NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7150

Senate Bill S7150

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to establishing deadlines for finalizing and objecting to nominating petitions for small city school board elections

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 02, 2025	referred to education

2025-S7150 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4384
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2608 & 2032, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: A6846

2025-S7150 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires that nominating petitions for small city school district elections be submitted no later than thirty days prior to the election; provides for a ten-day period for objecting to any nominating petitions; outlines the duties of the clerk of the board of education in finalizing the ballot after the ten-day objection period; provides that certain provisions concerning the date of the drawing for the names on the ballot do not apply to small city school districts.

2025-S7150 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7150

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing deadlines
for finalizing and objecting to nominating petitions for small city
school board elections

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To update the procedures for objections to nominating petitions, and
finalizing of ballots, for small city school district elections.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Education Law section 2608 to require that nominating
petitions for small city school district elections must be submitted no
later than thirty days prior to the election. It also provides for a
ten-day period for objecting to any nominating petitions, and outlines
the duties of the clerk of the board of education in finalizing the
ballot after the ten-day objection period.

Section 2 amends Education Law section 2032 paragraph 2 subdivision b to
provide that its provisions concerning the date of the drawing for the
names on the ballot do not apply to small city school districts.

Section 3 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Residents of a school district are entitled to being able to ensure that
those nominated to serve on Boards of Education, those charged with the
fundamental obligation of directing and overseeing the education of our
children, have the required legal qualifications to serve as Board
Members.

The time periods for filing petitions and finalizing the ballot provided
in the law, different than those for all other types of school
districts, deprives residents of small city school districts the right
to object to the sufficiency of the petitions filed on behalf of candi-
dates nominated to a Board of Education.

This legislation would change the deadlines for submission of nominating
petitions, in order to allow members of the public to object to their
validity for a five-day period after submission, a five-day period of
boards reviewing any objections, and the ballot being finalized the next
day.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.6846 of 2023-2024,(McDonald), referred to education.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect July 1st, 2025.

2025-S7150 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7150
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 2, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing deadlines
   for finalizing and objecting to nominating petitions  for  small  city
   school board elections

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 2608 of the education  law,
 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 273 of the laws of 1987 and subdivi-
 sion  2  as  amended  by chapter 502 of the laws of 1974, are amended to
 read as follows:
   1. Candidates for members of the board of education in a  city  school
 district  shall be nominated by petition directed to the board of educa-
 tion and signed by at least one hundred persons  qualified  to  vote  at
 school elections in such district. Such petition shall contain the names
 and  residences  of  the  candidates  for  the vacancies in the board of
 education to be filled at the annual election. Where a  proposition  has
 been adopted by the voters of such district to require that each vacancy
 on  the  board  of education to be filled shall be considered a separate
 specific office, a separate petition shall be  required  to  nominate  a
 candidate  to  each separate office and such petition shall describe the
 specific vacancy on the board of education for which  the  candidate  is
 nominated,  which  description  shall include at least the length of the
 term of office and  the  name  of  the  last  incumbent,  if  any.  Such
 petitions  shall  be  filed  in  the office of the clerk of the board of
 education between the hours of nine a.m. and five p.m., on or before the
 [twentieth] THIRTIETH day preceding the day of the annual election.  The
 clerk  shall refuse to accept petitions signed by an insufficient number
 of qualified voters, or petitions which are not timely. BEGINNING ON THE
 FOLLOWING DAY, AND FOR A FIVE-DAY PERIOD THEREAFTER, QUALIFIED VOTERS OF
 THE DISTRICT MAY OBJECT TO THE PLACEMENT OF ONE OR  MORE  NAMES  ON  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05798-01-5

 S. 7150                             2
 
 BALLOT,  ON  THE  FOLLOWING  BASES:  INSUFFICIENT  NUMBER OF SIGNATURES;
 SIGNATORIES WHO ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO VOTE IN SUCH ELECTION; INSUFFICIENT
 CANDIDATE INFORMATION; OR FAILING TO FILE BEFORE THE DEADLINE. THE BOARD
 SHALL THEN HAVE FIVE DAYS TO EXAMINE EACH OBJECTION AND DETERMINE WHETH-
 ER  TO  REMOVE  THE NAMES OF ONE OR MORE CANDIDATES FROM THE BALLOT. THE
 CLERK OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL FINALIZE THE BALLOT ON THE TWENTI-
 ETH DAY PRECEDING THE DAY OF THE ANNUAL  ELECTION,  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH
 SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF  THIS  SECTION,  AFTER  THE  BOARD HAS EXAMINED AND
 DECIDED ON ALL OBJECTIONS. If a candidate for whom a nominating petition
 for the office of member of a board of education  has  been  duly  filed
 withdraws  such  petition,  dies or becomes otherwise ineligible to hold
 such office at a time which is later than fifteen days before  the  last
 day  for the filing of nominating petitions as provided in this subdivi-
 sion, the time for filing nominating petitions for such office shall  be
 extended  to  five p.m. on the fifteenth day after the date on which the
 candidate withdrew, died or otherwise became  ineligible  to  hold  such
 office,  provided  that  no  such nominating petition may be filed after
 five p.m.  on the seventh day preceding the election.
   2. The board of education shall cause to be printed  official  ballots
 containing  the  names  of all candidates as above provided, except that
 the board may refuse to have the names of ineligible  candidates  placed
 on  such ballots. The names of the candidates shall be [arranged] LISTED
 in the order as determined by the drawing by lot in accordance with  the
 provisions  of  paragraph  b  of subdivision two of section two thousand
 thirty-two of this [law] TITLE.  SUCH DRAWING SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY  THE
 CLERK  OF  THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND SHALL BE HELD ON THE TWENTIETH DAY
 PRECEDING THE DAY OF THE ANNUAL ELECTION. Blank spaces shall be provided
 so that voters may vote for candidates who have not been  nominated  for
 the  offices  to  be  filled at such elections. The form of such ballots
 shall conform substantially to the  form  of  ballots  used  at  general
 elections  as  prescribed  in  the  election  law. Such ballots shall be
 printed at the expense of the city school district.
   § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section  2032  of  the  education
 law,  as  amended by chapter 502 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read
 as follows:
   b. The names of all candidates for each separate specific office shall
 be grouped together and at the top of  each  group  shall  be  placed  a
 description  of  the  separate specific office for which such candidates
 are nominated, which description shall include at least  the  length  of
 the  term  of  office and the name of the last incumbent, if any, and in
 addition a direction that only one vote may be  cast  in  each  separate
 group.  The  names  of  the candidates for each separate specific office
 shall be listed in the order as determined by a drawing by lot.   [Such]
 EXCEPT  FOR  DISTRICTS  SUBJECT  TO THE PROCEDURES IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF
 SECTION TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED EIGHT OF THIS TITLE, SUCH drawing shall
 be conducted by the clerk of the board of education and  shall  be  held
 the  day after the last possible date for candidates to file a petition.
 In the event that any candidate is not present in person or by a  person
 designated  in  a  written proxy to accomplish the drawing, the district
 clerk shall be authorized to act as  proxy.  In  any  district  where  a
 proposition  has  been  adopted pursuant to [paragraph] SUBDIVISION b of
 section two thousand eighteen OF THIS TITLE, the names of all candidates
 for vacancies upon the board of education shall be arranged according to
 lot as prescribed in this section, and a direction shall be made that as
 many candidates may be voted for as there are vacancies to be filled.
   § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.

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