Bill Text: NY A04949 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Provides for the election of members of the board of education of the Buffalo city school district in November rather than in May; creates a timetable for the electoral proceedings therefor; extends the terms of current members of such board to the last day of December rather than June; provides for future terms to run from January through December; and staggers terms.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-11-25 - SIGNED CHAP.561 [A04949 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04949-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4949--B
                                                                   R. R. 131

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 6, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and
          referred  to  the  Committee  on  Rules -- ordered to a third reading,
          passed by Assembly and delivered to  the  Senate,  recalled  from  the
          Senate,  vote reconsidered, bill amended, ordered reprinted, retaining
          its place on the special order of third reading

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in  relation  to  providing  for  the
          election  of  members  of  the  board of education of the Buffalo city
          school district in November; and to repeal certain provisions of  such
          law relating thereto

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

     1    Section 1. Subparagraph 3 of paragraph d of subdivision 10 of  section
     2  2553 of the education law is REPEALED.
     3    §  2.  Subparagraphs  1 and 2 of paragraph d and paragraphs g, j, m, o
     4  and p of subdivision 10 of section 2553 of the education law,  as  added
     5  by  chapter  242  of the laws of 1974, paragraph g as amended by chapter
     6  431 of the laws of 2012 and paragraph p as amended by chapter 95 of  the
     7  laws of 1979, are amended to read as follows:
     8    (1)  Such election for such office shall be governed by the provisions
     9  of the election law in the same manner as candidates for office general-
    10  ly to be elected by the voters of the city of Buffalo  [except,  as  the
    11  case  may  be,  as  to  the date of the election; and, further provided,
    12  however, that]. Notwithstanding section 6-142 of the election law,  each
    13  such candidate for election as a member of the board of education from a
    14  city  school subdistrict shall be required to file a petition containing
    15  signatures of at least five  hundred  registered  voters  of  such  city
    16  school  subdistrict  in  which  he is a candidate and each candidate for
    17  election to the board of education by  the  voters  at  large  shall  be

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04781-09-9
        A. 4949--B                          2

     1  required  to  file  a petition containing the signatures of at least one
     2  thousand registered voters of the city of Buffalo.
     3    (2)  No petition shall contain any political party or independent body
     4  name or label. Each petition shall contain the name of only  one  candi-
     5  date  and  such petition shall be filed with [the clerk of] the board of
     6  elections of the county of Erie not earlier  than  [the  fifth  Tuesday]
     7  twenty-four  weeks before, and not later than [the fourth Tuesday] twen-
     8  ty-three weeks preceding the date on which an election shall be held.  A
     9  certificate  of acceptance or declination of any individual so nominated
    10  shall be filed not later than the third day after the  [fourth]  twenty-
    11  third Tuesday preceding the election.
    12    g.  Each  sheet of such a petition shall be signed in ink and shall be
    13  substantially in the following form:
    14    I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a duly  qualified  voter
    15  of the city of Buffalo, that my place of residence is truly stated oppo-
    16  site  my  signature hereto, and I do hereby nominate the following named
    17  person as a candidate for nomination (for the public office of member of
    18  the board of education of the city of Buffalo at  large..............day
    19  of....................,   20.....,)   (for   the   city  school  subdis-
    20  trict.............day of........, 20.....)

    21    I do hereby appoint........................(here insert the names  and
    22  addresses  of  at  least  three persons, all of whom shall be registered
    23  voters within the city of Buffalo), as a committee to fill vacancies  in
    24  accordance with the provisions of the election law.
    25    In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set my hand the day and year
    26  placed opposite my signature.

    27      Date             Name of Signer           Present Residence
    28   ..............    ..................        ....................
    29   ..............    ..................        ....................
    30   ..............    ..................        ....................

    31    The petition shall be authenticated by witnesses. Such statement shall
    32  be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit,  and  if
    33  false  shall  subject  the witness to the same penalties as if he or she
    34  had been duly sworn. The form of such statement shall  be  substantially
    35  as follows:

    36                            STATEMENT OF WITNESS

    37    I,....................,  (name  of witness), state: I am a duly quali-
    38  fied voter of the state of New York, and now reside in the city, town or
    39  village      of...............,      in       such       state,       at
    40  .......................(fill in street and house number and post office)
    41  therein.  I  know  each of the voters whose names are subscribed to this
    42  petition sheet containing (fill  in  number).............signatures  and
    43  each  of them subscribed the same in my presence and upon so subscribing
    44  declared to me that the foregoing statement, made and subscribed by him,
    45  was true.

    46                                               .....................
    47                                               Signature of witness
    48  Date...........
        A. 4949--B                          3

     1    j. Objections to petitions for the nomination of members of such board
     2  of education, procedures and  remedies  applicable  to  such  objections
     3  shall  be  [the  same  as  those  applicable  to  independent nominating
     4  petitions under the election law, except as it may be  modified  by  the
     5  provisions  of paragraph (d) and paragraph (n) of this subdivision] made
     6  pursuant to section 6-154 of the election law.
     7    m. If a candidate, after a petition in his behalf shall have been duly
     8  filed with [the clerk of] the board of elections, and prior to the  date
     9  of  the  election,  shall  decline to accept the nomination, die, remove
    10  from the school district, accept [or be a candidate for] another  [elec-
    11  tive]  office,  or  become  otherwise  disqualified for such city school
    12  district office, [a further petition may be filed with such clerk, nomi-
    13  nating another candidate in his place and stead. Such  further  petition
    14  shall  in all respects comply with the provisions of paragraphs d, f and
    15  h of this subdivision, except that it may be filed at any time up to and
    16  including the fifteenth day preceding the date of the election  pursuant
    17  to  the  provisions  of  this  subdivision  and the time within which to
    18  accept or object to such further petition shall  be  computed  from  the
    19  date of filing or said fifteenth day, whichever is earlier] such vacancy
    20  shall  be  filled by the committee on vacancies pursuant to the election
    21  law.
    22    o.  The members so elected to the board of education shall convene  on
    23  the  first  business  day in [July] January of each year, at the time of
    24  the commencement of their term of office and select from their members a
    25  president who shall serve for a term of one year or such other term, not
    26  exceeding the term of his office, as may be fixed by the rules and regu-
    27  lations of the board.
    28    p.  The election of members of the board of education  of  the  school
    29  district  of the city of Buffalo shall take place on [May seventh, nine-
    30  teen hundred seventy-four and on] the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first
    31  Monday in [May thereafter] November in each year in which an incumbent's
    32  term  expires.    Such  election  shall  be  conducted  by  the board of
    33  elections of the county of Erie in the same manner  as  other  elections
    34  are  conducted  by  it.    [Polls shall be open for voting for the hours
    35  prescribed by section 8-100 of the election law for primary  elections.]
    36  The  results of such elections, after canvassing, shall be certified and
    37  reported by the board of elections to the board  of  education  of  such
    38  city.   The clerk or other appropriate officer of the board of education
    39  shall within twenty-four hours after receipt of  such  certification  by
    40  the  board  of  elections serve a written notice either personally or by
    41  mail upon each person declared to be elected as a member of the board of
    42  education informing him of his election and the length of his term.
    43    § 3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law,  the  term  of
    44  every  member  of  the board of education of the city school district of
    45  Buffalo is hereby extended from June thirtieth of the year in  which  it
    46  is  scheduled  to expire to December thirty-first of such year. Terms of
    47  such members elected after this act becomes law shall begin on the first
    48  day of January and end on the last day of December  of  the  appropriate
    49  year.
    50    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.