BILL NUMBER: S7811

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, relating to establishing and
determining the composition of the committee on gubernatorial inability

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To designate officials who will serve on the committee on gubernatorial
inability.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Adds a new section 44 to the Public Officers Law, identifying
officials who will sit on the committee on gubernatorial inability. The
six members provided in this act will serve alongside the committee's
constitutionally-designated permanent members: the lieutenant-governor,
attorney general, and comptroller. The committee can declare the gover-
nor, lieutenant-governor, or acting-governor unable to discharge the
powers and duties of office, thereby allowing for a transfer of power.
              

This act designates the six members as the heads of the division of
criminal justice services, department of health, division of human
rights, department of labor, office of mental health, and department of
state.

Section 2: Sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill serves as the companion legislation to a constitutional amend-
ment that clarifies the process for declaring the governor, lieutenant
governor, or acting governor unable to perform their duties - for exam-
ple, if one undergoes surgery requiring anesthesia.  Without this frame-
work, necessary transfers of power could be delayed, creating confusion
over who holds executive authority and risking governmental paralysis
during a crisis.

The constitutional amendment addresses this gap by establishing a clear,
orderly process for determining inability and transferring power. It
creates a Committee on Gubernatorial Inability empowered to make such
determinations, and authorizes the Legislature to designate six of the
committee's nine members by statute, alongside three permanent members.

This bill fulfills that statutory role by specifying which executive
department heads may serve on the committee. To guard against political
manipulation, all designated officials are appointed by the governor and
confirmed by the Senate, making them likely allies rather than rivals.
This structure mirrors the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,
which allows a majority of the Cabinet, along with the vice president,
to declare a presidential inability. Moreover, the department heads
included in this bill bring subject-matter expertise, such as in medi-
cine, that will help ensure sound, evidence-based decisions regarding
executive incapacity.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date as a "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to article 4 of the
constitution, in relation to declaring inabilities of the governor,
lieutenant-governor and acting governor" takes effect, in accordance
with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution.