S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2136
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BORRELLO, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, S. RYAN
   -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
   the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the public officers law, the public authorities law, the
   general  municipal law and the New York state urban development corpo-
   ration act, in relation to prohibiting a person employed by the gover-
   nor in the executive chamber or employed  as  a  lobbyist  from  being
   appointed to a position that requires approval of the senate
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 3 of the public officers law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 1-b to read as follows:
   1-B. NO PERSON WHO IS SERVING AS A STATE OFFICER OR  EMPLOYEE  IN  THE
 EXECUTIVE  CHAMBER  OF  THE GOVERNOR, OR PERSON WHO IS A LOBBYIST REGIS-
 TERED UNDER A STATE OR LOCAL LAW, OR PERSON  REGISTERED  AS  A  LOBBYIST
 PURSUANT TO ARTICLE ONE-A OF THE LEGISLATIVE LAW, SHALL WITHIN THE PERI-
 OD  OF  SUCH  SERVICE  OR EMPLOYMENT BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR TO ANY
 BOARD, AGENCY OR CAPACITY THAT  WOULD  REQUIRE  SUCH  NOMINATION  TO  BE
 APPROVED BY THE SENATE.
   §  2.  Subdivision  1  and  the  opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of
 section 2825 of the public authorities law, subdivision 1 as amended  by
 chapter 766 of the laws of 2005 and the opening paragraph of subdivision
 2  as amended by chapter 174 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as
 follows:
   1. No public officer or employee shall be ineligible  for  appointment
 as a trustee or member of the governing body of a state or local author-
 ity,  as  defined in section two of this chapter, and any public officer
 or employee may accept such appointment and serve  as  such  trustee  or
 member  without  forfeiture  of  any  other public office or position of
 public employment by reason thereof, PROVIDED, HOWEVER,  THAT  A  PUBLIC

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04751-01-5
 S. 2136                             2
              

 
 OFFICER  OR  EMPLOYEE  SERVING  IN THE EXECUTIVE CHAMBER OF THE GOVERNOR
 SHALL BE INELIGIBLE FOR ANY SUCH APPOINTMENT.
   Except  for  members who serve as members by virtue of holding a civil
 office of the state, [the majority of]  the  remaining  members  of  the
 governing  body  of  every state or local authority shall be independent
 members; provided, however, that this provision shall apply to  appoint-
 ments  made  on  or  after  the  effective date of chapter seven hundred
 sixty-six of the laws of two thousand five which added this subdivision.
 The official or officials having the authority to appoint or remove such
 remaining members shall take such actions as may be necessary to satisfy
 this requirement and further, shall consider the  prospective  diversity
 of  the members of a state authority when making their determinations to
 appoint any member. For the purposes of  this  section,  an  independent
 member is one who:
   §  3.  Paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  1  and subdivisions 2 and 4 of
 section 856 of the general municipal law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 1
 and subdivision 4 as added by chapter 1030  of  the  laws  of  1969  and
 subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 356 of the laws of 1993, are amended
 and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows:
   (a)  Upon  the  establishment  of  an industrial development agency by
 special act of the legislature, the governing body of  the  municipality
 for  whose  benefit  such  agency  is  established shall file within six
 months after the effective date of the special act  of  the  legislature
 establishing  such  agency  or  before  the  first day of July, nineteen
 hundred sixty-nine, whichever date shall be later, in the office of  the
 secretary of state, a certificate setting forth: (1) the date of passage
 of  the special act establishing the agency; (2) the name of the agency;
 (3) the names of the members and their terms of office, specifying which
 member is the [chairman] CHAIRPERSON; and  (4)  facts  establishing  the
 need for the establishment of an agency in such municipality.
   2.  An agency shall be a corporate governmental agency, constituting a
 public benefit corporation. Except as otherwise provided by special  act
 of  the  legislature, an agency shall consist of not less than three nor
 more than seven members who shall be appointed by the governing body  of
 each  municipality and who shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing
 authority. Such members may include representatives of local government,
 school boards, organized labor and business. A member shall continue  to
 hold  office  until  [his]  THE  MEMBER'S successor is appointed and has
 qualified. The governing body of each municipality shall  designate  the
 first  [chairman]  CHAIRPERSON  and  file  with the secretary of state a
 certificate of appointment or reappointment of any member. Such  members
 shall  receive  no compensation for their services but shall be entitled
 to the necessary expenses, including traveling expenses, incurred in the
 discharge of their duties.
   4. Any one or more of the members of an agency may be an  official  or
 an  employee  of  the  municipality. In the event that an official or an
 employee of the municipality shall be appointed as a member of the agen-
 cy, acceptance or retention of such appointment shall not  be  deemed  a
 forfeiture  of  [his]  SUCH  PERSON'S municipal office or employment, or
 incompatible therewith or affect [his] SUCH PERSON'S tenure  or  compen-
 sation in any way. The term of office of a member of an agency who is an
 official  or  an employee of the municipality when appointed as a member
 thereof by special act of the legislature creating the industrial devel-
 opment agency shall terminate at the expiration of  the  term  of  [his]
 SUCH municipal office.
 S. 2136                             3

