Bill Text: NY A00587 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to gender balance on boards of state and local public authorities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-20 - REFERRED TO RULES [A00587 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00587-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           587
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. ROZIC, AUBRY, BLAKE, DE LA ROSA, D'URSO, GALEF,
          JAFFEE, JEAN-PIERRE, NOLAN, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, the  general  municipal  law
          and  the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to gender balance
          in public  authorities,  industrial  development  agencies  and  local
          development corporations
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The public authorities law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 2829 to read as follows:
     3    § 2829. Gender  balance  in public authorities. 1. For the purposes of
     4  this section, the following terms shall  have  the  following  meanings,
     5  unless the context otherwise requires:
     6    (a)  "gender  balance" means an equal number of women and men selected
     7  to appointive positions;
     8    (b) "appointing power" means an individual or government  or  legisla-
     9  tive  body  or individual or individuals charged with the responsibility
    10  to appoint others to appointive positions  on  state  and  local  public
    11  authorities.
    12    2. (a) All appointive state and local public authorities heretofore or
    13  hereafter established by law or resolution shall be gender balanced.
    14    (b)  No person shall be appointed or reappointed to any state or local
    15  public authority if that appointment or reappointment  would  cause  the
    16  number  of  members of such public authority of one gender to be greater
    17  than one-half of the public authority, plus one.
    18    3. (a) An appointing power shall make appointments to state and  local
    19  public  authorities  created  prior  to,  on or after January first, two
    20  thousand twenty, in a manner  which  will  ensure  that  women  comprise
    21  approximately fifty percent of the membership on each public authority.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01324-01-9
        A. 587                              2
     1    (b)  The appointing power shall appoint a person from the gender which
     2  has fewer appointees to any  vacant  position  whenever  the  number  of
     3  persons  of  one  gender  appointed to a state or local public authority
     4  created prior to, on or after January first, two thousand twenty exceeds
     5  the  number  of  persons  of  the  other gender appointed to that public
     6  authority.
     7    (c) In making appointments to any  state  or  local  public  authority
     8  created  prior  to,  on or after January first, two thousand twenty, the
     9  number of appointments by an appointing power  of  one  gender  may  not
    10  exceed  by  more  than  one  the  number  of appointments from the other
    11  gender. When an unequal number of appointments has been made  from  each
    12  gender,  a  vacant  position shall be filled by a person from the gender
    13  with fewer appointees on the public authority.
    14    (d) In the event a state or  local  public  authority  has  an  uneven
    15  number of appointive positions, the appointing power shall fill a vacan-
    16  cy  with  a  member  of  the gender whose representation was of a lesser
    17  number when an opening occurs. In the event a new state or local  public
    18  authority whose membership has an unequal number of representatives from
    19  one  gender is created the appointing power shall appoint individuals in
    20  conformance with the goals of this section.
    21    4. The appointing power  shall  undertake  all  efforts  necessary  to
    22  obtain  lists  of  names  of  qualified candidates to be recommended for
    23  appointment to state and local public authorities, in furtherance of the
    24  advancement of the policy of this section to achieve  equal  numbers  of
    25  appointments of men and women to appointive positions pursuant to subdi-
    26  visions two and three of this section.
    27    5. Multiple appointing powers charged with the appointment of individ-
    28  uals  to  the  same  state  or local public authority shall consult each
    29  other to avoid a violation of this section.
    30    6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an  individ-
    31  ual  from completing a term for which the person was appointed, prior to
    32  the effective date of this section.
    33    § 2. The general municipal law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
    34  856-a to read as follows:
    35    § 856-a. Gender balance in industrial development agencies. 1. For the
    36  purposes  of  this section, the following terms shall have the following
    37  meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
    38    (a) "gender balance" means an equal number of women and  men  selected
    39  to appointive positions;
    40    (b)  "appointing  power" means an individual or government or legisla-
    41  tive body or individual or individuals charged with  the  responsibility
    42  to  appoint  others  to  appointive  positions on industrial development
    43  agencies.
    44    2. (a) All appointive industrial development  agencies  heretofore  or
    45  hereafter established by law or resolution shall be gender balanced.
    46    (b)  No  person  shall  be  appointed or reappointed to any industrial
    47  development agency if that appointment or reappointment would cause  the
    48  number of members of such industrial development agency of one gender to
    49  be greater than one-half of the industrial development agency, plus one.
    50    3. (a) An appointing power shall make appointment to industrial devel-
    51  opment  agencies  created prior to, on or after January first, two thou-
    52  sand twenty, in a manner which will ensure that women comprise  approxi-
    53  mately  fifty  percent  of the membership on each industrial development
    54  agency.
    55    (b) The appointing power shall appoint a person from the gender  which
    56  has  fewer  appointees  to  any  vacant  position whenever the number of
        A. 587                              3
     1  persons of one gender appointed  to  an  industrial  development  agency
     2  created prior to, on or after January first, two thousand twenty exceeds
     3  the  number  of persons of the other gender appointed to that industrial
     4  development agency.
