Prohibits the passage of bills by the legislature between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock a.m. unless two-thirds of the legislature is present and requires two-thirds approval for messages of nece

BILL NUMBER:S1025

Title of bill

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 14 of article 3 of the constitution, in relation to prohibiting the passage of bills between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock a.m. and requiring two-thirds approval for messages of necessity

Purpose

Concurrent Resolution of the Senate and Assembly proposing an amendment to Section 14 of Article 3 of the Constitution, in relation to prohibiting the passage of bills between midnight and eight o'clock a.m. and requiring two-thirds approval for message of necessity.

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Amends section 14 of article 3 of the New York State Constitution to create new subsections;

a. requiring a 2/3 vote of the Assembly and Senate accepting a message of necessity from the governor or acting governor;

b. bills that have aged shall be passed by a majority of members of the Assembly and Senate;

c. bills shall not be passed in session between 12 o'clock midnight and 8 o'clock a.m., unless session is voted upon to continue by 2/3 of the Assembly and Senate;

d. no amendments shall be considered upon the last reading of a bill.

Section 2: That the foregoing 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.

Justification

Recent uses of the message of necessity have been applied to push through legislation to avoid debate, dissection, discussion and criticism.

Legislative initiatives such as the NY SAFE Act, Redistricting, Casino gambling, expansion of the DNA Database, Pension Reform and Teacher Evaluations were all pushed through the legislature and signed by the Governor under the cover of darkness with zero input from the public.

This bill is introduced to prevent secret government from keeping many legislators, the public and the media in the dark when significant legislation is being discussed.

Legislative history

A.4762 (2013-2014) to attorney-general for opinion, opinion referred to judiciary S.3498 (2013-2014) to attorney-general for opinion, opinion referred to judiciary

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall 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.