NY State Senate Bill 2021-S5900

Senate Bill S5900

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to decreasing the number of signatures needed for designating petitions and independent nominations in counties with coronavirus 2019

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections 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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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to elections
Mar 22, 2021	referred to elections

2021-S5900 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4234
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§6-136 & 6-142, El L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S8112, A10160

2021-S5900 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Decreases the number of signatures needed for designating petitions and independent nominations by one-third for political subdivisions, wholly or in part, within a county in which one or more residents have been confirmed to be diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for year two thousand twenty-one.

2021-S5900 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5900

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to decreasing the number
of signatures needed for designating petitions and independent nomi-
nations in counties with coronavirus 2019

 
PURPOSE:

The bill would apply a lower signature count requirement to cover any
counties where there is at least one confirmed case of the coronavirus;
this bill seeks prevent the spread of the virus as well as ensure candi-
dates and voters safety.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 6-136 of the election law by adding a new
subdivision 6 that provides that within a county in which one or more
residents are confirmed to be diagnosed with the coronavirus (COVID-19),

the signature requirement shall be reduced by one-third.

Section 2 amends section 6-136 of the election law to provide a new
subdivision 3 that provides that for independent nomination for poli-
tical subdivisions within a county in which one or more residents are
confirmed to be diagnosed with COVID-19 the signature requirement shall
be reduced by one-third.

Section 3 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and its untimely connection
to an election year, it is imperative for the state to enact sensible
legislation that will allow democracy to move forward.  The COVID-19
pandemic has discourage individuals from: interacting with others; it
has required others to be quarantined and it has pressured a few to
isolate themselves; all this has in turn has made it extremely difficult
for candidates to gather the required amount of petition signatures.
This bill is a reasonable response to this nation's current plight.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S8112- Referred to Elections

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S5900 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5900
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 22, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to decreasing  the  number
   of  signatures  needed for designating petitions and independent nomi-
   nations in counties with coronavirus 2019

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  6-136 of the election law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
   6. FOR DESIGNATING PETITIONS FOR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, WHOLLY OR  IN
 PART, WITHIN A COUNTY IN WHICH ONE OR MORE RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED
 TO  BE  DIAGNOSED  WITH CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) AND NOTWITH-
 STANDING SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION, FOR PETITIONS MADE IN THE YEAR
 TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE, THE SIGNATURE  REQUIREMENT  NUMBERS  STATED  IN
 PARAGRAPHS  (A)  THROUGH (L) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE
 REDUCED BY ONE-THIRD, ROUNDED DOWN TO THE NEAREST WHOLE NUMBER.
   § 2. Section 6-142 of the election law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3.  FOR  INDEPENDENT NOMINATIONS FOR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, WHOLLY OR
 IN PART, WITHIN A COUNTY IN  WHICH  ONE  OR  MORE  RESIDENTS  HAVE  BEEN
 CONFIRMED  TO  BE DIAGNOSED WITH CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) AND
 NOTWITHSTANDING SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION, FOR NOMINATIONS MADE IN
 THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND  TWENTY-ONE,  THE  SIGNATURE  REQUIREMENT  NUMBERS
 STATED  IN PARAGRAPHS (A) THROUGH (I) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION
 SHALL BE REDUCED BY ONE-THIRD, ROUNDED DOWN TO THE NEAREST WHOLE NUMBER.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02581-01-1

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