Requires state board of elections to publish on its website a brief statement relating to proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot

BILL NUMBER:A10478

Title of bill

An act to amend the election law, in relation to publication of consti- tutional amendments

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill would eliminate the need to publish constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot in one newspaper in every county within one week of the election.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 4-116 of the election law to change the state board of elections publication requirement of constitutional amendments from 1 newspaper publication in each county the week before the election to publication on the board's website the entire week before the election.

Section 2 is the effective date.

Justification

In this internet age, many people are obtaining the information they seek on the internet. In contrast, newspaper readership is dropping. This bill would make the publication of the text of a proposed constitu- tional amendment widely available on the state board of elections website for a full week prior to the election from anywhere in the state via the internet. It also would allow the option for anyone accessing the website to print and disseminate the text of the proposed amendment at little or no cost. The bill does not change the requirement in subdi- vision 1 of election law § 4-116 that the secretary of state publish the proposed amendment in the state register at least once in each of the three months preceding the election.

Prior legislative history

None.

Fiscal implication

This bill would save the state board of elections money.

Effective date

This bill would take effect immediately.