BILL NUMBER:  S4149

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the legislative law and the
executive law, in relation to enacting the "legislative online digital
paperwork reduction act"

 PURPOSE :

The purpose of this bill is to reduce the number of bills, reports,
digests, records and various documents printed by the New York State
Legislature and establish a process to make these documents available
electronically through the websites of the New York State Senate,
Assembly and State Agencies.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Establishes the title of the bill as the "Legislative
Online Digital Paperwork Reduction Act."

Section 2: States the creation of a new section, Section 44-b to
Legislative Law.

Section 44-b: Establishes that all documents produced by the
Legislature and Members of the Legislature be done electronically and
made available or printing on the websites of the State Assembly and
State Senate. This includes reports, digests and records produced by
              

the Legislature.

Section 3: States the creation of a new section, Section 170-c to
Executive Law.

Section 170-c: Establishes that all State Agencies shall make their
annual reports available on their websites for printing. State Agency
is defined as any department, board, bureau, commission, division,
office, council, committee or office of the state in addition to
public benefit corporations and public authorities.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Each year, thousands of bills are introduced and every single measure
gets printed multiple times. It has been estimated that this could
save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Eliminating automatic bill printing would save money and save
resources.

Instead of having all legislation and reports printed on paper, making
them available on a digital format where lawmakers can view it on
their laptops and mobile devices would deliver significant savings.
If necessary, Members of the Legislature, State Agencies and the
public could print a copy from their own computer.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation (by a
vote of 399-0) to stop the mandatory printing of congressional bills.
Several state legislatures have gone paperless or are experimenting
with going digital. They include California, Connecticut, Florida,
Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West
Virginia and Wisconsin, It's estimated that Ohio has saved $1,5
million since going digital.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

02/18/2015:S.3812 REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
01/06/2016:S.3812 REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act will take effect on the 90th day after becoming law.

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4149A

SPONSOR: TEDISCO
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the legislative law and the executive
law, in relation to enacting the "legislative online digital paperwork
reduction act"

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to reduce the number of bills, reports,
digests, records and various documents printed by the New York State
Legislature and establish a process to make these documents available
electronically through the websites of the New York State Senate, Assem-
bly and State Agencies.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Establishes the title of the bill as the "Legislative Online
Digital Paperwork Reduction Act."

Section 2: States the creation of a new section, Section 44-b to Legis-
              

lative Law.

Section 44-b: Establishes that all documents produced by the Legislature
and Members of the Legislature be done electronically and made available
or printing on the websites of the State Assembly and State Senate. This
includes reports, digests and records produced by the Legislature.

Section 3: States the creation of a new section, Section 170-c to Execu-
tive Law.

Section 170-c: Establishes that all State Agencies shall make their
annual reports available on their websites for printing. State Agency is
defined as any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office,
council, committee or office of the state in addition to public benefit
corporations and public authorities.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Each year, thousands of bills are introduced and every single measure
gets printed multiple times. It has been estimated that this could save
taxpayers millions of dollars.

Eliminating automatic bill printing would save money and save resources.

Instead of having all legislation and reports printed on paper, making
them available on a digital format where lawmakers can view it on their
laptops and mobile devices would deliver significant savings.  If neces-
sary, Members of the Legislature, State Agencies and the public could
print a copy from their own computer.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation (by a vote
of 399-0) to stop the mandatory printing of congressional bills.
Several state legislatures have gone paperless or are experimenting with
going digital. They include California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii,
Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wiscon-
sin, It's estimated that Ohio has saved $1.5 million since going
digital.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

02/18/2015: S.3812 REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
01/06/2016: S.3812 REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect on the 90th day after becoming law.