STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8007
IN SENATE
January 5, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the village law, in relation to the incorporation of
villages; to amend a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village
law relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legisla-
tive bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, in relation to the effective-
ness thereof; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating
thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2-200 of the village law, as
2 amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law relat-
3 ing to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legislative bills
4 numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as follows:
5 1. A territory containing a population of at least [two] one thousand
6 five hundred persons who are regular inhabitants thereof, as hereinafter
7 defined, may be incorporated as a village under this chapter provided
8 such territory does not include a part of a city or village and further
9 provided the limits of such territory:
10 a. do not contain more than five square miles; or
11 b. are coterminous with the entire boundaries of a school, fire, fire
12 protection, fire alarm, town special or town improvement district; or
13 c. are coterminous with parts of the boundaries of more than one
14 school, fire, fire protection, fire alarm, town special or town improve-
15 ment district, all of which are wholly contained within such limits and
16 within one town; or
17 d. are coterminous with the entire boundaries of a town.
18 § 2. Subparagraph 3 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 2-202
19 of the village law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending
20 the village law relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed
21 in legislative bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as
22 follows:
23 (3) An allegation that such territory contains a population of at
24 least [two] one thousand five hundred regular inhabitants.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11709-09-4
S. 8007 2
1 § 3. Paragraph e of subdivision 1 of section 2-206 of the village law,
2 as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law
3 relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legislative
4 bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as follows:
5 e. That such territory does not contain a population of at least [two]
6 one thousand five hundred regular inhabitants;
7 § 4. Paragraph g of subdivision 1 of section 2-206 of the village law,
8 as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village law
9 relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legislative
10 bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is REPEALED.
11 § 5. Section 2-260 of the village law, as added by a chapter of the
12 laws of 2023 amending the village law relating to the incorporation of
13 villages, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7538 and A.
14 7754, is renumbered to be section 2-259.
15 § 6. Section 5 of a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the village
16 law relating to the incorporation of villages, as proposed in legisla-
17 tive bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, is amended to read as follows:
18 § 5. This act shall take effect [immediately; provided however, that
19 for village incorporation petitions that have collected signatures prior
20 to the effective date of this act, nothing in this act shall deem such
21 petition signatures invalid; and provided further, that the provisions
22 of this act shall apply to all such existing village incorporation
23 petitions, including, without limitation, the new requirements pursuant
24 to section 2-260 of the village law; and provided further, that such
25 existing village incorporation petitions shall be required to add addi-
26 tional signatures, if necessary, to meet the new population threshold
27 established by section 2-200 of the village law] on January 1, 2024;
28 provided that any village incorporation petitions associated by having
29 at least one common petition signature witness on either of the two
30 petitions that were initially filed on a date in February 2017 and May
31 2019, respectively, in a town with a population of more than ninety
32 thousand as of the latest federal decennial census located in a county
33 with a population of more than nine hundred thousand as of the latest
34 federal decennial census: (a) shall not be subject to this act and shall
35 continue to be subject to the provisions of article 2 of the village law
36 in effect as of June 1, 2023, so long as such village incorporation
37 processes are concluded prior to January 1, 2040; and (b) if such
38 petitions are denied, any subsequent village incorporation petitions
39 associated with such petitions shall also continue to be subject to the
40 provisions of article 2 of the village law in effect as of June 1, 2023,
41 so long as such incorporation processes associated with such petitions
42 are complete prior to January 1, 2040. Provided further, that for any
43 village incorporation petitions that were initially filed on a date in
44 February 2017 and May 2019, respectively, in a town with a population of
45 more than ninety thousand as of the latest federal decennial census
46 located in a county with a population of more than nine hundred thousand
47 as of the latest federal decennial census, a study on the fiscal,
48 service, and taxation interests of the population which would constitute
49 the residents of such village and the population which constitutes the
50 residents of such town in which such village would be established shall
51 be prepared for such proposed village incorporation, conducted by the
52 Center for Government Research or other qualified institution and such
53 study shall be posted on the public-facing portion of the department of
54 state website for ninety days prior to the commencement of any referen-
55 dum for the approval of such a village pursuant to article 2 of the
56 village law, and provided that where any subsequent village incorpo-
S. 8007 3
1 ration petitions associated with such petitions shall be filed, then the
2 requirements of this section shall be deemed satisfied by the re-publi-
3 cation of such study, and further provided, however, that (i) such
4 state-funded study shall be submitted for posting on the public-facing
5 portion of the department of state website by no later than April 1,
6 2024; (ii) such study shall be posted on the department of state website
7 no later than thirty days after it is submitted for posting; and (iii)
8 the adequacy of any such state-funded Center for Government Research, or
9 other qualified institution conducted study shall not be a basis for
10 objecting to the village incorporation petition or the scheduling of any
11 such referendum for approval of such village; provided further, the
12 provisions of this act shall not apply to petitions where there is a
13 joint notice of election specifying a date and time of the election and
14 signed by the town clerks of each affected town pursuant to section
15 2-214 of the village law, dated December 22, 2023 or earlier.
16 § 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
17 of this act or application thereof to any municipality, person or
18 circumstances shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
19 to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment shall not affect,
20 impair or invalidate the application of the remainder thereof to any
21 municipalities, persons and circumstances, but shall be confined in its
22 operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof
23 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
24 been rendered, and the legislature hereby declares that it would have
25 enacted this article without the invalid provision or application, as
26 the case may be, had such invalidity been apparent.
27 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately, provided however, that
28 sections one, two, three, four and five of this act shall take effect on
29 the same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023
30 amending the village law relating to the incorporation of villages, as
31 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7538 and A. 7754, takes effect.