  THAN  TWENTY  DAYS  AFTER  A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING RECEIVES
 NOTICE OF ITS DESIGNATION AS  A  POLLING  PLACE,  THE  BOARD  OR  AGENCY
 CONTROLLING  SUCH BUILDING MAY FILE A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR A CANCELLATION
 OF SUCH DESIGNATION, PROVIDED THAT SUCH BOARD OR AGENCY MAKES A  SHOWING
 THAT  SUCH  BUILDING DOES NOT POSSESS THE PROPER STRUCTURE OR PROCEDURES
 TO KEEP THE PUBLIC SAFE IN THE  EVENT  OF  A  SECURITY  CONCERN  ARISING
 DURING  THE  USE  OF  SUCH BUILDING AS A POLLING SITE. THE BOARD OR BODY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00693-01-9

 A. 155                              2
 
 EMPOWERED TO SO DESIGNATE SHALL, WITHIN TWENTY DAYS AFTER  SUCH  REQUEST
 IS FILED, CANCEL THE DESIGNATION OF SUCH POLLING SITE.
   (B)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of any general, special or local
 law, if a board or body empowered to designate polling places chooses  a
 publicly  owned or leased building, other than a public school building,
 for such purposes the board or body which controls  such  building  must
 make  available  a room or rooms in such building which are suitable for
 registration and voting and which are as close as possible to a  conven-
 ient entrance to such building, and must make available any such room or
 rooms  which  the board or body designating such building determines are
 accessible to physically disabled voters unless, not later  than  thirty
 days  after  notice  of its designation as a polling place, the board or
 body controlling such building, files a written request for a  cancella-
 tion  of  such designation with the board or body empowered to designate
 polling places on such form as shall be provided by the  board  or  body
 making  such  designation.  The  board or body empowered to so designate
 shall, within twenty days after such request is filed, determine whether
 the use of such building as a polling place would unreasonably interfere
 with the usual activities conducted  in  such  building  and  upon  such
 determination, may cancel such designation.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.