What's happening
This bill exempts villages and fire districts from local government consolidation or dissolution laws and restores related provisions.
Why it matters
Protects Local Autonomy for Villages and Fire Districts. By exempting villages and fire districts from state-mandated consolidation or dissolution, the bill ensures these entities cannot be merged or dissolved through the same streamlined processes as other local governments, preserving their self-determination and governance structures.
Restores Pre-2009 Legal Framework. The bill revives laws and procedures that were in effect before the 2009 consolidation law, which may affect how local services are managed, how property taxes are levied, and how local boundaries are changed, returning more control to local boards and residents.
Limits Cost-Saving or Efficiency Mandates. Exemption means villages and fire districts are not subject to state-driven efforts to reduce redundancy or administrative costs through merging, potentially preserving community identity but possibly foregoing potential savings or service efficiencies that consolidation might bring.
Impacts Local Political Engagement and Accountability. By requiring any changes to the structure of villages or fire districts to go through traditional, often more rigorous, local processes (such as referenda or local law), the bill increases the threshold for change and ensures direct community involvement in decisions about their government and services.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Villages, Fire Districts Autonomy
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to local governments
- Referred to local governments
Full text
8 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5636
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. CURRAN, FINCH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GRAF -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, the town law, the village law and the local finance law in relation to exempting villages and fire districts from the local consolidation or dissolution of local governments; and to repeal certain provisions of the general municipal law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions 4 and 13 of section 750 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
4. "Contiguous" shall mean when a portion of a town [or village] abuts the boundary of another town [or village], including a town [or village] separated from the exact boundary of another town [or village] by a street, road, railroad, highway, river or other natural or artificial stream or body of water.
13. "Local government entity" or "entity" shall mean a town, [village,] district, special improvement district or other improvement district, including, but not limited to, special districts created pursuant to articles eleven, twelve, twelve-A or thirteen of the town law, library districts, and other districts created by law; provided, however, that a local government entity shall not include villages, school districts, city districts, fire districts, or special purpose districts created by counties under county law.
§ 2. Section 756 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
§ 756. Effective date of joint consolidation agreement. Local government entities consolidated pursuant to a joint consolidation agreement shall continue to be governed as before consolidation until the effective date of the consolidation specified in the joint consolidation
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08488-01-7
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agreement; provided, however, that no joint consolidation agreement consolidating two or more towns, two or more villages or one or more towns and villages shall take effect unless approved by a majority of electors in each such town [and/or village] at a referendum called through a resolution enacted pursuant to section seven hundred fiftyfive of this title.
§ 3. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 757 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
1. The electors of two or more local government entities may commence a consolidation proceeding by filing an original petition, containing not less than the number of signatures provided for in subdivision two of this section and in the form provided for in subdivision three of this section, with the clerk of the town in which the entities or the greater portion of their territory are located[, except that if one or more of the entities to be consolidated is a village the original petition of electors from the village shall be filed with the clerk of the village]. Accompanying the filed petition shall be a cover sheet containing the name, address and telephone number of an individual who signed the petition and who will serve as a contact person.
3. The petition shall substantially comply with, and be circulated in, the following form:
PETITION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONSOLIDATION
We, the undersigned electors and legal voters of (insert type of local government entity - e.g., town[, village] or district) of (insert name of local government entity), New York, qualified to vote at the next general or special election, respectfully petition that there be submitted to the electors and legal voters of (insert type and name of local government entities proposed to be consolidated), for their approval or rejection at a referendum held for that purpose, a proposal to consolidate (insert type and name of local government entity) with (insert type and name of local government entity or entities).
In witness whereof, we have signed our names on the dates indicated next to our signatures.
Date Name - print name under signature Home Address
1. _____ _________________________________ ____________
2. _____ _________________________________ ____________
3. _____ _________________________________ ____________
(On the bottom of each page of the petition, after all of the numbered signatures, insert a signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified elector of the state of New York. Such a statement shall be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject the person signing it to the same penalties as if he or she has been duly sworn. The form of such statement shall be substantially as follows:
I, (insert name of witness), state that I am a duly qualified voter of the state of New York. Each of the persons that have signed this petition sheet containing (insert number) signatures have signed their names in my presence on the dates indicated above and identified themselves to be the same person who signed the sheet. I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if it contains a materially false statement, shall subject me to the penalties of perjury. _________________ _________________________________
Date Signature of Witness)
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(In lieu of the signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified voter of the state of New York, the following statement signed by a notary public or a commissioner of deeds shall be accepted:
On the date indicated above before me personally came each of the electors and legal voters whose signatures appear on this petition sheet containing (insert number) signatures, who signed the petition in my presence and who, being by me duly sworn, each for himself or herself, identified himself or herself as the one and same person who signed the petition and that the foregoing information they provided was true. _________________ _________________________________
Date Notary Public or Commissioner of Deeds)
§ 4. Subdivision 1 of section 758 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1. A referendum required by sections seven hundred fifty-five or seven hundred fifty-seven of this title shall be placed before the electors of each of the local government entities to be consolidated at a special election to be held not less than sixty or more than ninety days after the enactment of a resolution calling for such referendum, provided, however, that in cases where a town [or village] general election falls within such period, the question may be considered during a town [or village] general election.
