NY State Senate Bill 2021-S1060

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to investigations and government operations
Jan 06, 2021	referred to investigations and government operations

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4664
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Public Officers Law
Laws Affected:: Add §36-a, Pub Off L

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the removal of a special district officer by recall; requires the state board of elections to prepare a sample form of a recall petition; establishes requirements for the filing and approval of recall petitions.

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1060

SPONSOR: KAMINSKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the removal of a
special district officer by recall

 
PURPOSE:

To allow for the removal of an elected officer through a recall.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the public officers laws to allow for the recall of a
special district elected officer. The law does not require any specific
grounds but the petition must be completed within 90 days with a signa-
ture requirement of 10 percent or 5,000 registered voters within the
municipality (for municipalities with a population less than 500, 20
percent of the registered voters). Once received, the governing body
will have to vote to accept the recall petition and if accepted,

announce a special election in the same manner as current law.

Section 2. Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In New York, an elected official of a special district may only be
removed from office by the Supreme Court for any misconduct, maladminis-
tration, malfeasance, or malversation in office, if an action is brought
in front of that court by a citizen residing within the special
district's jurisdiction. This is a steep standard to meet since it is
hard for an average citizen to bring such a case and succeed in litigat-
ing it. It also fails to properly address bad acts that occur outside of
a person's office which bring a person's fitness to hold office into
question.

One such incident occurred in Oceanside, where a sanitation commissioner
was found to have shared racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and deplorable
posts on social media, that only surfaced after his election. An elected
official has the duty to represent all of his/her constituents, yet
posting such insensitive material brings into question his/her fitness
to hold office. However, the current law fails to offer any real
recourse to citizens who feel betrayed by their elected officials.  With
such a gap in the law, the state needs to allow people to petition to
recall special district officers. Under this legislation, registered
voters in the district will be able to petition to recall a special
district officer, and a majority of the board on which that person
serves would have to vote to accept such a petition. A successful peti-
tion would have to contain signatures from 10 percent of registered
voters in the district or 5,000 electors, whichever is less. It is only
fair that if the public no longer has trust in whom they elected, they
should possess the right to remove these persons prior to the next
election. Permitting the public to employ the same method it takes to
nominate someone to run for office as to remove them for office seems
only fair and just since elected officials are voted into office to
serve the needs of the entire community they represent.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1060
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the removal of a
   special district officer by recall

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section
 36-a to read as follows:
   § 36-A. REMOVAL OF A  SPECIAL  DISTRICT  OFFICER  BY  RECALL.  1.  ANY
 ELECTED  OFFICER  OF  A SPECIAL DISTRICT MAY BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE BY A
 RECALL PETITION. THE RECALL PETITION SHALL CONTAIN THE SIGNATURES OF  AT
 LEAST  TEN  PERCENT OF THE NUMBER OF ELECTORS OR FIVE THOUSAND ELECTORS,
 WHICHEVER IS LESS, IN EACH LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITY OR  SPECIAL  DISTRICT
 IN WHICH THE ELECTED OFFICER SOUGHT TO BE RECALLED REPRESENTS; PROVIDED,
 HOWEVER,  THAT  WHERE  THE  LOCAL  GOVERNMENT ENTITY OR SPECIAL DISTRICT
 CONTAINS FIVE HUNDRED OR  FEWER  ELECTORS,  THE  RECALL  PETITION  SHALL
 CONTAIN THE SIGNATURES OF AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT OF THE NUMBER OF ELEC-
 TORS.  NO  SIGNATURE  ON  A  PETITION  SHALL  BE  VALID UNLESS IT IS THE
 ORIGINAL SIGNATURE OF AN ELECTOR.
   2. THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL  PREPARE  A  SAMPLE  FORM  OF  A
 RECALL  PETITION  WHICH  MEETS  THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBDIVISION AND
 SHALL DISTRIBUTE OR CAUSE SUCH FORM TO  BE  DISTRIBUTED  TO  EACH  LOCAL
 BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS.  SUCH  FORM SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC,
 UPON REQUEST, BY THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND EACH  LOCAL  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS. A RECALL PETITION SHALL CONTAIN THE NAME OF THE PERSON SOUGHT
 TO  BE  RECALLED  AND A GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. IF
 MORE THAN ONE MEMBER OF THE GOVERNING BODY IS SOUGHT TO BE  RECALLED,  A
 SEPARATE  RECALL PETITION SHALL BE PREPARED FOR EACH MEMBER SOUGHT TO BE
 RECALLED. ONLY ELECTORS OF THE MUNICIPALITY OR DISTRICT OF  THE  ELECTED
 OFFICER  SOUGHT TO BE RECALLED ARE ELIGIBLE TO SIGN THE RECALL PETITION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03939-02-1

