BILL NUMBER: S4611A

SPONSOR: GAUGHRAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the municipal home rule law, in relation to the division
of a county into districts for the apportionment of members of its local
legislative body

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide that no county shall supersede any state law which relates to
the division of any county into districts for the purposes of apportion-
ment

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one adds a new section 34 to the municipal home rule law by
adding a new subdivision 4 which provides that any plan of apportionment
adopted pursuant to a county charter or charter law relating to the
division of any county, except a county wholly contained within a city,
              

into districts for the purpose of the apportionment or reapportionment
of members of its local legislative body shall be subjected to federal
and state constitutional requirements and shall comply with the follow-
ing standards, which shall have priority in the order set forth in this
subdivision, to the extent applicable:

a. the plan shall provide substantially equal weight for all of the
residents of that county in the allocation of representation in the
local legislative body.

b. in such plan, no town except a town having more than one hundred ten
percent of a full ratio for each representative, shall be divided in the
formation or representative areas. Adjacent representation areas in the
same town or city shall not contain a greater excess in population than
five percent of a full ration for each representative.

c. the plan shall provide substantially fair and effective represen-
tation for the people of the county as organized in political parties.

d. representation areas shall be of convenient and contagious territory
in as compact form as practicable.

Section two sets the enactment date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Municipal Home Rule Law contains specific guidelines for county
redistricting. The guidelines, which spell out allowable deviations in
population equality among districts, direct counties to follow political
subdivision lines to the extent possible in the districting process.

The Westchester League of Women Voters challenged the 1991 county legis-
lative redistricting in State Supreme. Court on the ground that the
county redistricting that year ignored the State guidelines. The Court
ruled that Westchester was immune from the directives of the Municipal
Home Rule Law, a finding that was upheld in the Appellate Division. It
stated: "Westchester County operates under a charter form of government
and its reapportionment plans are adopted pursuant to its charter, not
Municipal Home Rule Law Sec 10(1)(a)(13) (a)."  The County League worked
unsuccessfully for a Charter amendment that would incorporate guidelines
for protecting political subdivision lines, subject to legal require-
ments for equal population districting. Statutory provisions for elec-
toral procedures should be uniformly applied in New York State. In the
face of the County's failure to exercise its own power to establish fair
districting guidelines, the State should extend the reach of the Munici-
pal Home Rule Law guidelines on districting to cover charter counties.
This proposed amendment would extend generally accepted standards for
representation to all the people of New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.446 of 2017 and 2018,referred to local governments.

A.1408 of 2015 and 2016, referred to local governments.

A.501 of 2013 and 2014, referred to local governments.

A.142 of 2011 and 2012, referred to local governments.

A.782 of 2009 and 2010, referred to local governments.

A.1017 of 2007 and 2008, referred to local governments.

A.1773 of 2005 and 2006 referred to local governments.

A.5008 of 2004 recommitted to local governments.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.