S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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4949--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 6, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to providing for the
election of members of the board of education of the Buffalo city
school district in November; and to repeal certain provisions of such
law relating thereto
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subparagraph 3 of paragraph d of subdivision 10 of section
2553 of the education law is REPEALED.
§ 2. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph d and paragraphs g, j, m, n, o
and p of subdivision 10 of section 2553 of the education law, as added
by chapter 242 of the laws of 1974, paragraph g as amended by chapter
431 of the laws of 2012 and paragraph p as amended by chapter 95 of the
laws of 1979, are amended to read as follows:
(1) Such election for such office shall be governed by the provisions
of the election law in the same manner as candidates for office general-
ly to be elected by the voters of the city of Buffalo [except, as the
case may be, as to the date of the election; and, further provided,
however, that]. NOTWITHSTANDING SECTION 6-142 OF THE ELECTION LAW, each
such candidate for election as a member of the board of education from a
city school subdistrict shall be required to file a petition containing
signatures of at least five hundred registered voters of such city
school subdistrict in which he is a candidate and each candidate for
election to the board of education by the voters at large shall be
required to file a petition containing the signatures of at least one
thousand registered voters of the city of Buffalo.
(2) No petition shall contain any political party or independent body
name or label. Each petition shall contain the name of only one candi-
date and such petition shall be filed with [the clerk of] the board of
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04781-02-9
A. 4949--A 2
elections of the county of Erie not earlier than [the fifth Tuesday]
TWENTY-FOUR WEEKS BEFORE, and not later than [the fourth Tuesday] TWEN-
TY-THREE WEEKS preceding the date on which an election shall be held. A
certificate of acceptance or declination of any individual so nominated
shall be filed not later than the third day after the [fourth] TWENTY-
THIRD Tuesday preceding the election.
g. Each sheet of such a petition shall be signed in ink and shall be
substantially in the following form:
I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a duly qualified voter
of the city of Buffalo, that my place of residence is truly stated oppo-
site my signature hereto, and I do hereby nominate the following named
person as a candidate for nomination (for the public office of member of
the board of education of the city of Buffalo at large..............day
of...................., 20.....,) (for the city school subdis-
trict.............day of........, 20.....)
I DO HEREBY APPOINT........................(HERE INSERT THE NAMES AND
ADDRESSES OF AT LEAST THREE PERSONS, ALL OF WHOM SHALL BE REGISTERED
VOTERS WITHIN THE CITY OF BUFFALO), AS A COMMITTEE TO FILL VACANCIES IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE ELECTION LAW.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand the day and year
placed opposite my signature.
Date Name of Signer Present Residence
.............. .................. ....................
.............. .................. ....................
.............. .................. ....................
The petition shall be authenticated by witnesses. Such statement shall
be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if
false shall subject the witness to the same penalties as if he or she
had been duly sworn. The form of such statement shall be substantially
as follows:
STATEMENT OF WITNESS
I,...................., (name of witness), state: I am a duly quali-
fied voter of the state of New York, and now reside in the city, town or
village of..............., in such state, at
.......................(fill in street and house number and post office)
therein. I know each of the voters whose names are subscribed to this
petition sheet containing (fill in number).............signatures and
each of them subscribed the same in my presence and upon so subscribing
declared to me that the foregoing statement, made and subscribed by him,
was true.
.....................
Signature of witness
Date...........
j. Objections to petitions for the nomination of members of such board
of education, procedures and remedies applicable to such objections
shall be [the same as those applicable to independent nominating
petitions under the election law, except as it may be modified by the
provisions of paragraph (d) and paragraph (n) of this subdivision] MADE
PURSUANT TO SECTION 6-154 OF THE ELECTION LAW.
A. 4949--A 3
m. If a candidate, after a petition in his behalf shall have been duly
filed with [the clerk of] the board of elections, and prior to the date
of the election, shall decline to accept the nomination, die, remove
from the school district, accept [or be a candidate for] another [elec-
tive] office, or become otherwise disqualified for such city school
district office, [a further petition may be filed with such clerk, nomi-
nating another candidate in his place and stead. Such further petition
shall in all respects comply with the provisions of paragraphs d, f and
h of this subdivision, except that it may be filed at any time up to and
including the fifteenth day preceding the date of the election pursuant
to the provisions of this subdivision and the time within which to
accept or object to such further petition shall be computed from the
date of filing or said fifteenth day, whichever is earlier] SUCH VACANCY
SHALL BE FILLED BY THE COMMITTEE ON VACANCIES PURSUANT TO THE ELECTION
LAW.
n. [The] FOR MEMBERS ELECTED IN NOVEMBER, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY THE TERM
OF OFFICE FOR EACH MEMBER OF SUCH BOARD FROM A CITY SCHOOL SUBDISTRICT
SHALL BE TWO YEARS, AND FOR EACH MEMBER ELECTED AT LARGE SHALL BE FOUR
YEARS AND UPON THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH TERMS, THE term of office of each
member of such board from a city school subdistrict shall be three
years, and the term of office of each such member of the board elected
at large shall be for five years. Of the candidates to be elected for
membership on the board of education of the city school district of the
city of Buffalo by the voters at large the three candidates receiving
the largest number of votes cast in the city, shall be declared elected
as at-large members of such board of education. In each city school
subdistrict the candidates seeking the election as the member of such
board of education for such city school subdistrict receiving a plurali-
ty of votes in such city school subdistrict shall be declared elected to
that position.
Whenever a vacancy shall occur or exist in the office of member of the
board of education except by reason of expiration of term or increase in
the number of members of such board, such vacancy shall be filled by a
majority vote of the remaining members of the board of education within
thirty days of the date when such vacancy shall have occurred. If the
remaining members of the board of education shall fail to fill such
vacancy within such thirty day period, then the mayor of the city of
Buffalo shall within thirty days thereafter fill such vacancy subject to
the confirmation of such appointment by the common council of the city
of Buffalo. No one shall be appointed to fill a vacancy of a subdistrict
member of the board of education unless he fulfills all of the quali-
fications in this subdivision to enable him to be a candidate for the
office of a member of the board of education from the subdistrict
involved.
o. The members so elected to the board of education shall convene on
the first business day in [July] JANUARY of each year, at the time of
the commencement of their term of office and select from their members a
president who shall serve for a term of one year or such other term, not
exceeding the term of his office, as may be fixed by the rules and regu-
lations of the board.
p. The election of members of the board of education of the school
district of the city of Buffalo shall take place on [May seventh, nine-
teen hundred seventy-four] NOVEMBER THIRD, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY and on
the first Tuesday AFTER THE FIRST MONDAY in [May] NOVEMBER thereafter in
each year in which an incumbent's term expires. Such election shall be
conducted by the board of elections of the county of Erie in the same
A. 4949--A 4
manner as other elections are conducted by it. [Polls shall be open for
voting for the hours prescribed by section 8-100 of the election law for
primary elections.] The results of such elections, after canvassing,
shall be certified and reported by the board of elections to the board
of education of such city. The clerk or other appropriate officer of
the board of education shall within twenty-four hours after receipt of
such certification by the board of elections serve a written notice
either personally or by mail upon each person declared to be elected as
a member of the board of education informing him of his election and the
length of his term.
§ 3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the term of
every member of the board of education of the city school district of
Buffalo, which term is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2020, is hereby
extended from June thirtieth of the year in which it is scheduled to
expire to December thirty-first of such year. Terms of such members
elected after this act becomes law shall begin on the first day of Janu-
ary and end on the last day of December of the appropriate year.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.