* § 83-m. Legislative task force on demographic research and
reapportionment. 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that: (a)
there is a need for intensive and thorough legislative study, research
and inquiry into the techniques and methodology to be used by the bureau
of the census of the United States commerce department in carrying out
the decennial federal census; (b) a technical plan will be needed to
meet the requirements of a legislative timetable for a reapportionment
of the senate and assembly districts and the congressional districts of
the state based on such census; and (c) the task force herein continued
is necessary to assist the legislature in the performance of its
responsibilities and in the conduct of legislative research projects
relating thereto.

2. The legislative task force on demographic research and
reapportionment is hereby continued, consisting of six members of whom
two shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, two by
the speaker of the assembly and one each by the minority leader of the
senate and the minority leader of the assembly. The appointments shall
be of members of the respective houses of the legislature, except that
one member appointed by the temporary president of the senate and one
member appointed by the speaker of the assembly shall not be members of
the legislature. A member of the senate appointed to the task force by
the temporary president of the senate and a member of the assembly
appointed to the task force by the speaker of the assembly shall be
designated by each to serve as the co-chairmen of the task force. Each
member of the task force who is not a member of the legislature shall be
entitled to receive actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
discharge of his duties and shall be entitled to compensation as
determined by the co-chairmen within the appropriations available
therefor, except that such member, who is serving in such capacity in a
transient, occasional and incidental manner, shall not be entitled to
receive more than the actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
discharge of his duties.

3. The task force shall engage in such research studies and other
activities as its co-chairmen may deem necessary or appropriate in the
preparation and formulation of a reapportionment plan for the next
ensuing reapportionment of senate and assembly districts and
congressional districts of the state and in the utilization of census
and other demographic and statistical data for policy analysis, program
development and program evaluation purposes for the legislature.

4. The co-chairmen of the task force may employ such personnel,
experts and consultants as may be necessary for the performance of its
work and shall fix their compensation within the amounts appropriated
therefor.

5. The primary function of the task force shall be to compile and
analyze data, conduct research for and make reports and recommendations
to the legislature, legislative commissions and other legislative task
forces.

6. The task force, with the approval of its co-chairmen and subject to
guidelines submitted by the co-chairmen and approved by the temporary
president of the senate and speaker of the assembly, may sell surveys,
data, copies of tabulations and other special statistical compilations
and materials to departments, agencies and other entities of federal,
state or local government, of foreign countries, and to public benefit
corporations, or other public, not-for-profit and private persons and
agencies, upon payment of fees at least sufficient to pay the actual or
estimated cost of such projects. In furtherance of such sale, the task
force, with the approval of its co-chairmen, may execute contracts for
such purpose. Any contract executed heretofore by the task force or the
advisory task force on reapportionment, without express statutory
authorization, of a nature similar in import as the contract for sale
herein authorized is hereby validated, ratified and confirmed as an
exercise of the inherent power of such task force or such advisory task
force to execute such contract. The co-chairmen shall take such action
as shall be necessary to assure that any survey, data, tabulation,
special statistical compilation or material made available for sale
shall not identify the name of any corporation, company, association,
firm, partnership, proprietorship, society, joint stock company,
individual, or other organization or entity.

7. Moneys heretofore or hereafter received by or on behalf of the
legislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment from
the sale of surveys, data, copies of tabulations and other special
statistical compilations and materials available to such task force
shall be deposited to the credit of the legislative computer services
fund established by section ninety-seven-uu of the state finance law.
The moneys hereby credited to such fund may be made available for the
legislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment and
shall, when made available, be payable out of the state treasury on the
audit and warrant of the comptroller in the manner provided by section
ninety-seven-uu of the state finance law.

8. The co-chairmen of the task force are hereby authorized and
empowered to make and sign any agreements in the name and on behalf of
the task force and to do and perform any acts that may be necessary,
desirable or proper to carry out the powers, purposes and objectives of
the task force and the provisions thereof.

9. The task force, with the approval of its co-chairmen, may complete
any contract executed and conduct any business undertaken or commenced
by the legislature or the advisory task force on reapportionment
pertaining to or connected with the reapportionment and readjustment or
alteration of senate and assembly and congressional districts prior to
the enactment of these provisions into law, and the same shall be
completed and conducted in the same manner and under the same terms and
conditions and with the same effect as if completed and conducted by the
legislature or such advisory task force.

10. The task force may hold public and private hearings and otherwise
have all of the powers of a legislative committee under this chapter.

11. The co-chairmen of the task force may request and receive from any
court, department, division, board, bureau, commission or agency of the
state or any political subdivision thereof such assistance and data as
will enable the task force to properly carry out its powers and duties
hereunder.

12. Employees of the task force shall be considered to be employees of
the legislature for all purposes.

13. (a) The task force shall specify the form in which the department
of corrections and community supervision shall provide such information
required to be reported to the task force pursuant to subdivision eight
of section seventy-one of the correction law.

(b) Upon receipt of such information for each incarcerated person
subject to the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and
community supervision, the task force shall determine the census block
corresponding to the street address of each such person's residential
address prior to incarceration (if any), and the census block
corresponding to the street address of the correctional facility in
which such person was held subject to the jurisdiction of such
department. Until such time as the United States bureau of the census
shall implement a policy of reporting each such incarcerated person at
such person's residential address prior to incarceration, the task force
shall use such data to develop a database in which all incarcerated
persons shall be, where possible, allocated for redistricting purposes,
such that each geographic unit reflects incarcerated populations at
their respective residential addresses prior to incarceration rather
than at the addresses of such correctional facilities. For all
incarcerated persons whose residential address prior to incarceration
was outside of the state, or for whom the task force cannot identify
their prior residential address, and for all persons confined in a
federal correctional facility on census day, the task force shall
consider those persons to have been counted at an address unknown and
persons at such unknown address shall not be included in such data set
created pursuant to this paragraph. The task force shall develop and
maintain such amended population data set and shall make such amended
data set available to local governments, as defined in subdivision eight
of section two of the municipal home rule law, and for the drawing of
assembly and senate districts. The assembly and senate districts shall
be drawn using such amended population data set.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information
required to be provided pursuant to subdivision eight of section
seventy-one of the correction law shall be treated as confidential and
shall not be disclosed by the task force except as aggregated by census
block for purpose specified in this subdivision.

* NB Repealed June 30, 2024