S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7097
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
April 1, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. LANZA, BORRELLO, ORTT, WEIK -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to certain appoint-
ments by the governor and the senate
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 7 of the public officers law, as amended by chapter
230 of the laws of 1949, is amended to read as follows:
§ 7. Appointment by the governor and senate. 1. An appointment to an
office by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate,
shall be made by communicating to the senate, while in session, a writ-
ten nomination of a person for the office, designating the residence of
the nominee, and if nominated to be an officer of a political subdivi-
sion of the state, designating also such subdivision, and if nominating
two or more persons to the same office for different terms, designating
the term for which each is nominated. If such nomination be of a succes-
sor to a predecessor in the same office, it may be made and acted upon
by the senate after the expiration of the term or occurrence of a vacan-
cy in the office of such predecessor, or at any time during the legisla-
tive session of the calendar year in which the term of office of such
predecessor shall expire or in which the office shall become vacant. If
the appointment be made before the expiration of the term of such prede-
cessor, the term of office of the appointee shall commence upon the
expiration of the term of such predecessor, or if made to fill a vacan-
cy, upon the occurrence of such vacancy, or immediately if a vacancy
already exist. If the senate shall reject such nomination, the secretary
of the senate shall forthwith communicate, by writing, signed by [him]
SUCH SECRETARY and by the TEMPORARY president of the senate, to the
governor the fact of such rejection. If the senate shall confirm such
nomination the appointment shall be deemed complete, and thereupon
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11340-01-5
S. 7097 2
duplicate certificates of the confirmation shall be made and signed by
the TEMPORARY president and secretary of the senate, who shall cause one
to be delivered to the governor and the other to the secretary of state,
who shall record the same in [his] THEIR office in a book kept for that
purpose.
2. NOTWITHSTANDING SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, WHEN AN APPOINT-
MENT TO AN OFFICE BY THE GOVERNOR BY AND WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF
THE SENATE IS COMMUNICATED, IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN NOMINATION OF A
PERSON FOR THE OFFICE, THE SENATE SHALL WAIT AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS TO
CONFIRM OR REJECT SUCH NOMINATION FROM THE DATE SUCH WRITTEN NOMINATION
WAS RECEIVED. IF THE SENATE ACTS TO CONFIRM OR REJECT SUCH NOMINATION
WITHIN THIRTY DAYS, SUCH ACTION:
(A) SHALL BE DEEMED VOID; AND
(B) SHALL NOT BE RECONSIDERED UNTIL THIRTY DAYS HAVE ELAPSED FROM THE
DATE OF SUCH ILLEGAL CONFIRMATION OR REJECTION.
3. NOTWITHSTANDING SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, WHEN AN APPOINT-
MENT TO AN OFFICE BY THE GOVERNOR BY AND WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF
THE SENATE IS COMMUNICATED, IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN NOMINATION OF A
PERSON FOR THE OFFICE, THE SENATE SHALL HOLD A HEARING ON SUCH NOMI-
NATION WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS AFTER THE COMMUNICATION OF SUCH NOMINATION.
IF THE SENATE ACTS TO CONFIRM OR REJECT SUCH NOMINATION WITHOUT HAVING
HELD A HEARING WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS OF THE COMMUNICATION OF SUCH NOMI-
NATION, THEN SUCH ACTION TO CONFIRM OR REJECT SUCH NOMINATIONS SHALL BE
DEEMED VOID.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.