Bill Text: NY S03814 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Establishes a working group within the office of the state comptroller to study the process and ramifications of separating upstate and downstate New York into two separate states.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S03814 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S03814-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3814
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  JORDAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
        AN ACT establishing a working group within the office of the state comp-
          troller to study the process and ramifications of  separating  upstate
          and downstate New York into two separate states
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. There is hereby established within the office of the  state
     2  comptroller  a working group to be known as the "separate states working
     3  group". The working group shall conduct a study examining:
     4    (a) the economic ramifications over the short term and  long  term  of
     5  separating  upstate  and  downstate  New  York into two separate states,
     6  including, but not limited to, economic opportunity for both areas;
     7    (b) the legal ramifications of separating upstate  and  downstate  New
     8  York into two separate states;
     9    (c)  the  general up-front cost associated with separating upstate and
    10  downstate New York into two separate states, exclusive of the long  term
    11  economic ramifications, including, but not limited to the cost of creat-
    12  ing two new state governments, the separation of the physical and organ-
    13  izational infrastructure, the cost of settling land disputes;
    14    (d)  the  constitutional steps necessary to separate upstate and down-
    15  state New York into two separate states; and
    16    (e) any constitutional precedents in the United States for dividing  a
    17  state into two separate states.
    18    § 2. The working group shall consist of the following:
    19    (a) the state comptroller and his or her designee;
    20    (b) two members appointed by the comptroller;
    21    (c) the attorney general and his or her designee;
    22    (d) two members appointed by the attorney general;
    23    (e) three members appointed by the governor;
    24    (f) one member appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09787-02-9
        S. 3814                             2
     1    (g) one member appointed by the temporary president of the senate;
     2    (h) one member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly;
     3    (i) one member appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and
     4    (j)  two  members appointed by the New York State Association of Coun-
     5  ties.
     6    § 3. At the conclusion of the study, the working group will deliver  a
     7  report of its findings to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the
     8  temporary  president of the senate, the minority leader of the assembly,
     9  the minority leader of the senate and the comptroller.
    10    § 4. As used in this act:
    11    (a) "short term" means a period of less than ten years;
    12    (b) "long term" means a period in excess of ten years;
    13    (c) "downstate" means the counties of Nassau,  Rockland,  Suffolk  and
    14  Westchester  and the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx,
    15  and Staten Island; and
    16    (d) "upstate" means that portion of New York not designated as  "down-
    17  state".
    18    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.