   5.  NO  PERSON  WHO  IS SERVING AS A PUBLIC OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE IN THE
 EXECUTIVE CHAMBER OF THE GOVERNOR, OR PERSON WHO IS  A  LOBBYIST  REGIS-
 TERED  UNDER  A STATE OR LOCAL LAW, OR A PERSON REGISTERED AS A LOBBYIST
 PURSUANT TO ARTICLE ONE-A OF THE LEGISLATIVE LAW, SHALL WITHIN THE PERI-
 OD OF SUCH SERVICE OR EMPLOYMENT BE APPOINTED TO SERVE ON ANY INDUSTRIAL
 DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.
   §  4.  Subdivision  1  of section 4 of section 1 of chapter 174 of the
 laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban  development  corpo-
 ration act, as amended by chapter 280 of the laws of 1984 and as further
 amended  by  section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is
 amended to read as follows:
   (1) There is hereby created  the  New  York  state  urban  development
 corporation. The corporation shall be a corporate governmental agency of
 the  state,  constituting  a  political  subdivision  and public benefit
 corporation. Its membership shall consist of nine directors as  follows:
 the  superintendent of financial services, the [chairman] CHAIRPERSON of
 the New York state science and technology foundation, and  seven  direc-
 tors  to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the
 senate.  NO PUBLIC OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE SERVING IN THE EXECUTIVE  CHAMBER
 OF THE GOVERNOR SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR SUCH APPOINTMENT WITHIN THE PERIOD
 OF  THEIR  SERVICE.  From  the  seven  directors appointed by [him,] the
 governor, THE GOVERNOR shall designate the [chairman] CHAIRPERSON of the
 corporation and two others who shall all serve at the  pleasure  of  the
 governor.  Of  the four remaining directors, one of such directors first
 appointed by the governor after the effective date of  this  subdivision
 as  amended  shall serve for a term ending January first next succeeding
 [his] SUCH PERSON'S appointment, one of such directors shall serve for a
 term ending one year from such date, one of such directors  shall  serve
 for  a  term  ending two years from such date, and one of such directors
 shall serve for a term ending three years from such date. Their  succes-
 sors  shall serve for terms of four years each. Directors shall continue
 in office until their successors have been appointed and  qualified.  In
 the  event  of a vacancy occurring in the office of a director by death,
 resignation or otherwise, the governor shall appoint  a  successor  with
 the  advice  and  consent  of the senate to serve for the balance of the
 unexpired term. The governor shall appoint the president of  the  corpo-
 ration,  with  the  advice  and  consent of the senate, who shall be the
 chief executive officer of the corporation and who shall  serve  at  the
 pleasure  of  the  governor.  Such president may be one of the directors
 appointed by the governor.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.