§ 11. Official undertakings. 1. Every official undertaking, when
required by or in pursuance of law to be hereafter executed or filed by
any officer, shall be to the effect that he will faithfully discharge
the duties of his office and promptly account for and pay over all
moneys or property received by him as such officer, in accordance with
law, or in default thereof, that the parties executing such undertaking
will pay all damages, costs and expenses resulting from such default,
not exceeding a sum, if any, specified in such undertaking. The
undertaking of a state officer or clerk or employee shall be approved by
the attorney-general as to its form and manner of execution and by the
comptroller as to the sufficiency of the sureties and be filed in the
comptroller's office. The undertaking of a municipal officer shall, if
not otherwise provided by law, be approved as to its form and the
sufficiency of the sureties by the chief executive officer or by the
governing body of the municipality and be filed with the clerk thereof.
The approval by such governing body may be a resolution, a certified
copy of which shall be attached to the undertaking. The undertaking of
such county officer shall, if not otherwise provided by law, be approved
as to its form and the sufficiency of the sureties by the clerk of the
county, and filed in his office. The undertaking of a town officer
shall, if not otherwise provided by law, be approved as to its form and
the sufficiency of the sureties by the clerk of the county and filed in
his office. The sum specified in an official undertaking shall be the
sum for which such undertaking shall be required by or in pursuance of
law is given. If no sum, or a different sum from that required by or in
pursuance of law, be specified in the undertaking, it shall be deemed to
be an undertaking for the amount so required. If no sum be required by
or in pursuance of law to be so specified, the officer or board
authorized to approve the undertaking shall fix the sum to be specified
therein. Every official undertaking shall be executed and duly
acknowledged by at least two sureties, each of whom shall add thereto
his affidavit that he is a freeholder or householder within the state,
stating his occupation and residence and the street number of his
residence and place of business if in a city, and a sum which he is
worth over and above his just debts and liabilities and property exempt
from execution. The aggregate of the sums so stated in such affidavits
must be at least double the amount specified in the undertaking. If the
surety on an official undertaking of a state or local officer, clerk or
employee of the state or political subdivision thereof or of a municipal
corporation be a fidelity or surety corporation, the reasonable expense
of procuring such surety, not exceeding one percentum per annum upon the
sum for which such undertaking shall be required by or in pursuance of
law to be given, shall be a charge against the state or political
subdivision or municipal corporation respectively in and for which he is
elected or appointed, except that the expense of procuring such surety
as aforesaid, on an official undertaking of any officer, clerk or
employee in any city department of the city of New York, or of any
office, board or body of said city, or of a borough or county within
said city, including officers, clerks and employees of every court
within said city, shall not be a charge upon said city or upon any of
the counties contained within said city, unless the comptroller of the
said city, shall first have approved the necessity of requiring such
official undertaking to be given, and shall have approved of or fixed
the amount of any such official undertaking; but this exception shall
not apply to an official undertaking specifically required by statute to
be given, and the amount of which is specifically fixed by statute. The
failure to execute an official undertaking in the form or by the number
of sureties required by or in pursuance of law, or of a surety thereto
to make an affidavit required by or in pursuance of law, or in the form
so required, or the omission from such an undertaking of the approval
required by or in pursuance of law, shall not affect the liability of
the sureties therein.

2. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section or any
other law, general, special or local, requiring an official undertaking
to be conditioned substantially to the effect that an officer, clerk or
employee will faithfully discharge his duties and promptly account for
and pay over all moneys or property received by him in his official
capacity, it shall be permissible in lieu thereof, with the consent and
approval of the officer or governing body authorized to require the
undertaking, for any department or agency of the state or any municipal
corporation or district corporation or department or agency thereof to
procure a blanket undertaking from any duly authorized corporate surety
covering officers, clerks and employees. Any such blanket undertaking
entered into on or after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight
shall indemnify against losses:

(a) through the failure of the officers, clerks and employees covered
thereunder faithfully to perform their duties or to account properly for
all moneys or property received by virtue of their positions or
employment, and

(b) through fraudulent or dishonest acts committed by the officers,
clerks and employees covered thereunder.

Notwithstanding any provisions of the civil practice law and rules any
such blanket undertaking entered into prior to January first, nineteen
hundred eighty-three may contain a provision that no suit, action or
proceeding of any kind to recover on account of loss under such blanket
undertaking shall be brought after the expiration of three years from
the cancellation of such blanket undertaking as an entirety. Any such
blanket undertaking shall be approved as to its form, manner of
execution and sufficiency of the surety and filed and the expense of
procuring such surety paid in the same manner as provided in subdivision
one of this section. The failure to execute such blanket undertaking in
the form required by law, or the omission of the approval required by
law, shall not affect the liability of the surety thereon.

3. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the
procuring of a blanket undertaking to cover the liability of employees
handling funds collected pursuant to the provisions of section fifty of
the vehicle and traffic law.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other law,
general or special, requiring an official undertaking or bond to be
conditioned substantially to the effect that a state officer, clerk or
employee will faithfully discharge his duties and promptly account for
and pay over all moneys or property received by him in his official
capacity, the comptroller may, in his discretion, waive the requirement
of procuring such official undertaking or bond, and the expense of
procuring an official undertaking or bond shall not be a charge upon the
state unless the comptroller shall first have approved the necessity of
requiring such official undertaking or bond.