 S. 1060                             2
 
 THE SHEETS OF A RECALL PETITION SHALL SET FORTH IN  EVERY  INSTANCE  THE
 NAME  OF THE SIGNER, HIS OR HER RESIDENCE ADDRESS, TOWN OR CITY, AND THE
 DATE WHEN THE SIGNATURE IS  AFFIXED.  THE  RECALL  PETITION  SHALL  ALSO
 CONTAIN  LINES  FOR AN OATH, TO BE EXECUTED BY A WITNESS WHO IS A QUALI-
 FIED ELECTOR AND TO VERIFY THE FACT THAT THE  WITNESS  SAW  EACH  PERSON
 SIGN THE COUNTERPART OF THE RECALL PETITION, THAT EACH SIGNATURE APPEAR-
 ING  THEREON  IS  THE GENUINE SIGNATURE OF THE PERSON IT PURPORTS TO BE,
 AND THAT THE RECALL PETITION WAS SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF  THE  WITNESS
 ON THE DATE INDICATED.
   3.  A  RECALL  PETITION  SHALL  BE  VALID FOR NO MORE THAN NINETY DAYS
 COMMENCING FROM THE DATE OF THE FIRST  SIGNATURE  ON  SUCH  PETITION.  A
 RECALL  PETITION  SHALL  BE FILED WITH THE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND
 WITHIN TEN DAYS OF SUCH FILING THE BOARD WHERE THE  PETITION  WAS  FILED
 SHALL MAKE A FINAL DETERMINATION REGARDING THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE NUMBER
 OF  SIGNATURES ON THE PETITION AND PROVIDE TIMELY WRITTEN NOTICE OF SUCH
 DETERMINATION TO THE CONTACT PERSON NAMED IN THE COVER SHEET  ACCOMPANY-
 ING  THE  PETITION.  THE CONTACT PERSON OR ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO SIGNED THE
 PETITION MAY SEEK JUDICIAL REVIEW OF SUCH DETERMINATION IN A  PROCEEDING
 PURSUANT TO ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAWS AND RULES.
   4.  A  RECALL  PETITION  THAT  IS  DEEMED INSUFFICIENT BY THE BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS SHALL BE RETURNED TO THE PERSON WHO FILED SUCH PETITION, WITH-
 OUT PREJUDICE TO THE FILING OF A NEW RECALL PETITION TO THE SAME EFFECT.
 IF A RECALL PETITION IS DEEMED SUFFICIENT BY THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, THE
 BOARD SHALL SUBMIT SUCH PETITION TO THE GOVERNING BODY  OF  THE  SPECIAL
 DISTRICT WITHOUT DELAY. A RECALL PETITION SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED IF FILED
 BEFORE THE ELECTED OFFICER HAS SERVED FOR AT LEAST NINETY DAYS.
   5.  IF THE PERSON SOUGHT TO BE RECALLED IN THE RECALL PETITION FILES A
 RESIGNATION PURSUANT TO SECTION THIRTY-ONE  OF  THIS  ARTICLE  WITH  THE
 PRESIDING OFFICER OR CLERK OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE SPECIAL DISTRICT
 PRIOR  TO  THE  RECALL  PETITION  BEING DETERMINED TO BE SUFFICIENT, THE
 PRESIDING OFFICER OR CLERK SHALL IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY THE COUNTY BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS  AND THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE SPECIAL DISTRICT OF SUCH RESIG-
 NATION.
   6. THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE SPECIAL DISTRICT SHALL MEET WITHIN THIRTY
 DAYS AFTER CERTIFICATION AND RECEIPT OF THE RECALL PETITION AND, UPON  A
 MAJORITY  VOTE  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF THE SPECIAL DISTRICT, SHALL VOTE TO
 APPROVE THE RECALL PETITION FOR THE NAMED ELECTED OFFICER SOUGHT  TO  BE
 RECALLED.
   7.  IF  THE  RECALL  PETITION IS APPROVED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE
 SPECIAL DISTRICT, THE GOVERNING BODY SHALL FIX  A  DATE  FOR  HOLDING  A
 SPECIAL  ELECTION  NOT  LESS THAN SEVENTY DAYS NOR MORE THAN EIGHTY DAYS
 FROM THE DATE ON WHICH THE GOVERNING BODY RECEIVED THE  VERIFIED  RECALL
 PETITION.  ANY  SPECIAL ELECTION HELD PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL
 BE HELD IN THE SAME MANNER IN WHICH A SPECIAL ELECTION  IS  HELD  FOR  A
 SPECIAL DISTRICT; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT A RECALL PETITION FILED NINETY
 DAYS  BEFORE  THE GENERAL ELECTION IN ANY YEAR FOR ANY OFFICE AUTHORIZED
 TO BE FILLED AT A GENERAL ELECTION, SUCH SPECIAL ELECTION SHALL OCCUR AT
 THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD THEREAFTER.
   8. THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER  METHOD  PROVIDED
 BY STATE LAW FOR REMOVING AN ELECTED OFFICER.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S1060

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Actions

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Todd Kaminsky

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Actions

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S1060 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments