NY State Senate Bill 2023-S6547

Senate Bill S6547

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires the election of fire district commissioners to take place on the same date and at the same location as elections of school board members

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - Stricken

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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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 21, 2023	recommit, enacting clause stricken
Apr 26, 2023	referred to local government

2023-S6547 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5975
Law Section:: Town Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §175, Town L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: A8807
2015-2016: A1208
2017-2018: A1896
2019-2020: A1950
2021-2022: A5279

2023-S6547 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the election of fire district commissioners to take place on the same date and at the same location as elections of school board members.

2023-S6547 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6547

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the town law, in relation to holding the election of
fire district commissioners on the same day as the election of school
board members

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require the election of fire district commissioners to take place on
the same date and at the same location as elections of school board
members.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends town law section 175 (1), as amended by
chapter 334 of the laws of 2011, to provide that:

1. An annual election in each fire district shall be held on the same
date and at the same polling place as the election of the school board

members for the school district of the municipality.

2. The secretary of such a fire district shall, subject to the approval
of the board of elections, prepare the ballots for all elections of fire
district officers and the polls shall remain open for the receipt of
ballots at all elections of fire district officers from six o'clock in
the morning until nine o'clock in the evening.

3. The method and manner of submission, preparation and provision of
ballots and ballot labels, use of voting machines, qualifications of
voters, correcting registers, and conducting the election, canvassing
the result and making and filing the returns, and all other procedures
with reference to the submission of any vote, shall be in the same meth-
od and manner used for voting in the school board election, or as close
as is practical, as determined by the county board of elections.

4. All costs associated with such fire district ballots and any addi-
tional poll workers necessary for such vote shall be borne by such fire
district.

5. The local board of elections shall appoint such poll workers as
deemed necessary by such board and shall prescribe their duties, titles,
ranks, and salary in accordance with the provisions set forth in the
election law section 3-300.

Section 2 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Fire district elections historically have low voter turnout as they are
not currently held on the same day as higher-profile elections such as
the November elections or school board elections-when more people come
out to vote.

This legislation will require the election of fire district commission-
ers to take place on the same date and at the same location as elections
of school board members. This will ensure a higher turnout of voters for
fire district elections, and that election outcomes are representative
of the will of the electorate.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: A5279- Died in Local Governments

2019-20: A1950- Died in Local Governments

2017-18: A1896- Died in Local Governments

2015-2016: A1208- Died in Local Governments

2013-2014: A8807- Died in Local Governments

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S6547 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6547
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 26, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to  holding  the  election  of
   fire  district commissioners on the same day as the election of school
   board members

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 175 of the town law, as amended by
 chapter 347 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  An  annual  election  shall  be  held in each fire district on the
 [second Tuesday in December, except that in  the  Ocean  Bay  Park  fire
 district,  the  Lonelyville fire district, the Davis Park fire district,
 the Cherry Grove fire district, the Fair Harbor fire  district  and  the
 Fire  Island  Pines  fire district, Suffolk county, such annual election
 shall be held on the second Tuesday in July, except that in the town  of
 Salisbury,  Herkimer  county,  such annual election shall be held on the
 Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November from six o'clock in
 the morning until nine o'clock in the evening and  except  that  in  the
 Belfast  fire  district,  Allegany county, such annual election shall be
 held on the first Tuesday in December] SAME DATE AND AT THE SAME POLLING
 PLACE AS THE ELECTION OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF
 THE MUNICIPALITY.  The board of fire  commissioners  shall  give  notice
 thereof  by  the  publication of a notice once in one or more newspapers
 having a general circulation in the district. The first  publication  of
 such  notice  shall be not less than twenty-seven days and not more than
 thirty-four days prior to the date of such election. Such  notice  shall
 specify  the  time  when and the place where such election will be held,
 the officers to be elected thereat and their terms of  office,  and  the
 hours  during  which  the polls will be open for the receipt of ballots.
 The secretary of such fire district shall, SUBJECT TO  THE  APPROVAL  OF
 THE  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS, prepare the ballots for all elections of fire
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09680-01-3

 S. 6547                             2
 
 district officers and the polls shall remain open for the receipt there-
 of at all elections of fire district officers from six  o'clock  in  the
 [evening] MORNING until nine o'clock in the evening [and such additional
 consecutive  hours  prior  thereto as the board of fire commissioners of
 such district may have determined and specified in the  notice  thereof.
 The board of fire commissioners shall designate a resident fire district
 elector, who shall be a registered voter of the town, to act as chairman
 of  any  election of said district and shall designate not less than two
 nor more than four resident fire district electors, who shall be  regis-
 tered voters of the town to act as election inspectors and ballot clerks
 at  such elections. No elective officer of the fire district shall serve
 as such chairman or as an election inspector or ballot clerk. The  board
 of  fire commissioners may adopt a resolution providing that such chair-
 man, election inspectors and ballot  clerks  shall  be  paid  for  their
 respective  services  at  any  such  annual  election  or at any special
 election of the fire district. Such resolution, if  adopted,  shall  fix
 the  amount  of such compensation, as follows: if the hours during which
 the polls will be open for the receipt of ballots are from  six  o'clock
 in  the  evening  until nine o'clock in the evening, a sum not to exceed
 seventy dollars for each such official; if additional consecutive  hours
 prior  to six o'clock in the evening are determined and specified in the
 notice of election, a sum not to exceed one  hundred  dollars  for  each
 such  official].    THE METHOD AND MANNER OF SUBMISSION, PREPARATION AND
 PROVISION OF BALLOTS AND BALLOT LABELS, USE OF VOTING  MACHINES,  QUALI-
 FICATIONS  OF VOTERS, CORRECTING REGISTERS, AND CONDUCTING THE ELECTION,
 CANVASSING THE RESULT AND MAKING AND FILING THE RETURNS, AND  ALL  OTHER
 PROCEDURES WITH REFERENCE TO THE SUBMISSION OF ANY VOTE, SHALL BE IN THE
 SAME  METHOD AND MANNER USED FOR VOTING IN THE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION, OR
 AS CLOSE AS IS PRACTICAL, AS DETERMINED BY THE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
 PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ALL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH BALLOTS  AND  ANY
 ADDITIONAL  POLL  WORKERS NECESSARY FOR SUCH VOTE SHALL BE BORNE BY SUCH
 FIRE DISTRICT. THE LOCAL BOARD OF  ELECTIONS  SHALL  APPOINT  SUCH  POLL
 WORKERS  AS  DEEMED  NECESSARY  BY  SUCH BOARD AND SHALL PRESCRIBE THEIR
 DUTIES, TITLES, RANKS AND SALARY IN ACCORDANCE WITH  THE  PROVISION  SET
 FORTH IN SECTION 3-300 OF THE ELECTION LAW.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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