§ 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 and subdivision 5 of section 763 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
(a) file an original petition, containing not less than the number of signatures provided for in subdivision three of this section, seeking a referendum on the question whether the elector initiated consolidation plan shall take effect, with the clerk of the town in which the entity or the greater portion of its territory is located[, except that if the entity is a village the original petition of electors from the village shall be filed with the clerk of the village]; and
5. The referendum on the question whether the elector initiated consolidation plan shall take effect shall be submitted at a special election to be held not less than sixty or more than ninety days after enactment of a resolution pursuant to subdivision four of this section, provided, however, that in cases where a town [or village] general election falls within such period, the referendum question may be considered during a town [or village] general election.
§ 6. Subdivision 4 of section 775 of the general municipal law is REPEALED.
§ 7. Section 777 of the general municipal law is REPEALED.
§ 8. Section 778 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
§ 778. Effective date of dissolution plan. A local government entity dissolved pursuant to a dissolution plan shall continue to be governed as before dissolution until the effective date of the dissolution specified in the dissolution plan[; provided, however, that no dissolution plan for a village shall take effect unless approved by a majority of electors of the village at a referendum called through a resolution enacted pursuant to section seven hundred seventy-seven of this title].
§ 9. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 779 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
1. The electors of a local government entity may commence a dissolution proceeding by filing an original petition, containing not less than the number of signatures provided for in subdivision two of this
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section and in the form provided for in subdivision three of this section, with the clerk of the town in which the entity or the greater portion of its territory is located[, except that if the entity is a village the original petition of electors from the village shall be filed with the clerk of the village]. Accompanying the filed petition shall be a cover sheet containing the name, address and telephone number of an individual who signed the petition and who will serve as a contact person.
3. The petition shall substantially comply with, and be circulated in, the following form:
PETITION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT DISSOLUTION
We, the undersigned, electors and legal voters of (insert type of local government entity -- e.g., town[, village] or district) of (insert name of local government entity), New York, qualified to vote at the next general or special election, respectfully petition that there be submitted to the electors of (insert type and name of local government entity proposed to be dissolved), for their approval or rejection at a referendum held for that purpose, a proposal to dissolve and terminate (insert type and name of local government entity).
In witness whereof, we have signed our names on the dates indicated next to our signatures.
Date Name - print name under signature Home Address
1. ________ _________________________________ ____________
2. ________ _________________________________ ____________
3. ________ _________________________________ ____________
(On the bottom of each page of the petition, after all of the numbered signatures, insert a signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified elector of the state of New York. Such a statement shall be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject the person signing it to the same penalties as if he or she has been duly sworn. The form of such statement shall be substantially as follows:
I, (insert name of witness), state that I am a duly qualified voter of the state of New York. Each of the persons that have signed this petition sheet containing (insert number) signatures, have signed their names in my presence on the dates indicated above and identified themselves to be the same person who signed the sheet. I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if it contains a materially false statement, shall subject me to the penalties of perjury. _________________ _________________________________
Date Signature of Witness)
(In lieu of the signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified voter of the state of New York, the following statement signed by a notary public or a commissioner of deeds shall be accepted:
On the date indicated above before me personally came each of the electors and legal voters whose signatures appear on this petition sheet containing (insert number) signatures, who signed the petition in my presence and who, being by me duly sworn, each for himself or herself, identified himself or herself as the one and same person who signed the petition and that the foregoing information they provided was true. _____________________ _________________________________
Date Notary Public or Commissioner of Deeds)
§ 10. Subdivision 7 of section 779 of the general municipal law is REPEALED.
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§ 11. Subdivision 4 of section 783 of the general municipal law is REPEALED.
§ 12. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 and subdivision 5 of section 785 of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
(a) file an original petition, containing not less than the number of signatures provided for in subdivision three of this section, seeking a referendum on the question whether the elector initiated dissolution plan shall take effect, with the clerk of the town in which the entity or the greater portion of its territory is located[, except that if the entity is a village the original petition of electors from the village shall be filed with the clerk of the village]; and
5. The referendum on the question whether the elector initiated dissolution plan shall take effect shall be submitted at a special election to be held not less than sixty or more than ninety days after enactment of a resolution pursuant to subdivision four of this section, provided, however, that in cases where a town [or village] general election falls within such period, the referendum question may be considered during a town [or village] general election.
§ 13. Section 789 of the general municipal law is REPEALED.
§ 14. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 174 of the town law, as amended by chapter 74 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows:
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
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