Bill Text: NY A09027 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Adds six ex officio members to the public service commission; adds the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate and the minority leader of the senate as ex officio voting members; adds the attorney general and the state comptroller as non-voting members.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-17 - print number 9027a [A09027 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A09027-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        9027--A
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    March 10, 2014
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. BRENNAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee  on  Corporations,  Authorities  and  Commissions   --   committee
         discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
         to said committee
       AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the membership of
         the public service commission
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Section 4 of the public service law, as amended by  chapter
    2  155 of the laws of 1970, is amended as follows:
    3    S 4. The  public service commission.  1. There shall be in the depart-
    4  ment of public service a public service commission, which shall  possess
    5  the  powers and duties hereinafter specified, and also all powers neces-
    6  sary or proper to enable it to carry out the purposes of  this  chapter.
    7  The  commission  shall  consist  of  MEMBERS  AND  EX OFFICIO MEMBERS AS
    8  FOLLOWS:
    9    (A) five members, to be appointed by the governor,  by  and  with  the
   10  advice  and  consent of the senate. A commissioner APPOINTED PURSUANT TO
   11  THIS PARAGRAPH shall be designated as chairman of the commission by  the
   12  governor  to  serve  in such capacity at the pleasure of the governor or
   13  until his OR HER term as commissioner expires whichever first occurs. No
   14  more than three commissioners APPOINTED PURSUANT TO THIS  PARAGRAPH  may
   15  be members of the same political party [unless, pursuant to action taken
   16  under  subdivision  two,  the number of commissioners shall exceed five,
   17  and in such event no more than four commissioners may be members of  the
   18  same political party].
   19    (B) FOUR MEMBERS SHALL BE EX OFFICIO VOTING MEMBERS, AS FOLLOWS:
   20    (I) THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY;
   21    (II) THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY;
   22    (III) THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE; AND
   23    (IV) THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE.
   24    (C) TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE EX OFFICIO NON-VOTING MEMBERS, AS FOLLOWS:
   25    (I) THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; AND
   26    (II) THE COMPTROLLER OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD14060-03-4
       A. 9027--A                          2
    1    2.  [Notwithstanding  subdivision  one,  whenever the commission shall
    2  certify to the governor that additional commissioners are needed for the
    3  proper disposition of the business before it, the governor may  increase
    4  the  membership  of  the  commission  to seven members by appointing two
    5  additional  commissioners  by  and  with  the  advice and consent of the
    6  senate. The terms of office of such  additional  commissioners  and  the
    7  filling  of vacancies during such terms shall be governed by subdivision
    8  three, except that upon the expiration of the terms of  such  additional
    9  commissioners,  no  further appointments or reappointments shall be made
   10  to such additional offices, unless the commission shall first certify to
   11  the governor that the need for  additional  commissioners  continues  to
   12  exist.
   13    3.]  The  term of office of a commissioner APPOINTED PURSUANT TO PARA-
   14  GRAPH A OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION shall be six years  from  the
   15  first  day  of February of the calendar year in which he OR SHE shall be
   16  appointed and SUCH commissioners shall serve on a full-time basis.  Upon
   17  a  vacancy  [occuring] OCCURRING otherwise than by expiration of term in
   18  the office of any SUCH commissioner,  the  governor,  by  and  with  the
   19  advice  and consent of the senate, shall fill the vacancy by appointment
   20  for the unexpired term.
   21    3. AN EX OFFICIO MEMBER MAY APPOINT A DESIGNEE TO REPRESENT HIM OR HER
   22  ON THE COMMISSION.
   23    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.