Makes compliance with unfunded mandates voluntary for local governments

An unfunded mandate is defined in the proposed resolution as a provision of law that requires affected local jurisdictions, in the statewide aggregate, to spend more money to provide services. Any associated increases in cost would be offset by (1) funding to carry out the new mandate and (2) savings associated with other mandate relief.

Such provisions of law include statutes enacted by the Legislature, Executive Orders issued by the Governor, and rules or regulations promulgated by any state agency, department, board, bureau, officer, authority or commission. Budget bills and Article VII legislation would be considered one law, for purposes of this amendment. Exceptions to what could be considered an unfunded mandate would include: laws which in the aggregate cost less than $20,000 per year, or on two or more political subdivisions collectively or on a city with a population of one million or more is less than $100,000 per year; state laws, rules or regulations necessary to comply with federal laws; those which are imposed on both government and non-government entities in the same or substantially similar circumstances; those which permit, establish or enable only option programs or services; those which are budget bills submitted by the governor pursuant to article 7 of the constitution, but only if such bills implement, revise, amend or continue programs or mandates which currently exist and such bills do not impose any new mandates, which, if taken by themselves, would otherwise be subject to the restrictions of this section; those which repeal, revise, or ease an existing mandate or requirement, or which reapportion the costs of activities between boards of education, counties and municipalities; those which stem from failure to comply with previously enacted laws or rules or regulations issued pursuant to a law; those which arise from a ruling by a court of competent jurisdiction; those which arise from an executive order of the governor exercising his emergency powers; those which implement provisions of the constitution of the state of New York; those which are enacted after a public hearing, held after public notice that unfunded mandates will be considered, for which a fiscal analysis is available at the time of the public hearing and which, in addition to complying with all other requirements with regard to the enactment of a law, are passed by a two-thirds vote of both the senate and assembly; and those which are the result of the passage of a home rule message whereby a local government requests authority to implement the program or service specified in the statute, and the statute imposes costs only upon that local government which request the authority to impose the program or service.

The Legislature would establish a Council on Local Mandates, with eleven members appointed by the Governor, the Temporary President of the Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General and the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. Five of the members would be recommended by local governments. The Council would be responsible for resolving any disputes brought by local governments about whether a law is an unfunded mandate or not. Council determinations would be subject to judicial review and would be given precedence over all other cases before the Court.

Existing law

There is not currently a prohibition in the State Constitution against unfunded State mandates.

Justification

Unfunded mandates shift the responsibility and the cost of implementing programs from the State to local governments. As a result, local governments are sometimes forced to cut existing services or to raise property tax levies to cover the additional requirements. This constitutional amendment will assist local governments in managing their current programs and minimizing increases in their budgets. Such relief will enable municipalities to attract businesses and residents with the promise of the highest level of services at the lowest possible costs to taxpayers and is consistent with efforts to reform Medicaid, Wicks Law, municipal liability, binding arbitration, and to provide additional State aid through the Aid and Incentives to Municipalities program. Therefore, this resolution will provide much needed mandate relief to localities while providing that unfunded mandates may only be imposed in the limited instances where required by federal law, the cost is $20,000 or less, declaration of a state emergency, or the mandate has uniform applicability to the private and public sectors.

Legislative history

2008: S.1140-A Passed Senate 2007: S.1140 Finance Committee 2005-06: S.3580 Judiciary Committee

Fiscal implications

State budget implications are entirely prospective. Savings to local governments are unknown but are expected to be potentially enormous, prospectively.

Effective date

Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the foregoing amendment be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.