STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7721--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 17, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. GRIFFIN, THIELE -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Local Governments -- committee discharged, bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the town law, in relation to compensation of chairman,
          election inspectors and ballot clerks for fire districts elections

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 6 of section 175 of the town law, subdi-
     2  vision 1 as amended by chapter 334 of the laws of 2011 and subdivision 6
     3  as  amended  by  chapter 586 of the laws of 2004, are amended to read as
     4  follows:
     5    1. An annual election shall be held  in  each  fire  district  on  the
     6  second  Tuesday  in  December,  except  that  in the Ocean Bay Park fire
     7  district, the Lonelyville fire district, the Davis Park  fire  district,
     8  the  Cherry  Grove  fire district, the Fair Harbor fire district and the
     9  Fire Island Pines fire district, Suffolk county,  such  annual  election
    10  shall  be held on the second Tuesday in July, except that in the town of
    11  Salisbury, Herkimer county, such annual election shall be  held  on  the
    12  Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November from six o'clock in
    13  the  morning  until  nine  o'clock in the evening and except that in the
    14  Belfast fire district, Allegany county, such annual  election  shall  be
    15  held  on  the first Tuesday in December. The board of fire commissioners
    16  shall give notice thereof by the publication of a notice once in one  or
    17  more  newspapers having a general circulation in the district. The first
    18  publication of such notice shall be not less than twenty-seven days  and
    19  not  more than thirty-four days prior to the date of such election. Such
    20  notice shall specify the time when and the  place  where  such  election
    21  will  be  held,  the  officers  to be elected thereat and their terms of
    22  office, and the hours during which  the  polls  will  be  open  for  the
    23  receipt  of  ballots.  The secretary of such fire district shall prepare
    24  the ballots for all elections of fire district officers  and  the  polls

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11206-02-9

        A. 7721--A                          2

     1  shall  remain  open  for  the  receipt  thereof at all elections of fire
     2  district officers from six o'clock in the evening until nine o'clock  in
     3  the  evening  and such additional consecutive hours prior thereto as the
     4  board  of  fire  commissioners  of such district may have determined and
     5  specified in the notice thereof. The board of fire  commissioners  shall
     6  designate  a  resident  fire district elector, who shall be a registered
     7  voter of the town, to act as chairman of any election of  said  district
     8  and  shall  designate not less than two nor more than four resident fire
     9  district electors, who shall be registered voters of the town to act  as
    10  election  inspectors  and  ballot  clerks at such elections. No elective
    11  officer of the fire district shall serve  as  such  chairman  or  as  an
    12  election  inspector or ballot clerk. The board of fire commissioners may
    13  adopt a resolution providing that such chairman, election inspectors and
    14  ballot clerks shall be paid for their respective services  at  any  such
    15  annual  election  or  at any special election of the fire district. Such
    16  resolution, if adopted, shall fix the amount of  such  compensation,  as
    17  follows:  if  the  hours  during  which  the  polls will be open for the
    18  receipt of ballots are from  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  until  nine
    19  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a  sum  not  to exceed [thirty-five] seventy
    20  dollars for each such official; if additional consecutive hours prior to
    21  six o'clock in the evening are determined and specified in the notice of
    22  election, a sum not to exceed [fifty] one hundred dollars for each  such
    23  official.
    24    6.  If  in  any  fire  district the number of voters is so great as to
    25  render it inexpedient or impossible to conduct the election at one poll-
    26  ing place, the board of fire commissioners may divide the fire  district
    27  into  election  districts  and  provide  a  polling  place for each such
    28  election district,  provided,  however,  that  the  number  of  election
    29  districts in any fire district shall not exceed one for each six hundred
    30  electors  plus  one  for  a  remaining  fraction of six hundred. In such
    31  event, the notice specified in subdivision one  of  this  section  shall
    32  describe  the election districts and state where the polling places will
    33  be located, and the board of fire commissioners shall designate not less
    34  than two nor more than four resident fire district electors,  who  shall
    35  be  registered  voters  of  the  town, to act as election inspectors and
    36  ballot clerks at each such polling place. The  board  of  fire  district
    37  commissioners  may  adopt  a  resolution  providing  that  such election
    38  inspectors and ballot clerks shall be paid for their respective services
    39  at any such annual election or at  any  special  election  of  the  fire
    40  district.  Such  resolution,  if  adopted,  shall fix the amount of such
    41  compensation as follows: if the hours during which  the  polls  will  be
    42  open  for  the  receipt  of  ballots are from six o'clock in the evening
    43  until nine o'clock in the evening, a sum  not  to  exceed  [thirty-five]
    44  seventy  dollars for each such official; if additional consecutive hours
    45  prior to six o'clock in the evening are determined and specified in  the
    46  notice  of election, a sum not to exceed [fifty] one hundred dollars for
    47  each such official. No elective officer of the fire district shall serve
    48  as an election inspector or ballot clerk.
    49    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.