Establishes the New York state 2020 complete count commission and providing for its powers and duties

The commission shall consist of 16 members that shall be appointed as dictated:

4 members appointed by the Governor from executive agencies and organizations that have significant interaction with the general public.

2 members appointed by the Governor from agencies of the city of New York that have significant interaction with the general public.

2 members appointed by the Governor representing interests of regions outside of the city of New York.

3 members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.

1 member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Assembly.

3 members appointed by the Temporary President of the Senate.

1 member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

The appointments made to the commission shall, to the extent practicable, reflect the diversity of the residents of this state with regard to race, ethnicity, gender, language, age, and geographic residence and, to the extent practicable the appointing authorities shall, in considering potential appointees to the commission, consult with organizations devoted to representing municipalities and educational institutions, and organizations providing services to the elderly, children, minority communities, and individuals and communities to combat poverty.

Members shall receive no compensation for their services as members, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred during the performance of their duties. Staff may be appointed, who shall also not receive compensation but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred.

Section 2 provides for the powers and duties of the Commission, which includes three reports to be submitted to the Governor and Legislature.

The Commission shall remain in existence until December 31, 2020.

Justification

A tremendous undercount of New York State residents in the 2010 Census contributed to their assertion that Queens, one of the highest density populated counties in the United States, had grown by only 1,400 residents over a period of 10 years between 2001 and 2010. Similar undercounts throughout New York City and State contributed to the loss of two Congressional seats in the Empire State and the loss of tens of millions of dollars annually from federal funding appropriated via population counts of states.

The 2010 Census aggravated the undercount of the 2000 Census. The undercount deprived New York of desperately needed federal funding for education, health care and infrastructure. New York is about to allow another undercount during the upcoming 2020 Census if it does not take significant planning action across all institutional levels of the state, its localities and nongovernmental agencies.

This legislation sets in action a proposal that will help ensure that the 2020 Census is a complete count of the residents of New York State. In 2009, NYS appropriated $2 million dollars to help with public awareness on the importance of the 2010 Census. That amount translated into roughly a ten cents (yes - tens cents) investment in every New Yorker. That low level of investment and attention given to the important functions of the Census led to the documented undercount. This mistake cannot be repeated, especially considering that our State's slow population growth has it in line to lose another Congressional member after the 2020 Census.

Prior legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect April 1, 2017 and shall expire and be deemed repealed December 31, 2020.