Bill Text: NY A00611 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the commissioner of general services to maintain a list of all state boards; requires each state board to maintain a publicly accessible website; requires each website associated with a state board to include certain information about such state board; changes the effectiveness of chapter 219 to November 1, 2013.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-03 - signed chap.8 [A00611 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00611-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           611

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Operations

        AN  ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring the commis-
          sioner of general services to maintain a list of all state boards  and
          requiring  each state board to maintain a publicly accessible website;
          and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the executive  law
          relating  to  information  on state boards, as proposed in legislative
          bills numbers S.  8145 and A. 843-A, in relation to the  effectiveness
          thereof

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 203-b of the executive law, as added by  a  chapter
     2  of  the  laws of 2022 amending the executive law relating to information
     3  on state boards, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8145 and A.
     4  843-A, is amended to read as follows:
     5    § 203-b. Additional duties of the commissioner  regarding  information
     6  on  state  boards.  1. As used in this section, "commissioner" means the
     7  commissioner of [the office of] general services and, "board" means  any
     8  board,  commission,  committee, council, task force or any similar state
     9  public organization, required to be established pursuant  to  the  state
    10  constitution, state statutes or executive order, for the exercise of any
    11  function  of  state  government  and  to  which members are appointed or
    12  elected. "Board" does not include:
    13    a. any informal advisory organization not established [exclusively] by
    14  [a state agency to advise the commissioner, secretary,  or  director  of
    15  that agency on an informal basis] law;
    16    b. any joint standing committee of the legislature or any committee of
    17  the  assembly and/or senate composed entirely of members of the legisla-
    18  ture;
    19    c. any court;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03941-01-3
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     1    d. the board of trustees of any institution of higher education finan-
     2  cially supported in whole or in part by the state;
     3    e. any entity of local government;
     4    f.  any  public authority or public benefit corporation, a majority of
     5  whose members are appointed by the  governor  or  serve  as  members  by
     6  virtue  of  holding  state  offices  to which they were appointed by the
     7  governor, or any combination thereof; and
     8    g. any board of elections.
     9    2. The commissioner shall maintain a [compilation  of  the  membership
    10  and  meeting  information]  list  of  all  state boards, including state
    11  boards deemed active and regularly meeting on and  after  the  effective
    12  date  of  this section. The commissioner shall keep such [inventory in a
    13  public record available for inspection, and updated annually] list on  a
    14  website designated by the commissioner for the purpose of public access,
    15  and  such  list  shall  have  a  link to the website for each such board
    16  established pursuant to subdivision three of this section. [Such  compi-
    17  lation shall include, but not be limited to:
    18    a. statutory language, executive order or other legal basis or author-
    19  ization for the establishment of such board;
    20    b.  public  information  including  departmental  affiliation, contact
    21  address, phone number, and website;
    22    c. a brief description of the purpose of the  board  and  its  legally
    23  required duties, including required reports or other products;
    24    d.  the size of board membership, current member names, and any quali-
    25  fications;
    26    e. whether members of a board are eligible for payment of expenses  or
    27  other compensation in the performance of their duties as members of that
    28  board;
    29    f. dates and locations of all meetings held, and to be held within six
    30  months,  or a location, including but not limited to another website, in
    31  which such information can be publicly accessed;
    32    g. geographic and other relevant qualifications of all current members
    33  of the board, including the county in which the member resides  and  the
    34  background  or  expertise  the member possesses where such background or
    35  expertise is required for membership on such board; and
    36    h. any other information the commissioner may  require.    Nothing  in
    37  this  section  shall  authorize  the release or publication of any board
    38  member's residential address.
    39    2-a. The commissioner shall also, to the extent practicable,  maintain
    40  and  update  annually  a compilation of all available information of all
    41  state boards currently authorized by provisions of the  state  constitu-
    42  tion,  state  statutes  or  executive orders that the commissioner deems
    43  inactive. For purposes of this section, a board shall be deemed inactive
    44  if it has not held a meeting in the year prior to the effective date  of
    45  this  section.  A  board  shall hereafter be treated as inactive for the
    46  purposes of this section if it has not met  in  the  preceding  calendar
    47  year.
    48    3.  The  commissioner  shall update on an annual basis beginning April
    49  first, two thousand twenty-three on the designated website,  all  vacan-
    50  cies, expired terms, those terms expiring within one year, and the proc-
    51  ess  for  filling  such vacancies on such boards] The designated website
    52  shall be updated annually.
    53    [4.] 3. Each board or the state agency  that  provides  administrative
    54  support  or  is  otherwise  affiliated  with a board shall establish and
    55  maintain a website available to the public and provide a  link  to  such
    56  website  to  the  commissioner.  Each  board  or  the  state agency that
        A. 611                              3

