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History
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Print number 4804a
- Amend and recommit to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S4804A
Title of bill
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 2 of article 3 of the constitution, in relation to increasing the terms of office of members of the senate and limiting the terms of office of members of the legislature
Purpose
To ensure that the legislature acts on the authority of the people rather than for the accumulation of power and to encourage public officials to serve the common good rather than their own self interest.
Summary of provisions
The bill changes the terms of State Senators and members of the Assembly as of 2016. A term of a State Senator would increase from two to four years. The bill sets forth that no members of the legislature shall serve for more than 16 years in either house of the legislature or combined service in both houses, except if the member is serving out a term for which they were elected that began before the 16th year of service.
Existing law
Under the State Constitution, members of the Senate and Assembly may serve an unlimited number of two-year terms.
Justification
The work of the legislature is to represent the people. It is in the interest of the people that we limit the length of service to prevent public officials from accumulating too much power. Over the last several years, many entrenched members of the executive and legislative branches have been convicted of corruption related crimes. As of 2013, 46 members of the Assembly or 31% of the body have served for more than 12 years. In the Senate, 20 members or 32% of the body have served for more than 12 years. This bill will encourage public officials to be people of authority rather than people of power and ensure public service for the State of New York.
Legislative history
Fifteen states in the nation currently have some form of legislative term limits. Two thirds of the states that have legislative term limits have higher rankings for integrity than New York. For example, California limits the number of terms the legislature may serve. According to the State Integrity investigation, California currently has the 4th highest Integrity Score in the nation while New York ranks 37th.
Fiscal implications
None
Local fiscal implications
None
Effective date
Immediately following the 2016 elections.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.