NY State Senate Bill 2025-S233

Senate Bill S233

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Prohibits the passage of bills by the legislature between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock a.m. unless two-thirds of the legislature is present and requires two-thirds approval for messages of necessity

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary 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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	to attorney-general for opinion referred to judiciary

co-Sponsors

2025-S233 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Constitution, Concurrent Resolutions to Amend
Laws Affected:: Amd Art 3 §14, Constn
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S1025
2017-2018: S2087
2019-2020: S557
2021-2022: S221
2023-2024: S48

2025-S233 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the passage of bills by the legislature between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock a.m. unless 2/3 of the legislature is present; requires two-thirds approval for messages of necessity.

2025-S233 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S233

SPONSOR: TEDISCO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to section 14 of article 3 of the constitution, in relation to prohibit-
ing the passage of bills between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock
a.m.  and requiring two-thirds approval for messages of necessity

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Prohibits the passage of bills by the legislature between the hours of
midnight and eight o'clock a.m. unless two-thirds of the legislature is
present and requires two-thirds approval for messages of necessity.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends section 14 of article 3 of the New York State Consti-
tution to create new subsections;

a. requiring a 2/3 vote of the Assembly and Senate accepting a message

of necessity from the governor or acting governor;

b. bills that have aged shall be passed by a majority of members of the
Assembly and Senate;

c. bills shall not be passed in session between 12 o'clock midnight and
8 o'clock a.m., unless session is voted upon to continue by 2/3d of the
Assembly and Senate;

d. no amendments shall be considered upon the last reading of a bill.

Section 2: That the foregoing be referred to the first regular legisla-
tive session convening after the next succeeding general election of
members of the Assembly, and, in conformity with Section 1 of Article 19
of the Constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of
such election.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent uses of the message of necessity by the Governors' office have
been applied to push through legislation in an effort to avoid debate,
dissection, discussion and criticism. Legislative initiatives such as
the NY SAFE Act, Redistricting, Casino gambling, expansion of the DNA
Database, Pension Reform and Teacher Evaluations were all pushed through
the legislature and signed by the Governor under the cover of darkness
with zero input from the public.  This bill is introduced :o prevent
secret government from keeping many legislators, the public and the
media in the dark when significant legislation is being discussed.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

01/08/15: S.1025 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/16/15: S.1025 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

01/06/16: S.1025 -REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

03/14/16: S.1025 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

04/06/16: S.1025 -REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/12/17: S.1025 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

01/13/17: S.1025 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

02/10/17: S.2087 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/03/18: S.2087 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

01/12/18: S.2087 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

02/15/18: S.2087 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/09/19: S.2087 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

01/11/19: S.2087 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

02/07/19: S.557 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/08/20: S.557 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

02/14/20: S.557 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

03/13/20: S.557 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/06/21: S.221 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/08/21: S.221 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

03/17/21: S.221 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/05/22: S.221 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/28/22: S.221 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

03/01/22: S.221 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/04/23: S.48 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/06/23: S.48 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

02/07/23: S.48 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/03/24: S.48 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

01/04/24: S.48 TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR OPINION

01/29/24: S.48 OPINION REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall be referred to the first regular legislative session
convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the
Assembly, and, in conformity with Section 1 of Article 19 of the Consti-
tution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.

2025-S233 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    233
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. TEDISCO, BORRELLO, RHOADS, WALCZYK -- read twice and
   ordered  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
   Judiciary
 
             CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
 
 proposing an amendment to section 14 of article 3 of  the  constitution,
   in  relation  to prohibiting the passage of bills between the hours of
   midnight and eight o'clock a.m.  and requiring two-thirds approval for
   messages of necessity
 
   Section 1. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That section 14 of arti-
 cle 3 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
   § 14. No bill shall be passed or become a law:
   A. unless it shall have  been  printed  and  upon  the  desks  of  the
 members,  in  its  final  form, at least three calendar legislative days
 prior to its final passage, unless the governor, or the acting governor,
 shall have certified, under [his or her] THE GOVERNOR'S OR ACTING GOVER-
 NOR'S hand and the seal of the state, the facts which in  [his  or  her]
 THE  GOVERNOR'S  OR  ACTING  GOVERNOR'S opinion necessitate an immediate
 vote thereon AND TWO-THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH BRANCH OF THE
 LEGISLATURE ASSENT TO SUCH FACTS THAT NECESSITATE SUCH  IMMEDIATE  VOTE,
 in  which  case it must nevertheless be upon the desks of the members in
 final form, not necessarily printed,  before  its  final  passage;  [nor
 shall any bill be passed or become a law,]
   B.  except  by the assent of a majority of the members elected to each
 branch of the legislature;
   C.  BETWEEN THE HOURS OF MIDNIGHT AND EIGHT  O'CLOCK  A.M.;  PROVIDED,
 HOWEVER  THAT THIS PROVISION MAY BE WAIVED UPON THE ASSENT OF TWO-THIRDS
 OF THE MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH BRANCH OF THE LEGISLATURE; and
   D. upon the last reading of a bill,  no  amendment  thereof  shall  be
 allowed,  and  the  question upon its final passage shall be taken imme-
 diately thereafter, and the ayes and nays entered on the journal.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD89009-01-5
 S. 233                              2
 
   For purposes of this section, a bill shall be deemed to be printed and
 upon the desks of the members if: it is set forth in a legible electron-
 ic format by electronic means, and it is available for  review  in  such
 format  at the desks of the members. For purposes of this section "elec-
 tronic  means"  means  any method of transmission of information between
 computers or other machines designed for  the  purpose  of  sending  and
 receiving   such  transmissions  and  which:  allows  the  recipient  to
 reproduce  the  information  transmitted  in  a   tangible   medium   of
 expression; and does not permit additions, deletions or other changes to
 be made without leaving an adequate record thereof.
   § 2. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing be referred
 to  the  first  regular  legislative  session  convening  after the next
 succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in conform-
 ity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for 3
 months previous to the time of such election.

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Senate Bill S233

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Sponsored By

James Tedisco