S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  1607

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. BONACIC -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the process of
  annexation

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 704 of the general municipal law,
as amended by chapter 190 of the laws of 2012, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  1. In the event it is proposed to annex territory, the governing board
or boards of the local government or governments to which it is proposed
to  annex  such  territory  and  the  governing  board  or boards of the
affected local government or governments  in  which  such  territory  is
situated  shall,  within  twenty  days  after  receipt  of a petition or
adoption of a joint  resolution  to  initiate  annexation,  respectively
cause a notice to be published once in its or their official newspapers,
or,  if  there be no official newspaper, in a newspaper published in the
county and having general circulation within  the  area  of  such  local
government  or  governments,  as the case may be. The governing board of
each affected local government in which such territory is situated  also
shall  cause a copy of such notice to be mailed to each person or corpo-
ration owning real property in such  territory  as  shown  by  the  last
preceding  assessment roll and to all persons residing in such territory
qualified to vote for officers of the city, town or village, as the case
may be, in which such territory is situated as their names  appear  upon
the  register  of voters for the last preceding general election. [Where
the territory to be annexed  is  situated  wholly  or  partly  within  a
village,  the governing board of such village and the governing board of
a town or towns in which such territory is wholly or partly situated may
provide by agreement for joint publication and mailing of such  notice.]
THE  GOVERNING BOARDS OF ANY TWO OR MORE MUNICIPALITIES, OR THE SUPERVI-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03052-02-5
              

S. 1607                             2

SOR OR SUPERVISORS AND/OR MAYOR OR MAYORS THEREOF, MAY PROVIDE FOR JOINT
PUBLICATION AND MAILING OF THIS OR ANY OTHER NOTICE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO
THIS ARTICLE PROVIDED THAT THE NEWSPAPER OF PUBLICATION IS ONE OF GENER-
AL  CIRCULATION  IN ALL SUCH MUNICIPALITIES. Failure to mail such notice
or failure of any addressee to receive the same shall not in any  manner
affect  the  validity  of  the  petition or joint resolution to initiate
annexation of territory or of any  proceedings  taken  thereon  provided
that  the  municipalities  that  adopted  a joint resolution to initiate
annexation have demonstrated a good faith attempt to mail such notice to
each person or corporation owning real  property  as  required  by  this
section.  Such  notice shall state that a petition for the annexation of
territory or a joint resolution to initiate annexation of  territory  to
the  local  government  or  governments  (naming  it or them and briefly
describing the territory  proposed  to  be  annexed  thereto)  has  been
proposed,  that at a specified place in one of such local governments on
a specified day not less than twenty days nor more than forty days after
the publication and mailing of such notice, which place and  date  shall
be  specified therein, a joint hearing will be had upon such petition or
joint resolution to initiate annexation by such governing  boards.  Each
of  such governing boards shall cause a copy of such notice to be mailed
not less than ten days prior to the date of such joint  hearing  to  the
school  authorities  of  any school district in which all or part of the
territory proposed to be annexed is situated and, where it  is  proposed
to  annex  territory  to a city, to the school authorities of any school
district (a) adjoining the territory proposed  to  be  annexed  and  (b)
located wholly or partly within such city. Each of such governing boards
shall  also  cause  a copy of such notice to be posted on the website of
the local government, if one exists.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.