     1  provides administrative support or is otherwise affiliated with a  board
     2  shall  annually  on or before January first, [submit to the commissioner
     3  all information pursuant to this section in a manner  specified  by  the
     4  commissioner to facilitate the publication requirements of this section.
     5  Each  submission  shall  also  include  information  on compensation and
     6  expenses incurred in the prior and current  fiscal  years,  as  well  as
     7  projected  costs  for  the coming fiscal year] update the information on
     8  its website.
     9    [5. The commissioner shall  receive  from  any  department,  division,
    10  board,  bureau,  commission or other agency of the state any information
    11  and resources as will enable him  or  her  to  properly  carry  out  the
    12  purposes of this section.]
    13    4.  The  website  established  by  each board or the state agency that
    14  provides administrative support or is otherwise affiliated with a  board
    15  shall include, but not be limited to:
    16    a. statutory language, executive order or other legal basis or author-
    17  ization for the establishment of such board;
    18    b.  public  information  including  departmental  affiliation, contact
    19  address, phone number, and website;
    20    c. a brief description of the purpose of the  board  and  its  legally
    21  required duties, including required reports or other products;
    22    d.  the size of board membership, current member names, and any quali-
    23  fications;
    24    e. whether members of a board are eligible for payment of expenses  or
    25  other compensation in the performance of their duties as members of such
    26  board and information on compensation and expenses incurred in the prior
    27  and  current  fiscal  years,  as  well as projected costs for the coming
    28  fiscal year;
    29    f. meeting minutes and agendas, dates and locations  of  all  meetings
    30  held, and to be held within six months, or a location, including but not
    31  limited  to  another  website, in which such information can be publicly
    32  accessed;
    33    g. geographic and other relevant qualifications of all current members
    34  of the board, including the county in which the member resides  and  the
    35  background  or  expertise  the member possesses where such background or
    36  expertise is required for membership on such board; and
    37    h. any other information the commissioner may require. Nothing in this
    38  section shall authorize the release or publication of any board member's
    39  residential address.
    40    5. Each board or the state agency that provides administrative support
    41  or is otherwise affiliated with a board shall update on an annual  basis
    42  beginning  November first, two thousand twenty-three on its website, all
    43  vacancies, expired terms, terms expiring within one year, and the  proc-
    44  ess for filling such vacancies on such boards.
    45    6.  On  or before January first, two thousand twenty-four, the commis-
    46  sioner shall report to the governor, the speaker of  the  assembly,  the
    47  temporary  president of the senate, the chair of the assembly oversight,
    48  analysis and investigation committee and the chair of the senate  inves-
    49  tigations  and  government  operations  committee  on  the status of the
    50  [inventory] list including but not  limited  to  the  number  of  boards
    51  reported   and  verified[;  the  aggregate  demographic  information  of
    52  appointments made by each appointing authority including but not limited
    53  to race, sex, and geographic representation of such appointees  provided
    54  that  no  information  shall be personally identifiable, and the content
    55  and completeness of the information  gathered  in  accordance  with  the
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     1  requirements of this section]. The commissioner shall also report on any
     2  impediments to obtaining information.
     3    § 2. Section 2 of a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the executive
     4  law  relating to information on state boards, as proposed in legislative
     5  bills numbers S. 8145 and A. 843-A, is amended to read as follows:
     6    § 2. This act shall take effect [April] November 1, 2023.
     7    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
     8  section  one  of  this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
     9  same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the executive  law
    10  relating  to  information  on  state  boards, as proposed in legislative
    11  bills numbers S. 8145 and A. 843-A, takes effect.