Bill Text: NY A10118 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Clarifies procedures affecting the first annual election of fire district officials to a board of fire commissioners to allow voters to cast one vote for each open position on such board of fire commissioners to be filled in such election.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-05 - substituted by s9145 [A10118 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10118-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10118

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 6, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Local Governments

        AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to clarifying  procedures  for
          first elections of fire districts to allow for at-large voting

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 174 of the town law, as amended by
     2  chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
     3    2. The first election of fire district officers shall be held  on  the
     4  second  Tuesday in December next succeeding the establishment or consol-
     5  idation of such fire district; provided, however, that if such  district
     6  be  established  at a time subsequent to the first day of October in any
     7  year, the first election of fire district officers shall be held on  the
     8  second  Tuesday in the month of December of the next succeeding calendar
     9  year. At the first annual  election  of  fire  district  officers,  five
    10  district  commissioners  shall  be elected and a treasurer. Every regis-
    11  tered fire district voter shall be entitled to cast one  vote  for  each
    12  vacant  position  on  a  board of fire commissioners to be filled in the
    13  first annual election of fire district officers.  The  person  receiving
    14  the  greatest  number of votes for the office of fire commissioner shall
    15  be elected for a term of five years; the  person  receiving  the  second
    16  highest  number  of votes shall be elected for a term of four years; the
    17  person receiving the third highest number of votes shall be elected  for
    18  a term of three years; the person receiving the fourth highest number of
    19  votes  shall be elected for a term of two years and the person receiving
    20  the fifth highest number of votes shall be elected for  a  term  of  one
    21  year.  In  the  event  that two persons shall receive the same number of
    22  votes the terms of office shall be decided by lot.  At  each  subsequent
    23  election  of  fire district officers a commissioner shall be elected for
    24  the full term of five years. In the  event  that  two  or  more  persons
    25  receive the same number of votes thereat, a special election between the
    26  tying  parties receiving the highest number of votes to fill the vacancy
    27  shall be held within forty-five  days  after  such  election.  The  fire
    28  district  treasurer shall be elected for a term of three years. The fire

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15266-01-4
        A. 10118                            2

     1  district secretary shall be appointed by the fire district commissioners
     2  and shall serve for a period of one year. The fire district secretary in
     3  office at the time such election is held shall  immediately  notify  the
     4  officers elected of their election and that an organization meeting will
     5  be  held  on  the day specified in said notice, which shall not be later
     6  than the fifteenth day of January next  ensuing.  At  such  organization
     7  meeting,  the  treasurer  shall  preside until such time as a [chairman]
     8  chairperson of the board of fire commissioners shall be chosen, but such
     9  treasurer shall not be entitled to a vote at such meeting.
    10    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.