Bill Text: NY S05237 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits the diversion of funds dedicated to operating and maintaining an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or other municipal public safety upgrades to the general fund or to any other purpose; requires a diversion impact statement if any diversion of funds occurs by passage of legislation; provides that a portion of funds collected from the public safety communications surcharge will go to the municipal public safety upgrade fund instead of the general fund; and establishes the municipal public safety upgrade fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE [S05237 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05237-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5237 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 17, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting the diver- sion of funds dedicated to operating and maintaining an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system or to municipal public safety upgrades; and to amend the tax law and the state finance law, in relation to provid- ing funds for municipal public safety upgrades The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 184 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 184. Diversion of funds dedicated to an enhanced 911 emergency tele- 4 phone system or to municipal public safety upgrades to the general fund 5 of the state or to any other purpose, is prohibited. 1. The director of 6 the budget shall be prohibited from diverting revenues derived from 7 surcharges or any other taxes or fees paid by the public and collected 8 for the purpose of paying for the costs associated with obtaining, oper- 9 ating and maintaining the telecommunication equipment and telephone 10 services needed to provide an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system to 11 serve any municipality or for any other municipal public safety upgrades 12 into the general fund of the state or into any other fund maintained for 13 the support of another governmental purpose. No diversion of funds can 14 occur contrary to this section by an administrative act of the director 15 of the budget or any other person in the executive branch. 16 2. If any diversion of funds occurs by passage of legislation during a 17 regular or extraordinary session of the legislature, the director of the 18 budget shall create and include with the budget or legislation diverting 19 funds, a diversion impact statement which shall include the following 20 information: 21 (a) the amount of the diversion from enhanced 911 emergency telephone 22 system or municipal public safety upgrade funds; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08840-02-9S. 5237 2 1 (b) the date or dates when the diversion is to occur; and 2 (c) a detailed estimate of the impact diversion from enhanced 911 3 emergency telephone system or municipal public safety upgrade funds will 4 have on the level of enhanced 911 emergency telephone system services 5 and maintenance and any other municipal public safety upgrades. 6 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 186-f of the tax law, 7 as added by section 3 of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 (a) forty-one and seven-tenths of the revenues collected and received 10 under this section into the [state general] municipal public safety 11 upgrade fund established pursuant to section ninety-eight-d of the state 12 finance law; and 13 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 98-d to 14 read as follows: 15 § 98-d. Municipal public safety upgrade fund. 1. There is hereby 16 established in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and 17 finance and the comptroller a fund to be known as the "municipal public 18 safety upgrade fund". 19 2. The fund shall consist of (a) all monies deposited into the fund 20 pursuant to section one hundred eighty-six-f of the tax law; (b) all 21 monies appropriated for its purpose; (c) all monies transferred to such 22 fund pursuant to any other law; and (d) all monies deposited pursuant to 23 any other law to be paid into or credited to the fund. 24 3. Monies of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature, 25 shall be made available to municipalities only for (a) the costs associ- 26 ated with obtaining, operating and maintaining the telecommunication 27 equipment and telephone services needed to provide an enhanced 911 emer- 28 gency telephone system to serve such municipalities; and (b) costs asso- 29 ciated with any other public safety upgrades by a municipality. 30 4. All payments of monies from the municipal public safety upgrade 31 fund shall be made on the audit and warrant of the comptroller. At the 32 end of each year any monies remaining in the fund shall be retained in 33 the fund and shall not revert to the general fund. The interest and 34 income earned on monies in the fund, after deducting any applicable 35 charges, shall be credited to the fund. 36 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
