Bill Text: NY A09334 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for the recall of a district attorney.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-25 - opinion referred to judiciary [A09334 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09334-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9334

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 29, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BARCLAY -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Governmental Operations

                    CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY

        proposing the addition of a new  article  20  to  the  constitution,  in
          relation to providing for the recall of a district attorney

     1    Section  1.  Resolved  (if  the Senate concur), That article 20 of the
     2  constitution be renumbered article 21 and a new article 20 be  added  to
     3  read as follows:
     4                                 ARTICLE XX
     5                        Recall of a District Attorney
     6    Section  1.  Recall is the power of the electors to remove an elective
     7  officer.
     8    § 2. 1. Recall of a district attorney is initiated  by  delivering  to
     9  the  state  board  of  elections  a petition alleging reason for recall.
    10  Sufficiency of reason is not reviewable.  Proponents  have  one  hundred
    11  sixty days to file signed petitions.
    12    2. A petition to recall a district attorney must be signed by electors
    13  within  the  county  the  district  attorney  shall have been elected or
    14  appointed equal in number to twenty percent of the  last  vote  for  the
    15  office.
    16    3.  The  state board of elections shall maintain a continuous count of
    17  the signatures certified to that office.
    18    § 3. 1. An election to determine whether to recall a district attorney
    19  and, if appropriate, to elect a successor shall be called by the  gover-
    20  nor and held not less than sixty days nor more than eighty days from the
    21  date of certification of sufficient signatures.
    22    2.  A  recall election may be conducted within one hundred eighty days
    23  from the date of certification of sufficient signatures  in  order  that
    24  the  election  may  be  consolidated  with  the next regularly scheduled
    25  election occurring wholly or partially within the same  jurisdiction  in
    26  which  the  recall election is held, if the number of voters eligible to
    27  vote at that next regularly scheduled  election  equal  at  least  fifty
    28  percent of all the voters eligible to vote at the recall election.
    29    3.  If  the  majority  vote on the question is to recall, the district
    30  attorney is removed and, if there is  a  candidate,  the  candidate  who

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD89045-01-3
        A. 9334                             2

     1  receives  a plurality is the successor. The district attorney may not be
     2  a candidate.
     3    §  4.  A  district attorney who is not recalled shall be reimbursed by
     4  the state for the district attorney's recall election  expenses  legally
     5  and  personally  incurred.   Another recall may not be initiated against
     6  the district attorney until six months after the election.
     7    § 2. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the foregoing amendment  be
     8  referred  to  the  first regular legislative session convening after the
     9  next succeeding general election of members of  the  assembly,  and,  in
    10  conformity  with  section  1  of  article  19  of  the  constitution, be
    11  published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.