     5    (c)  In  making  appointments  to  any  industrial  development agency
     6  created prior to, on or after January first, two  thousand  twenty,  the
     7  number  of  appointments  by  an  appointing power of one gender may not
     8  exceed by more than one  the  number  of  appointments  from  the  other
     9  gender.  When  an unequal number of appointments has been made from each
    10  gender, a vacant position shall be filled by a person  from  the  gender
    11  with fewer appointees on the industrial development agency.
    12    (d) In the event an industrial development agency has an uneven number
    13  of  appointive positions, the appointing power shall fill a vacancy with
    14  a member of the gender whose representation was of a lesser number  when
    15  an  opening  occurs.  In  the  event a new industrial development agency
    16  whose membership has an  unequal  number  of  representatives  from  one
    17  gender  is  created  the  appointing  power shall appoint individuals in
    18  conformance with the goals of this section.
    19    4. The appointing power  shall  undertake  all  efforts  necessary  to
    20  obtain  lists  of  names  of  qualified candidates to be recommended for
    21  appointment to industrial development agencies, in  furtherance  of  the
    22  advancement  of  the  policy of this section to achieve equal numbers of
    23  appointments of men and women to appointive positions pursuant to subdi-
    24  visions two and three of this section.
    25    5. Multiple appointing powers charged with the appointment of individ-
    26  uals to the same industrial  development  agencies  shall  consult  each
    27  other to avoid a violation of this section.
    28    6.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an individ-
    29  ual from completing a term for which the person was appointed, prior  to
    30  the effective date of this section.
    31    §  3.  The  not-for-profit  corporation law is amended by adding a new
    32  section 1411-a to read as follows:
    33  § 1411-a. Gender balance in local development corporations.
    34    (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms  shall  have
    35  the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
    36    (1)  "gender  balance" means an equal number of women and men selected
    37  as members of a local development corporation; and
    38    (2) "appointing power" means an individual or government  or  legisla-
    39  tive  body  or individual or individuals charged with the responsibility
    40  to appoint others to appointive positions on  local  development  corpo-
    41  rations.
    42    (b)  (1)  All  appointive local development corporations heretofore or
    43  hereafter established by law or resolution shall be gender balanced.
    44    (2) No person shall be appointed or reappointed to any local  develop-
    45  ment  corporations  if that appointment or reappointment would cause the
    46  number of members of such local development corporation of one gender to
    47  be greater than one-half of the local development corporation, plus one.
    48    (c) (1) An appointing power shall make appointment to  local  develop-
    49  ment corporations created prior to, on or after January first, two thou-
    50  sand  twenty, in a manner which will ensure that women comprise approxi-
    51  mately fifty  percent  of  the  membership  on  each  local  development
    52  corporations.
    53    (2)  The appointing power shall appoint a person from the gender which
    54  has fewer appointees to any  vacant  position  whenever  the  number  of
    55  persons  of  one  gender  appointed  to  a local development corporation
    56  created prior to, on or after January first, two thousand twenty exceeds
        A. 587                              4
     1  the number of persons of the other gender appointed to that local devel-
     2  opment corporation.
     3    (3)  In  making  appointments  to  any  local  development corporation
     4  created prior to, on or after January first, two  thousand  twenty,  the
     5  number  of  appointments  by  an  appointing power of one gender may not
     6  exceed by more than one  the  number  of  appointments  from  the  other
     7  gender.  When  an unequal number of appointments has been made from each
     8  gender, a vacant position shall be filled by a person  from  the  gender
     9  with fewer appointees on the local development corporation.
    10    (4) In the event a local development corporations has an uneven number
    11  of  appointive positions, the appointing power shall fill a vacancy with
    12  a member of the gender whose representation was of a lesser number  when
    13  an  opening  occurs.  In  the  event a new local development corporation
    14  whose membership has an  unequal  number  of  representatives  from  one
    15  gender  is  created  the  appointing  power shall appoint individuals in
    16  conformance with the goals of this section.
    17    (d) The appointing power shall  undertake  all  efforts  necessary  to
    18  obtain  lists  of  names  of  qualified candidates to be recommended for
    19  appointment to local development corporations,  in  furtherance  of  the
    20  advancement  of  the  policy of this section to achieve equal numbers of
    21  appointments of men and women to appointive positions pursuant to  para-
    22  graphs (b) and (c) of this section.
    23    (e)  Multiple  appointing powers charged with the appointment of indi-
    24  viduals to the same local development  corporation  shall  consult  each
    25  other to avoid a violation of this section.
    26    (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an individ-
    27  ual  from completing a term for which the person was appointed, prior to
    28  the effective date of this section.
    29    § 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.