Bill Text: NY S00991 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Provides that bills which have reached order of third reading but which shall not have been acted on by the house before the end of the first year of the two-year legislative session shall maintain its place on the order of third reading until the house shall act on such bill or until the end of the two-year legislative session unless such bill shall have been amended, in which case such bill may be referred back to a standing committee for reconsideration; sets forth exceptions for budget bills, bills requiring a home rule message, constitutional amendments and bills requiring a fiscal note.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S00991 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S00991-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           991
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     January 6, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. BONACIC, VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Investigations
          and Government Operations
        AN  ACT  to  amend the legislative law, in relation to the continuity of
          legislative sessions
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Legislative  intent. The legislature finds that while New
     2  York and most other states operate on  two-year  legislative  calendars,
     3  only  the  legislature  of  the  state of New York interrupts procedural
     4  continuity of legislation during the  two-year  session.  This  practice
     5  commonly  requires  the  reconsideration  and  readoption of hundreds of
     6  bills during the  second  year  which  were  previously  considered  and
     7  adopted  during  the  first  year.  The legislature determines that this
     8  practice is usually unnecessary and  expends  time  and  taxpayer  money
     9  which could be better spent addressing other important legislative busi-
    10  ness.  The  legislature  therefore  declares  its intent to preserve the
    11  procedural continuity of  all  bills  within  the  biennial  legislative
    12  session.
    13    §  2.  The  legislative law is amended by adding a new section 42-a to
    14  read as follows:
    15    § 42-a. Continuity of legislative sessions. 1. Upon passage of a  bill
    16  by  one  house of the legislature, such bill shall automatically be sent
    17  to the appropriate committee in the other house for action on such bill,
    18  where that house may act on the bill at any time during the remainder of
    19  the biennial legislative session.
    20    2. No bill reported by a standing committee of the senate or  assembly
    21  shall  be  referred  back  to that committee unless such bill shall have
    22  been amended.
    23    3. Every bill which shall have reached the order of third reading  but
    24  which  shall  not  have been acted on by the house before the end of the
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02414-01-7
        S. 991                              2
     1  first year of the two-year legislative session shall maintain its  place
     2  on  the order of third reading until the house shall act on such bill or
     3  until the end of the two-year legislative session unless such bill shall
     4  have  been  amended,  in  which case such bill may be referred back to a
     5  standing committee for reconsideration.
     6    4. The provisions of this section shall  not  apply  to  budget  bills
     7  introduced   by   the   governor   pursuant  to  article  seven  of  the
     8  constitution, bills requiring a home rule message from one or more local
     9  governments pursuant to article nine  of  the  constitution,  concurrent
    10  resolutions  to  amend  the constitution pursuant to article nineteen of
    11  the constitution or bills subject to the provisions of section fifty  of
    12  this article.
    13    §  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    14  ing the date on which it shall have become a  law;  provided,  that  the
    15  senate  and assembly shall, by concurrent resolution, adopt rules neces-
    16  sary to implement this act within twenty days after such act shall  have
    17  become a law.