NY State Senate Bill 2021-S2071

Senate Bill S2071

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Establishes a working group within the office of the state comptroller to study the process and ramifications of separating upstate and downstate New York into two separate states

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to finance
Jan 19, 2021	referred to finance

co-Sponsors

2021-S2071 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Comptroller
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S3814

2021-S2071 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a working group within the office of the state comptroller to study the process and ramifications of separating upstate and downstate New York into two separate states.

2021-S2071 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2071

SPONSOR: JORDAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act establishing a working group within the office of the state comp-
troller to study the process and ramifications of separating upstate and
downstate New York into two separate states

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 establishes the "separate states working group" and sets forth
the areas which it will study.

Section 2 establishes the membership of the "separate states working
group".

Section 3 provides that the "separate states working group" submit a
report of its findings upon conclusion of its study.

Section 4 provides that members of the separate states working group
shall not receive compensation, but will be eligible for reimbursement

for their necessary expenses.

Section 5 provides authorization for the comptroller to conduct the
study in conjunction with any other agency, department, board, bureau,
commission, or public authority he or she deems necessary to properly
carry out the study.

Section 6 sets forth definitions, including for "upstate" and "down-
state". Section 7 provides for the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The State of New York is a very large and very diverse place, with many
distinct cultural, economic, and historical regions. However, one set of
distinctions is abundantly clear, both on paper and in the minds of New
Yorkers - that there is an "upstate" region and a "downstate" region,
and that these two regions have extremely divergent political and social
views. As these views continue to diverge, calls for these two regions
to "part ways", so to speak, have grown louder and louder. Many, both
upstate and downstate, have questioned whether or not these regions
would be better off separately.

This bill would help to resolve these questions and would inform the
Governor and Legislature on how to proceed. This legislation would
create a working group that would study the short and long term economic
ramifications, including economic opportunities, of splitting the state.
It would also examine the legal ramifications and precedents for divid-
ing the State into two parts, and would determine the "up front cost" of
doing so, such as creating two new State government apparatuses.

The language of this bill uses a definition of "downstate" as Nassau,
Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties as well as New York City.
While there's considerable debate about the dividing line between the
two regions, the counties chosen under this legislation approach a
consensus definition while also considering an amalgam of some of the
laws that delineate the "regions" of the State of New York. These laws

include Part K of Chapter 54 of the Laws of 2016, the minimum wage law,
as well as Section 2426 of the Public Authorities Law.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S3814 of 2019-20.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

The study's cost will be minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
On the 90th day after it shall have become law.

2021-S2071 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2071
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 19, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  JORDAN,  O'MARA,  ORTT  -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT establishing a working group within the office of the state comp-
   troller to study the process and ramifications of  separating  upstate
   and downstate New York into two separate states

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. There is hereby established within the office of the  state
 comptroller  a working group to be known as the "separate states working
 group". The working group shall conduct a study examining:
   (a) the economic ramifications over the short term and  long  term  of
 separating  upstate  and  downstate  New  York into two separate states,
 including, but not limited to, economic opportunity for both areas;
   (b) the legal ramifications of separating upstate  and  downstate  New
 York into two separate states;
   (c)  the  general up-front cost associated with separating upstate and
 downstate New York into two separate states, exclusive of the long  term
 economic ramifications, including, but not limited to the cost of creat-
 ing two new state governments, the separation of the physical and organ-
 izational infrastructure, the cost of settling land disputes;
   (d)  the  constitutional steps necessary to separate upstate and down-
 state New York into two separate states; and
   (e) any constitutional precedents in the United States for dividing  a
 state into two separate states.
   § 2. The working group shall consist of the following:
   (a) the state comptroller and his or her designee;
   (b) one member appointed by the comptroller;
   (c) the attorney general and his or her designee;
   (d) one member appointed by the attorney general;
   (e) two members appointed by the governor;
   (f) one member appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01454-01-1

 S. 2071                             2
 
   (g) one member appointed by the temporary president of the senate;
   (h) one member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly;
   (i) one member appointed by the minority leader of the senate;
   (j)  two  members appointed by the New York State Association of Coun-
 ties;
   (k) two members appointed by the New York State Conference  of  Mayors
 and Municipal Officials; and
   (l)  two members appointed by the Association of Towns of the State of
 New York.
   § 3. At the conclusion of the study, the working group will deliver  a
 report of its findings to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the
 temporary  president of the senate, the minority leader of the assembly,
 the minority leader of the senate and the comptroller. Such report shall
 be submitted no later than twelve months following the effective date of
 this act.
   § 4. The members and staff personnel of the  separate  states  working
 group shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible to receive
 reimbursement  for  their  reasonable,  actual  and  necessary expenses,
 provided however, members of the working group representing state  agen-
 cies  may  receive reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses
 from their respective agencies. Members of the separate  states  working
 group  shall  be considered state employees for the purposes of sections
 17 and 19 of the public officers law.
   § 5. For the purposes of this act, the comptroller  may  conduct  such
 study in conjunction with any other department, division, board, bureau,
 commission,  agency,  or  public  authority of the state he or she deems
 necessary. To the maximum extent  feasible,  the  comptroller  shall  be
 authorized  to  request, receive, and utilize such resources and data of
 any other department, division, board, bureau,  commission,  agency,  or
 public  authority  of  the  state as he or she may reasonably request to
 properly carry out his or her powers and duties pursuant to this act.
   § 6. As used in this act:
   (a) "short term" means a period of less than ten years;
   (b) "long term" means a period in excess of ten years;
   (c) "downstate" means the counties of Nassau,  Rockland,  Suffolk  and
 Westchester  and the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx,
 and Staten Island; and
   (d) "upstate" means that portion of New York not designated as  "down-
 state".
   §  7.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S2071

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Daphne Jordan