BILL NUMBER: S8343

SPONSOR: SEWARD
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act authorizing the taking and filing of oaths of
office

 
PURPOSE:

To uphold the will of the electorate despite ministerial defects in
certain oaths of office requirements.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 provides that notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regu-
lation to the contrary, any town, city or county official duly elected
on November 7, '2017, who currently occupies the office to which he or
she was elected but who failed to take or file his or her respective
oath of office within the statutorily prescribed period, shall continue
to serve in such capacity and for the full term to which he or she was
elected upon filing the oaths of office consistent with the county law,
town law, or the public officers law, provided that such oaths are taken
              

within 30 calendar days after the effective date of this act.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Section 402 of the county law provides that every officer paid his
compensation from county funds shall take and file an official oath in
the manner prescribed in section ten of the public officers law.  The
refusal or neglect to take and file such oath within the time prescribed
by section thirty of the public officers law, except in the cases of the
sheriff, county clerk and district attorney, shall be deemed a refusal
to serve and the office may be filled as in the case of a vacancy.

Section 25 of the town law provides that, before he or she enters on the
duties of the office, and within thirty days after the commencement of
the term of office for which he or she is chosen, every town officer
shall take and subscribe before an officer authorized by law to adminis-
ter oaths in his or her county, the constitutional oath of office and
such other oath as may be required by law, which shall be administered
and certified by the officer taking the same without compensation, and
such oath shall be filed in the office of the town clerk.

Section 10 of the Public Officers Law provides that every officer shall
take and file the oath of office required by law, and every judicial
officer of the unified court system, in addition, shall file a copy of
said oath in the office of court administration, before he shall be
entitled to enter upon the discharge of any of his official duties.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Current state law generally provides that the oath of office for public
officials must be taken or filed within thirty days after the commence-
ment of the term of office. Routinely, oaths of office are executed and
filed before or at the commencement of a term. On occasion, public offi-
cials do not execute and file the document within the time period, trig-
gering a vacancy in the position to which they were elected.

This legislation would cure the failure to file for individuals elected
in the most recent November election and fulfill the choice of the
voters in these elections.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate