S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9895
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 25, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. NOLAN -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Libraries and Education Technology
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  requiring  a  public
   hearing to be held prior to the closure of a library
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1.  Section 268 of the education law, as  amended  by  chapter
 476 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
   § 268. Abolition.  1.  Any  library  established by public vote of any
 municipality or district, or by vote of the common council of any  city,
 or  by  vote  of  the  board of trustees of any village, or by action of
 school authorities, or by vote of the tribal  government  of  an  Indian
 reservation,  or  under section two hundred fifty-five of this [chapter]
 PART, may be abolished by majority vote at an election, or at a  meeting
 of  the  electors  duly  held,  provided  that  due public notice of the
 proposed action [shall have been] IS given AND A PUBLIC HEARING  REGARD-
 ING  THE PROPOSED ACTION IS HELD  AT LEAST NINETY DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE
 OF THE PROPOSED VOTE, or by vote of such tribal government. If any  such
 library  is abolished, its property shall be used first to return to the
 regents, for the benefit of other free association or public  or  school
 libraries  in  that locality, the equivalent of such sums as it may have
 received from the state or from other sources as gifts for  public  use.
 After  such return any remaining property may be used as directed in the
 vote abolishing the library, but if the entire library property does not
 exceed in value the amount of such gifts, it may be transferred  to  the
 regents  for  public  use, and the trustees shall thereupon be free from
 further responsibility.   No abolition of  a  public  library  shall  be
 lawful  until  the regents grant a certificate that its assets have been
 properly distributed and its abolition completed in accordance with law.
   2. ANY PUBLIC LIBRARY, FREE LIBRARY, OR ASSOCIATION LIBRARY AS DEFINED
 IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE OF THIS  PART  MAY
 CLOSE  A  BRANCH  BY  A  MAJORITY  VOTE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SUCH
 LIBRARY, PROVIDED THAT DUE PUBLIC NOTICE OF THE PROPOSED ACTION IS GIVEN
 AND A PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE PROPOSED ACTION IS HELD BY THE  BOARD
 OF  TRUSTEES  OF  SUCH LIBRARY AT LEAST NINETY DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF
 THE PROPOSED VOTE.
              

   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15380-01-0