Senate Bill S4802

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4802

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to section 2 of article 3 of the constitution, in relation to increasing
the terms of office of members of the legislature and limiting the terms
of office as a member of the legislature any person may serve

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation aims to expand and limit legislative terms in an
attempt to reform government. The 16 consecutive years provided by this
amendment for Assembly members and the 18 consecutive years provided by
this amendment for Senators would allow elected-officials to accrue
seniority, but then deprives them of the incumbent's position for at
least one term, so that the voters might choose new representation in
comparison.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
              

This legislation would amend section 2 of article 3 of the constitution
in relation to increasing the terms of office for Assembly members of
the legislature to four years, and the terms of office of Senators to
six years, and limiting the consecutive terms of office a Senator may
serve to three, and an Assembly member to four.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York's democracy embodies a tension between the need for legislators
to learn the nature and procedure of their position, and the desire of
the voters for new ideas to filter into government through a exchange of
incumbents and new legislators. In addition, the two-year legislative
terms for which the Constitution presently provides are not efficient,
as members must constantly campaign, and a significant portion of their
time is diverted from legislative activity.

An expanded term of office would allow lawmakers to concentrate more
fully on legislative activity and on the honing and advocacy of policy.
Adopting staggered terms for the upper and lower legislative houses
would also bolster voter turnout in what were formerly "off-year"
election, rather than general election years.  The three consecutive
term limit for Senate positions would force a turnover of fresh ideas
and members within the upper house, as would the four consecutive term
limit for Assembly seats.

The rationale behind limiting the amount of terms, is that eighteen and
sixteen years are, respectively, sufficient time to advocate for such
legislation that is of particular importance to an elected official
before allowing a new member a potentially similar amount of time to
pursue his or her political agenda. It is theorized that such turnover
of new ideas might best serve the constituents of each district. This
constant churning of the legislature would allow the issues and voices
of more New Yorkers to be heard, as well as trigger a sense of urgency
to enact important policy concerns into law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S.4387 - OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

2017-18: 5.3125 - OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

2015-16: 5.1752A - Opinion Referred to Judiciary

2013-14: 5.2828 - Attorney General opinion received; died in Judiciary

2011-12: S.2891 Attorney General opinion received; died in Judiciary A
similar bill (A.4145 and S.21 of 2009-2010) has the following history in
the Assembly.

A.4145 (2009-2010) - Referred to Attorney General; Re-Referred to Judi-
ciary.

S.21(2009-2010) - Referred to Attorney General; Re-Referred to Judiciary

A.7594 (2007-2008) - Referred to Attorney General; Re-Referred to Judi-
ciary.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
RESOLVED (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendments be
referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in
conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.