S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8786
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
June 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT, R. CARROLL -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to correcting language
relating to indigenous libraries from Indian libraries
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 2 of the education law is amended by adding two new
subdivisions 25 and 26 to read as follows:
25. INDIGENOUS. THE TERM "INDIGENOUS" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS
THE TERM "INDIAN" WHERE SUCH TERM IS USED IN LAW.
26. INDIGENOUS LIBRARY. THE TERM "INDIGENOUS LIBRARY" SHALL HAVE THE
SAME MEANING AS THE TERM "INDIAN LIBRARY" AND SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO MEAN
A PUBLIC LIBRARY ESTABLISHED BY THE TRIBAL GOVERNMENT OF THE SAINT REGIS
MOHAWK TRIBE, THE SENECA NATIONS OF INDIANS OR THE TONAWANDA SENECA
TRIBE AND LOCATED ON THEIR RESPECTIVE RESERVATIONS, TO SERVE INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITY MEMBERS RESIDING ON SUCH RESERVATIONS AND ANY OTHER PERSONS
DESIGNATED BY ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
§ 2. Subdivision 3 of section 253 of the education law, as added by
chapter 476 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
3. The term "[Indian] INDIGENOUS library" shall be construed to mean a
public library established by the tribal government of the Saint Regis
Mohawk tribe, the Seneca Nations of Indians or the Tonawanda Seneca
tribe and located on their respective reservations, to serve [Indians]
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS residing on such reservations and any other
persons designated by its board of trustees.
§ 3. Section 254 of the education law, as amended by chapter 718 of
the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
§ 254. Standards of library service. The regents shall have power to
fix standards of library service for every free association, public and
hospital library or, with the advice of the appropriate tribal govern-
ment and library board of trustees, [Indian] INDIGENOUS library which
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13202-01-5
A. 8786 2
receives any portion of the moneys appropriated by the state to aid such
libraries, or which is supported in whole or in part by tax levied by
any municipality or district. In the case of a hospital library or a
library serving a hospital, such standards shall be established in
consultation with the commissioner of health. If any such library shall
fail to comply with the regents requirements, such library shall not
receive any portion of the moneys appropriated by the state for free,
hospital or [Indian] INDIGENOUS libraries nor shall any tax be levied by
any municipality or district for the support in whole or in part of such
library.
§ 4. Subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 255 of the education law, subdi-
vision 4 as added by chapter 476 of the laws of 1977 and subdivision 5
as amended by chapter 787 of the laws of 1978, are amended to read as
follows:
4. By a majority vote of the tribal government of [an Indian] A reser-
vation, or upon the request of the tribal government of [an Indian] A
reservation, an [Indian] INDIGENOUS library may be established, with or
without branches, and may make application to the state or other source
for money to equip and maintain such library or libraries or to provide
a building or rooms for its uses. Notwithstanding the provisions of
section seven of the Indian law, the board of trustees of such library,
on behalf of the tribal government, may acquire real or personal proper-
ty for use by an [Indian] INDIGENOUS library by gift, grant, devise,
bequest and may take, buy, sell, hold and transfer either real or
personal property for the purposes of such library. No more than one
[Indian] INDIGENOUS library may be established on a reservation and such
library shall serve all inhabitants of that reservation. No such library
shall be established on any reservation that has fewer than three
hundred permanent residents and one thousand acres of land.
5. The boards of trustees of any two, or more, public libraries,
[Indian] INDIGENOUS libraries, reference and research library resources
systems, cooperative library systems, or association libraries, as
defined in this article, may pool surplus funds to be used for the
purchase of certificates of deposit in any bank or trust company,
provided that such certificate of deposit be secured by a pledge of
obligations of the United States of America, or any obligation fully
guaranteed or insured as to interest and principal by the United States
of America acting through an agency, subdivision, department or division
thereof, or obligations of the state of New York. Each participating
public library, [Indian] INDIGENOUS library, reference and research
library resources system, cooperative library system or association
library shall be entitled to its pro-rata share of interest earned on
such certificates in proportion to its contribution to the purchase
price of such certificates.
§ 5. Subdivisions 1, 2, 5 and 12 of section 260 of the education law,
subdivisions 1 and 2 as amended by chapter 513 of the laws of 1998,
subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 787 of the laws of 1978, and subdi-
vision 12 as added by chapter 357 of the laws of 2000, are amended to
read as follows:
1. Public libraries authorized to be established by action of the
voters or their representatives shall be managed by trustees who shall
have all the powers of trustees of other educational institutions of the
university as defined in this chapter; provided that the number of trus-
tees of county public libraries and [Indian] INDIGENOUS libraries shall
not be less than five nor more than fifteen and that the number of trus-
tees of other public libraries shall not be less than five nor more than
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fifteen. The number of trustees of joint public libraries authorized to
be established by two or more municipalities or districts or any combi-
nation thereof shall be not less than five nor more than twenty-five, as
determined by agreement of the voting bodies empowered to authorize the
establishment of such libraries pursuant to subdivision one of section
two hundred fifty-five of this [chapter] PART and shall be set forth in
the resolution authorizing the establishment of such joint public
library. Such resolution shall also set forth the number of such trus-
tees which each of the participating municipalities or districts shall
be entitled to elect or appoint, and the terms of office of the trustees
as determined in accordance with subdivision three of this section.
