NY State Senate Bill 2015-S5797

Senate Bill S5797

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Relates to elections to fill vacancies in the office of state senator or in the office of member of assembly

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to investigations and government operations
Jun 03, 2015	referred to investigations and government operations

2015-S5797 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Public Officers Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §42, Pub Off L; amd §6-116, El L
Versions Introduced in 2017-2018 Legislative Session:: S2040

2015-S5797 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to elections to fill vacancies in the office of state senator or in the office of member of assembly; requires the governor to call a special election within seven days of a vacancy and requires nominations be done only by independent nominating petition.

2015-S5797 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S5797

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law and the election law, in
relation to elections to fill vacancies in the office of state senator
or in the office of member of assembly

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would reform the special elections procedure for the New
York State legislature, by creating a nonpartisan, independent
nomination process.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 3 of section 42 of the public
officers law to require that, on the occurrence of a vacancy in the
office of state senator or member of the assembly, the governor shall
make a proclamation of a special election to fill the office, within
seven days of the vacancy.

Section 2 of the bill amends section 6-116 of the election law to
provide that a vacancy in the office of state senator or member of the
assembly shall be filled by special non-partisan election. All
nominations for said election shall be by independent nominating

petition. The petition shall be required to contain a designated
number of signatures, which shall be the lesser of five percent of
votes cast in the last preceding gubernatorial election in the
district or two thousand signatures for the office of state senator
and one thousand for the office of member of the assembly.

Section 3 of the bill provides that this act shall take effect
immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:

In a general election, candidates of any party must petition in order
to gain the nomination. The petitioning serves as a form of public
review. However, under current law, candidates for a special election
are nominated in accordance with individual party nomination rules,
rather than by petition. This system leaves political parties in a
position of enormous influence, as they have the ability to choose the
candidates outside of any public evaluation,

This bill aims to remove the partisan special elections process, by
establishing a completely nonpartisan system by which all candidates
must be nominated by independent nominating petition. By requiring
that all candidates obtain a place on the ballot by independent
petition, the playing field is leveled, and the people are free to
choose their candidates.

This bill also seeks to address gubernatorial discretion in issuing
special election proclamations. As illustrated in the 2014 electoral
cycle, current law allows the Governor to refuse to issue a
proclamation for a special election. However, failure to hold a
special election when a vacancy occurs leads to the overall


disenfranchisement of the residents of the respective district, who
are left without representation This bill further aims to ensure that
the people of every district are properly represented, by requiring
that the Governor issue a proclamation for a special election within
seven days of a vacancy.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

TBD.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.

2015-S5797 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  5797

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 3, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
  ment Operations

AN ACT to amend the  public  officers  law  and  the  election  law,  in
  relation to elections to fill vacancies in the office of state senator
  or in the office of member of assembly

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

  Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 42 of the public officers law,  as
amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  3. Upon the failure to elect to any office, except that of governor or
lieutenant-governor,  at  a  general  or special election, at which such
office is authorized to be filled, or upon the death or disqualification
of a person elected to office before the  commencement  of  his  or  her
official  term,  or  upon  the  occurrence  of a vacancy in any elective
office which cannot be filled by appointment for a period  extending  to
or  beyond  the  next  general election at which a person may be elected
thereto, the governor may in his or her discretion make proclamation  of
a special election to fill such office, specifying the district or coun-
ty in which the election is to be held, and the day thereof, which shall
be  not less than seventy nor more than eighty days from the date of the
proclamation; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF THE OCCURRENCE  OF
A  VACANCY  IN THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR OR IN THE OFFICE OF MEMBER OF
ASSEMBLY, THE GOVERNOR SHALL MAKE PROCLAMATION OF A SPECIAL ELECTION  TO
FILL  SUCH OFFICE SPECIFYING THE DISTRICT IN WHICH THE ELECTION IS TO BE
HELD, AND THE DAY THEREOF, WHICH SHALL BE NOT LESS THAN SEVENTY NOR MORE
THAN EIGHTY DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE PROCLAMATION.
  S 2. Section 6-116 of the election law, as amended by chapter  373  of
the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
  S  6-116.  Party  nominations;  election to fill a vacancy. 1. A party
nomination of a candidate for election to fill a vacancy in an  elective

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10168-04-5

S. 5797                             2

office  required  to  be  filled at the next general election, occurring
after seven  days  before  the  last  day  for  circulating  designating
petitions  or after the holding of the meeting or convention to nominate
or  designate  candidates  for such, shall be made, after the day of the
primary election, by a majority vote of a quorum of the state  committee
if  the  vacancy  occurs  in an office to be filled by all voters of the
state, and otherwise by a majority vote of a quorum of the members of  a
county committee or committees last elected in the political subdivision
in  which  such  vacancy is to be filled, or by a majority of such other
committee as the rules of the party may provide. A certificate of  nomi-
nation shall be filed as provided for [herein] IN THIS ARTICLE.
  2.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION,
A VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR OR IN THE OFFICE OF  MEMBER  OF
ASSEMBLY  REQUIRED  TO  BE  FILLED AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION SHALL BE
FILLED BY SPECIAL NON-PARTISAN ELECTION. ALL NOMINATIONS  FOR  ELECTIONS
TO  FILL  VACANCIES  HELD PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE BY INDE-
PENDENT NOMINATING  PETITION,  SUCH  PETITIONS  TO  BE  SUBJECT  TO  THE
PROVISIONS  OF THIS ARTICLE PERTAINING TO INDEPENDENT NOMINATIONS EXCEPT
AS IS OTHERWISE SET FORTH IN THIS SUBDIVISION.  SUCH PETITION  SHALL  BE
REQUIRED TO CONTAIN A DESIGNATED NUMBER OF SIGNATURES WHICH SHALL BE THE
LESSER OF FIVE PERCENT OF VOTES CAST IN THE LAST PRECEDING GUBERNATORIAL
ELECTION IN THE DISTRICT OR:
  (A)  TWO  THOUSAND  SIGNATURES  PER  PETITION  FOR THE OFFICE OF STATE
SENATOR; AND
  (B) ONE THOUSAND SIGNATURES PER PETITION FOR THE OFFICE OF  MEMBER  OF
ASSEMBLY.
  NO  SIGNATURE  ON AN INDEPENDENT NOMINATING PETITION MADE EARLIER THAN
THE DATE OF THE PROCLAMATION  CALLING  THE  SPECIAL  ELECTION  SHALL  BE
COUNTED.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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