Assembly Bill A11735

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11735
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                            September 16, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Steck) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Economic Development
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation  to  the
   membership of the Albany Pine Bush preserve commission; and to author-
   ize the city of Schenectady, county of Schenectady, to discontinue the
   use  as  parkland and transfer control of the Woodlawn Preserve to the
   Albany Pine Bush preserve commission;
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subject to the provisions of this act, the city of Schenec-
 tady,  county  of Schenectady, acting by and through its governing body,
 is hereby authorized to discontinue the use as parkland and transfer the
 lands known as the Woodlawn Preserve to the Albany  Pine  Bush  preserve
 commission  to  be  made part of the Albany Pine Bush preserve and to be
 under the control of the Albany Pine Bush preserve  commission  pursuant
 to  the  powers  and  duties of such commission as designated in article
 forty-six of the environmental conservation law.
   § 2. In the event that the city of Schenectady  received  any  funding
 support  or  assistance  from  the  federal government for the purchase,
 maintenance or improvement of the parklands set forth in section one  of
 this act, the discontinuance and alienation of such parklands authorized
 by the provisions of this act shall not occur until the city of Schenec-
 tady has complied with any federal requirements pertaining to the alien-
 ation  or conversion of parklands, including satisfying the secretary of
 the interior that the alienation or conversion complies with all  condi-
 tions  which the secretary of the interior deems necessary to assure the
 substitution of other lands shall be equivalent in fair market value and
 usefulness to the lands being alienated or converted.
   § 3.  Subdivision 1 of section 46-0105 of the environmental  conserva-
 tion  law,  as amended by chapter 167 of the laws of 1996, is amended to
 read as follows:
   1. The Albany Pine Bush preserve commission is hereby  established  in
 the  department  to  be  a  body  corporate and public and to consist of
 [eleven] TWELVE voting members who shall be as follows: the  commission-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13666-02-5
 A. 11735                            2
 
 er,  the  commissioner  of  the  state  office  of parks, recreation and
 historic preservation, the mayor of the city of Albany, THE MAYOR OF THE
 CITY OF SCHENECTADY, the town supervisors of the towns  of  Colonie  and
 Guilderland,  the  chief  executive officer of the county of Albany, the
 state director of the New York field office of  the  nature  conservancy
 and  four  members  to  be appointed by the governor with the advice and
 consent of the Senate. The four appointed private citizen members of the
 commission shall be by training,  education,  experience  or  attainment
 qualified  to  analyze  or  interpret or support matters relevant to the
 protection, maintenance and/or management of the Albany Pine Bush.  Each
 of  the  [seven] EIGHT ex-officio members may designate a representative
 to attend, in [his or her] SUCH MEMBER'S place, meetings of the  commis-
 sion  and  to  act  in  [his or her] SUCH MEMBER'S behalf.  The Governor
 shall designate the [chairman] CHAIR. The term of  office  of  the  four
 private  citizen members shall be four years.  In the event of a vacancy
 occurring other than by the expiration of a member's term, such  vacancy
 shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same manner
 as the original appointment. A majority of the members of the commission
 shall constitute a quorum.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.