S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5271
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 7, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. NORRIS -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Election Law
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election law, in relation to authorizing public
   school buildings to reject a designation as a polling place
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section 4-104 of the election law, as
 amended by chapter 694 of the laws  of  1989,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   3.  A BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES SHALL DESIG-
 NATE ANY PUBLIC BUILDING AS A POLLING PLACE TO THE  EXTENT  PRACTICABLE.
 IF  ADDITIONAL  POLLING  PLACES  SHALL BE NEEDED, A building exempt from
 taxation shall be used whenever possible [as a polling place], if it  is
 situated  in the same or a contiguous election district, and may contain
 as many distinctly separate polling places  as  public  convenience  may
 require.  The expense, if any, incidental to its use, shall be paid like
 the expense of other places of registration and voting. If  a  board  or
 body  empowered  to  designate  polling  places  chooses a public school
 building for such purpose, the  board  or  agency  which  controls  such
 building  must make available a room or rooms in such building which are
 suitable for registration and voting and which are as close as  possible
 to  a  convenient  entrance to such building and must make available any
 such room or rooms which the board or  body  designating  such  building
 determines  are  accessible to physically disabled voters as provided in
 subdivision one-a OF THIS SECTION; PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  NOT  LATER  THAN
 FORTY-FIVE  DAYS  AFTER  A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING RECEIVES NOTICE OF ITS
 DESIGNATION AS A POLLING PLACE, THE BOARD OR AGENCY WHICH CONTROLS  SUCH
 BUILDING  MAY  FILE  A  CERTIFIED RESOLUTION REJECTING SUCH DESIGNATION,
 UPON ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION FOLLOWING  A  PUBLIC  HEARING,  WITH  SUCH
 BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES. NOTWITHSTANDING THE
 PROVISIONS  OF  ANY  GENERAL,  SPECIAL,  OR LOCAL LAW, A BOARD OR AGENCY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09518-03-3
              

 A. 5271                             2
 
 WHICH CONTROLS A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, UPON ADOPTION OF  A  RESOLUTION
 FOLLOWING  A  PUBLIC  HEARING,  MAY  NOTIFY A BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO
 DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES BY AN AFFIRMATIVE CERTIFIED RESOLUTION  THAT  A
 CERTAIN  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  BUILDING  SHALL  NOT BE DESIGNATED AS A POLLING
 PLACE. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special  or  local
 law,  if a board or body empowered to designate polling places chooses a
 publicly owned or leased building, other than a public school  building,
 for  such  purposes  the board or body which controls such building must
 make available a room or rooms in such building which are  suitable  for
 registration  and voting and which are as close as possible to a conven-
 ient entrance to such building, and must make available any such room or
 rooms which the board or body designating such building  determines  are
 accessible  to  physically disabled voters unless, not later than thirty
 days after notice of its designation as a polling place,  the  board  or
 body  controlling such building, files a written request for a cancella-
 tion of such designation with the board or body empowered  to  designate
 polling  places  on  such form as shall be provided by the board or body
 making such designation. The board or body  empowered  to  so  designate
 shall, within twenty days after such request is filed, determine whether
 the use of such building as a polling place would unreasonably interfere
 with  the  usual  activities  conducted  in  such building and upon such
 determination, may cancel such designation.
   § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 8-600 of  the  election
 law,  as  amended by chapter 781 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read
 as follows:
   (a) The board of elections shall designate polling  places  for  early
 voting,  which  may  include  the offices of the board of elections, for
 persons to vote early pursuant to this title.  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, SHOULD
 THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS DESIGNATE A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING AS  A  POLLING
 PLACE FOR EARLY VOTING, THE BOARD OR AGENCY WHICH CONTROLS SUCH BUILDING
 MAY  FILE  A  CERTIFIED  RESOLUTION  REJECTING  SUCH  DESIGNATION,  UPON
 ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION FOLLOWING A PUBLIC HEARING, WITH THE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS  WITHIN FORTY-FIVE DAYS OF RECEIVING NOTICE OF ITS DESIGNATION
 AS AN EARLY VOTING POLLING PLACE.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY
 GENERAL, SPECIAL, OR LOCAL LAW, A  BOARD  OR  AGENCY  WHICH  CONTROLS  A
 PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, UPON ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION FOLLOWING A PUBLIC
 HEARING,  MAY NOTIFY A BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE EARLY VOTING
 POLLING PLACES BY AN AFFIRMATIVE CERTIFIED  RESOLUTION  THAT  A  CERTAIN
 PUBLIC  SCHOOL BUILDING SHALL NOT BE DESIGNATED AS AN EARLY VOTING POLL-
 ING PLACE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.