Senate Bill S1286

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1286
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 14, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GIANARIS,  HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, SERRANO, STAVISKY --
   read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
   the Committee on Elections
 
 AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to designating additional
   participating agencies for purposes of agency assisted voter registra-
   tion

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 5-211 of the election law,
 as  amended  by  chapter  265 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
 follows:
   Each agency designated as a participating agency under the  provisions
 of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution
 of  voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section.
 The following offices which provide  public  assistance  and/or  provide
 state funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons
 with  disabilities are hereby designated as voter registration agencies:
 designated as the state agencies which provide public assistance are the
 office of children and family services,  the  office  of  temporary  and
 disability  assistance  and the department of health. Also designated as
 public assistance agencies are all agencies  of  local  government  that
 provide  such  assistance.  Designated  as  state  agencies that provide
 programs primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabil-
 ities are the department of labor, office for  the  aging,  division  of
 veterans'  affairs,  office  of  mental health, office of vocational and
 educational services for individuals with  disabilities,  commission  on
 quality of care for the mentally disabled, office [of mental retardation
 and]  FOR  PEOPLE  WITH  developmental  disabilities, commission for the
 blind, office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office  of
 the  advocate for the disabled and all offices which administer programs
 established or funded by such agencies. Additional state agencies desig-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01289-01-9

 S. 1286                             2
 
 nated as voter registration offices are the department of state and  the
 division  of  workers'  compensation. Such agencies shall be required to
 offer voter registration forms to persons upon initial  application  for
 services,  renewal or recertification for services and change of address
 relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be  responsible  for
 providing  assistance  to  applicants  in  completing voter registration
 forms, receiving and transmitting the completed  application  form  from
 all applicants who wish to have such form transmitted to the appropriate
 board  of  elections.  The state board of elections shall, together with
 representatives of the department  of  defense,  develop  and  implement
 procedures  for including recruitment offices of the armed forces of the
 United States as voter registration offices when  such  offices  are  so
 designated  by  federal  law. The state board shall also make request of
 the United States Immigration  and  Naturalization  Service  to  include
 applications for registration by mail with any materials which are given
 to  new  citizens.  All institutions of the state university of New York
 and the city university of New York, shall,  at  the  beginning  of  the
 school  year,  and  again in January of a year in which the president of
 the United States is to be elected, provide an application for registra-
 tion to each student in  each  such  institution.  The  state  board  of
 elections  may,  by  regulation,  grant  a waiver from any or all of the
 requirements of this section to any office or program of an  agency,  if
 it  determines  that  it  is  not feasible for such office or program to
 administer such requirement.  ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPATING  AGENCIES
 ARE  ALL PUBLIC LIBRARIES, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO OFFER VOTER REGIS-
 TRATION FORMS TO PERSONS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE  OR  OLDER  UPON  INITIAL
 APPLICATION  FOR  A LIBRARY CARD. ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPATING AGEN-
 CIES ARE ALL LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITIES, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO OFFER
 VOTER  REGISTRATION  FORMS  TO  PERSONS  UPON  INITIAL  APPLICATION  FOR
 SERVICES OR RECERTIFICATION FOR SERVICES. ALSO DESIGNATED AS PARTICIPAT-
 ING  AGENCIES  ARE  ALL  PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, WHICH SHALL BE REQUIRED TO
 OFFER VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS TO ALL SENIORS UPON THEIR GRADUATION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law; provided that the state board  of  elections
 is authorized to promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act on
 or before its effective date.