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History
- Signed chap.94
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.468
- Substituted for A10598A
- Referred to governmental operations
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1802
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Authorizes the taking and filing of oaths of office
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Steven Otis
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act authorizing the taking and filing of oaths of office
Purpose
To uphold the will of the electorate despite ministerial defects in certain oaths of office requirements.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 provides that notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any village, town, city or county official duly elected on November 3, 2015 or March 15, 2016 who currently occupies the office which he or she was elected but who failed to take or file his or her respective oath of office within the statutorily prescribed period shall continue to serve in such capacity and for the full term to which he or she was elected upon the taking and filing oaths of office consistent with the County Law, Town, Law, or the Public Officers Law, provided that such oaths are taken within 30 calendar days after the effective date of this act.
Read the full memo (620 words)
Section 2 is the effective date.
Existing law
Section 402 of the County Law provides, every officer paid his compensation from county funds shall take and file an official oath in the manner prescribed in section ten of the public officers law. The refusal or neglect to take and file such oath within the time prescribed by section thirty of the public officers law, except in the cases of the sheriff, county clerk and district attorney, shall be deemed a refusal to serve and the office may be filled as in the case of a vacancy. Until the sheriff, county clerk or district attorney shall take and file the required oath, he shall not perform any duties of the office, nor be entitled to any compensation.
Section 25 of the Town Law provides, before he or she enters on the duties of the office, and within thirty days after the commencement of the term of office for which he or she is chosen, every town officer shall take and subscribe before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths in his or her county, the constitutional oath of office and such other oath as may be required by law, which shall be administered and certified by the officer taking the same without compensation, and such oath shall be filed in the office of the town clerk.
Section 10 of the Public Officers Law provides, every officer shall take and file the oath of office required by law, and every judicial officer of the unified court system, in addition, shall file a copy of said oath in the office of court administration, before he shall be entitled to enter upon the discharge of any of his official duties.
Justification
Current state law generally provides that the oath of office for public officials need be taken or filed within thirty days after the commencement of the term of office. Routinely, oaths of office are executed and filed before or at the commencement of a term. On occasion there are incidents where public officials do not execute and file the document within the time period, triggering a vacancy in the position to which they were elected.
This legislation would cure the failure to file for individuals elected in the most recent November and March elections and fulfill the choice of the voters in these elections.
Separate legislation is needed to prevent cases where failure to file oath documents effectively acts to undo the will of voters in elections. Until the existing' statutes related to oath of office procedures are improved, this legislation will protect the will of the voters in the most recent elections.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None to State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.