Bill Text: NY S05159 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the "division of research and analysis" which is a part of the legislative library and assists members of the legislature by providing research and analysis on policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-03 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S05159 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05159-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5159--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 11, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAY, GOUNARDES, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi- gations and Government Operations -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to the creation of the division of research and analysis to assist the legislature The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature seeks to create a new 2 nonpartisan division which shall provide assistance to the legislature 3 with analysis of issues and policies in order to facilitate the lawmak- 4 ing process. This division shall serve all members of both house cham- 5 bers equally and without bias. The legislature further intends to create 6 a division that shall empower the legislature by providing independent 7 and trustworthy information to the legislature, and will maintain 8 adequate staffing to allow the legislature to consider the best inter- 9 ests of the state. 10 § 2. Section 7-a of the legislative law, as amended by chapter 746 of 11 the laws of 1974, and the third undesignated paragraph as added by chap- 12 ter 867 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 7-a. Legislative library, librarian and assistants. 1. (a) There 14 shall be a legislative library to be located in the state capitol in 15 rooms assigned by the commissioner of general services, conveniently 16 accessible to the members of both houses of legislature, and such 17 library shall be open throughout the year. 18 (b) Such library shall be suitably furnished, equipped and maintained 19 under the direction of the legislative librarian, within the amount of 20 any moneys available therefor by appropriation, subject to joint rules, 21 if any, that may be adopted by the senate and assembly in relation ther- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11151-02-9S. 5159--A 2 1 eto. There shall be, for such library, a legislative librarian and such 2 assistant librarians and other employees as may be provided for in the 3 legislative appropriation bill. Such librarian, assistant librarians and 4 other employees shall be chosen by the temporary president of the senate 5 and speaker of the assembly. One of the assistant librarians shall be 6 assigned by the legislative librarian to have charge of the legislative 7 correspondents' room in the capitol. The legislative librarian and 8 assistant librarians heretofore chosen by the president of the senate 9 and speaker of the assembly, and in office when this section as hereby 10 amended takes effect, shall continue to serve until their successors 11 shall be chosen. The salaries and compensation of the legislative 12 librarian, assistant librarians and other employees shall be payable 13 from moneys appropriated in the legislative appropriation bill. During a 14 vacancy in the office of legislative librarian, the assistant librarian 15 who shall have been longest in the service of the state as a legislative 16 employee, shall be employed as acting legislative librarian with the 17 powers and duties of such librarian, and shall receive during such peri- 18 od the compensation herein prescribed for the legislative librarian. 19 Such librarian shall have charge of the legislative library, but the two 20 houses of the legislature may, by joint rules, regulate the use of the 21 library and prescribe the powers and duties of the legislative librarian 22 and the assistant librarians. 23 (c) The legislative librarian, the assistant librarians and employees 24 of the legislative library shall be considered to be employees of the 25 legislature for all purposes. 26 2. (a) There shall be a separate division of the legislative library, 27 known as the division of research and analysis, which shall be nonparti- 28 san in nature and shall aid the legislature in providing research 29 support. 30 (b) (1) The legislative librarian shall encourage, assist, and promote 31 the division of research and analysis in: 32 (i) providing research support at the request of members of both hous- 33 es of the legislature to aid such members with the analysis of issues 34 and development of policy; 35 (ii) rendering to the legislature the most effective and efficient 36 service; 37 (iii) responding most expeditiously, effectively, and efficiently to 38 the special needs of the legislature; and 39 (iv) empowering the legislature by allowing the division of research 40 and analysis to provide an independent source of information. 41 (2) The legislative librarian shall grant and accord to the division 42 of research and analysis complete research independence and the maximum 43 practicable administrative independence consistent with these objec- 44 tives. 45 (c) (1) A director shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly 46 and the majority leader of the senate to head the division of research 47 and analysis from a list of three nominees for such position. 48 (2) Such list of nominees shall be compiled and provided to the speak- 49 er of the assembly and majority leader of the senate by a committee, 50 which shall be chaired by the chancellor of the state university of New 51 York and comprised of the presidents of Binghamton university, the city 52 university of New York graduate center, Stony Brook university, the 53 state university of New York at Albany, and the state university of New 54 York at Buffalo. 55 (3) The director shall serve for a term of four years and may be reap- 56 pointed at the end of each term in the manner of the original appoint-S. 5159--A 3 1 ment. The director may only be removed from office upon agreement by the 2 temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly and 3 affirmed by a two-thirds majority vote by both the senate and the assem- 4 bly. 5 (d) Staffing decisions for the division of research and analysis shall 6 be at the discretion of the legislative librarian and director of the 7 division of research and analysis and subject to appropriation by the 8 legislature. All staffing decisions made pursuant to this paragraph 9 shall be without regard to political affiliation, and solely on the 10 basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. 11 (e) It shall be the duty of the division of research and analysis, 12 without partisan bias, to provide the following: 13 (1) upon request made by a member of the legislature, prepare and 14 transmit to such member a concise memorandum which shall provide rele- 15 vant research and analysis in response to the specific request of such 16 member. Such memorandum shall be confidential and not subject to public 17 disclosure; 18 (2) upon request, or upon its own initiative in anticipation of 19 requests, prepare and provide memoranda for general distribution regard- 20 ing information, research and reference materials on general issues or 21 legislation that the division of research and analysis shall deem useful 22 to all members of the legislature. Such information shall be public in 23 nature and available for public disclosure; and 24 (3) at the direction of the director, prepare and provide memoranda 25 for general distribution regarding general analysis of broad issues that 26 the division of research and analysis shall deem useful to all members 27 of the legislature. Such information shall be public in nature and 28 available for public disclosure. 29 (f) The particular nature of a request from a member of either house 30 of the legislature, pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision, shall 31 be determined by the staff members of the division of research and anal- 32 ysis, with a preference of making such memoranda available to the 33 public, if feasible, without disclosing specific legislative activity of 34 any members of the legislature. 35 (g) The director of the division of research and analysis shall 36 prepare and present to the speaker of the assembly and the majority 37 leader of the senate at the beginning of each regular session of the 38 legislature a separate and special report covering, in summary and in 39 detail, all phases of activity of the division of research and analysis 40 for the immediate preceding fiscal year, and shall include in such 41 report a description of the efforts made by the director to make addi- 42 tional division of research and analysis products which are not deemed 43 confidential products or services available for public disclosure. 44 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 45 it shall have become a law.