Bill Text: NY S06323 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Bill 6323 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relates to the Amistad commission; moves it from the department of state to the state education department.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-04 - referred to tourism, parks, arts and sports development [S06323 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S06323-Introduced.html

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6323
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 11, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism,
          Parks and Recreation
        AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in  relation  to  the
          Amistad Commission
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 4 of  section  57.52  of  the  arts  and
     2  cultural  affairs  law, as added by chapter 404 of the laws of 2005, are
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    1. The Amistad commission (commission), so named in honor of the group
     5  of enslaved Africans led by Joseph Cinque who, while  being  transported
     6  in  eighteen  hundred  thirty-nine on a vessel named the Amistad, gained
     7  their freedom after overthrowing the crew and  eventually  having  their
     8  case  successfully  argued  before  the  United States Supreme Court, is
     9  hereby created and established. The commission shall consist of nineteen
    10  members, including the [secretary of state] commissioner of education or
    11  his or her designee, the [commissioner of education] secretary of  state
    12  or  his  or  her designee, and the chancellor of the state university of
    13  New York or his or her designee, serving ex officio, and sixteen  public
    14  members.  Public  members  shall  be appointed as follows:   four public
    15  members, no more than two of whom shall be of the same political  party,
    16  shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate; four public
    17  members,  no more than two of whom shall be of the same political party,
    18  shall be appointed by the speaker of  the  assembly;  and  eight  public
    19  members, no more than four of whom shall be of the same political party,
    20  shall  be  appointed  by the governor. The public members shall be resi-
    21  dents of the state, chosen with due regard to broad geographic represen-
    22  tation and ethnic diversity, who have an interest in the history of  the
    23  African  slave  trade  and  slavery  in America and the contributions of
    24  African-Americans to our society.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11725-01-7

        S. 6323                             2
     1    4. The [secretary of state] commissioner of education, or his  or  her
     2  designee,  shall  serve as the chair and the [commissioner of education]
     3  secretary of state, or his or her designee, shall  serve  as  the  vice-
     4  chair  of  the  commission. The presence of a majority of the authorized
     5  membership  of the commission shall be required for the conduct of offi-
     6  cial business.
     7    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.