BILL NUMBER:  S6708

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to the mandatory
rededication of unused funds in the New York state local government
records management improvement fund

 PURPOSE :

To require the rededication of unused funds in the New York state
local government records management improvement fund

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends § 94-i of the State Finance Law by adding a new
subdivision requiring that in all cases, any monies remaining in the
fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be automatically rededicated
to the fund and used for local government records management
improvement pursuant to § 57.35 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Section 97-i of the State Finance law creates the New York State Local
              

Government Management Improvement Fund consisting of revenues derived
from the imposition of certain Department of Motor Vehicle fees issued
by county clerks' offices.

The fees supporting the New York State Local Government Management
Improvement Fund are pursuant to §§ 8018(a)(3), 8021(a)(4)(b),
8021(b)(11)(b) of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, § 7-614(1) of the
New York City Administrative Code, and § 57.35 of the Arts and
Cultural Affairs Law. These fees include, index number fees, fees for
services rendered by a clerk in his or her capacity as clerk of the
supreme or county court, and fees for filing federal tax lien
payments.

Section 57.35 of the Arts and Cultural Affair Law provides the grant
program for local government records management improvement. This
section authorizes the Commissioner of Education, upon consultation
with the local government records advisory council to award grants for
records management. The commissioner is charged with promulgating the
rules and regulations setting forth the criteria and procedures
necessary to award such grants. This section also provides certain
criteria that must be included in the competitive grant program.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Electronic records management is a major challenge for local
governments and is generally the weakest part of most local government
records management programs. The New York State Local Government
Records Management Improvement Fund grant program is designed to help
local governments address their electronic records management needs.
The goal of the grant is to finance projects addressing electronic
records management issues and produce results, best practices, and
models that can be replicated, are scalable, or can be used more
broadly in other governments or groups of governments of all types and
sizes. This legislation ensures that remaining funds in the Records
Management Improvement Fund are rededicated to the Fund in support of
the fund's objectives.

In the past, unused funding from the Records Management Improvement
Fund was diverted into the State's general fund to address any short
falls in the state's budget. This redirection of funding caused a
significant reduction in future grants programs. Diverting the
dedicated funds to other State operations is contrary to the
commitment made by the leaders of our state that these fees would be
dedicated to the improvement of records management.

The Fund is collected by counties and used to support grant programs
aimed at improving records management by New York State's local
governments. It is a competitive program, awarding grants based on the
merits of applications. The amount of grant funding available each
year depends on the number of documents recorded and index numbers
assigned that year.

Any sweep in funding will cause a significant prospective reduction to
these grant programs. Furthermore, the fund continues to suffer due to
the ongoing decline in real estate transactions statewide. These
adverse effects of sweeping the Fund will be prevented by the
mandatory rededication of unused funds to the New York State Local
Government Records Management Improvement Fund. Ensuring that the
unused funding is rededicated to the Fund for the purpose of
supporting the Fund's grants program is essential to the proliferation
of the program and resolving the challenging issues related to
electronic records management. For the aforementioned reasons it is
essential that this bill is enacted.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.