Increases the terms of office of members of the legislature to four years

1 Co-sponsor

• Liz Krueger

BILL NUMBER:S725A

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 legislature to four years

Purpose or general idea of bill

To create a legislative term of 4 years, provided that in all legislative terms that commence immediately following a decennial census year, the term shall be two years.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends section 2 of article 3 of the constitution to increase the current legislative term from 2 years to four years commencing in 2016.

Justification

The purpose of this bill is to lessen the difficulties placed on the legislative process by the electoral pressures exerted by the existing two-year legislative terms. The current two-year terms were introduced at a time when people interested in serving in the legislature were not required to marshal anywhere near the amount of resources required today to run for a legislative office. They were also instituted when the role of government in society was not nearly as extensive as it is today.

By instituting four-year terms, this bill would create the space wherein the inherent tension created by needing to balance legislative imperatives with electoral imperatives would lessen significantly. It would thereby allow the legislature to deal with each issue before it in a more deliberate and measured manner.

In addition, such a change will save the tax payers significant sums as a result of not having to fund an election every two years for the state legislature.

It should be noted that provisions have been made in the legislation to deal with the issue of decennial redistricting which follows the decennial census. The legislation specifically provides for a four-year legislative term, except that in all legislative terms that commence immediately following a decennial census year the term will be shortened to two years. This provision addresses those situations where an elected official's term could be interrupted with district changes in the midst of a term as a result of redistricting.

Prior legislative history

None

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None

Effective date

These amendments shall apply only to terms of office commencing after such amendments shall have been adopted pursuant to section 1 of article 19 of the constitution. Such amendments will be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the next succeeding general election of the members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for three months previous to the time of such election.