2. The trustees of public libraries authorized to be established by
cities shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the common coun-
cil, in counties they shall be appointed by the county board of supervi-
sors or other governing elective body, in villages they shall be
appointed by the village board of trustees, in towns they shall be
appointed by the town board, in school districts they shall be elected
by the legal voters in the same manner as trustees are elected in the
school district which established said library, and on [Indian] reserva-
tions they shall be elected at a general tribal election or otherwise
designated by the chiefs or head [men] PERSONS of an [Indian] INDIGENOUS
tribe; that notwithstanding the fact that county, town or local school
district lines do not penetrate the reservation boundary, [Indians]
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS residing on reservations shall be eligible
to serve as trustees of public libraries established in school districts
to the same extent as they are qualified voters pursuant to subdivision
three of section twenty hundred twelve of this chapter; that the first
trustees shall determine by lot the year in which the term of office of
each trustee shall expire and that a new trustee shall be elected or
appointed annually to serve for three or five years to be determined by
the entity establishing the public library. Notwithstanding the forego-
ing provisions of this subdivision, in any case where a town is a
contributor to the support of any such public library in a village
located within the town the appointment of trustees of such library who
reside outside the village but within such town shall be subject to the
approval of the town board of such town. The charter of any public
library granted prior to April thirtieth, nineteen hundred twenty-one,
which provides for trustees, their terms of office and method of
election or appointment in a manner differing from that hereinbefore
provided, shall remain in full force and effect until the regents, upon
application of the library trustees, shall amend the charter to conform
to the provisions of law in effect when such amendment is made.
5. The boards of trustees of public, free association and [Indian]
INDIGENOUS libraries shall hold regular meetings at least quarterly, and
such boards shall fix the day and hour for holding such meetings.
12. The board of trustees of a public, free association or [Indian]
INDIGENOUS library which provides public access to the internet shall
establish a policy governing patron use of computer terminals which
access the internet. Verification of such policy shall be included in
the annual report submitted to the department.
§ 6. Subdivision 1 of section 260-d of the education law, as added by
chapter 468 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
1. Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-three, each member,
elected or appointed, of a board of trustees of a public, free associ-
ation or [Indian] INDIGENOUS library shall be required to complete a
minimum of two hours of trustee education annually, from a provider
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approved by the commissioner on the financial oversight, accountability,
fiduciary responsibilities and the general powers and duties of a
library trustee. Such trustee education may be delivered online or in
person, and may include lectures, workshops, regional or national
library association programs, or any other format approved by the
commissioner.
§ 7. Section 261 of the education law, as amended by chapter 476 of
the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
§ 261. Incorporation. Within one month after taking office, the first
board of trustees of any such public library or [Indian] INDIGENOUS
library shall apply to the regents for a charter in accordance with the
vote establishing the library.
§ 8. Section 262 of the education law, as amended by chapter 476 of
the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
§ 262. Use of public and [Indian] INDIGENOUS libraries. Every library
established under section two hundred fifty-five of this [chapter] PART
shall be forever free to the inhabitants of the municipality or district
or [Indian] reservation, which establishes it, subject always to rules
of the library trustees who shall have authority to exclude any person
who wilfully violates such rules; and the trustees may, under such
conditions as they think expedient, extend the privileges of the library
to persons living outside such municipality or district or [Indian]
reservation.
§ 9. Section 270 of the education law, as amended by chapter 476 of
the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
§ 270. Acceptance of surplus library books or property. The state
education department is hereby authorized to cooperate with the United
States commissioner of education, the war assets administration, and/or
other federal officers and officials in the administration of any stat-
ute heretofore or hereafter enacted for the disposal of surplus library
books or property, and to accept for and on behalf of the state of New
York or its political subdivisions surplus library books or other prop-
erty suitable and necessary to the operation of public and free
libraries and [Indian] INDIGENOUS libraries and for the improvement and
extension of library service for New York state, and any funds, which
may be made available to the state of New York by the federal government
for these and related public and [Indian] INDIGENOUS library services.
§ 10. Section 271 of the education law, as amended by section 1 of
part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
§ 271. Apportionment of state aid to [Indian] INDIGENOUS libraries.
Any [Indian] INDIGENOUS library chartered by the regents or in the
absence of such library any tribal government contracting for service
from a chartered and registered library or approved library system,
shall be entitled to receive state aid during each calendar year
consisting of the following amounts:
1. Eighteen thousand dollars, and
2. The sum of eighteen dollars and twenty cents per capita for persons
residing on the reservation served by the [Indian] INDIGENOUS library or
contract as shown by the latest federal census or certified by the New
York state director of Indian services, and
3. The sum of one dollar and fifty cents per acre of area served by
the [Indian] INDIGENOUS library or contract.
Such sums shall be paid annually to the [Indian] INDIGENOUS library
board of trustees for the use of the [Indian] INDIGENOUS library, or in
the absence of such a board, to the tribal government for a contract for
library service. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
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diminish the funds, services or supplies provided to any [Indian]
INDIGENOUS library by a library system as defined in section two hundred
seventy-two of this [article] PART. Increases in appropriations for such
purposes during a calendar year shall be pro rated.
§ 11. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,
amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
made and completed on or before such effective date.