What's happening
This bill designates the Brooklyn and New York public libraries as government agencies, making their key personnel subject to public accountability laws.
Why it matters
Expanding Accountability. By newly classifying the Brooklyn and New York public libraries as "agencies" under the city charter and public officers law, the bill brings their executive directors and key personnel under the same ethical, transparency, and conflict-of-interest rules that apply to other city agencies—potentially increasing oversight and reducing the risk of mismanagement.
Changing Legal Status. The removal of the previous legal exemption for public libraries means these institutions will be viewed and regulated as governmental entities, not just as nonprofit organizations, impacting how they operate, contract, and disclose information.
Public Records and Transparency. As agencies, these libraries will be subject to public records laws (such as Freedom of Information Law), allowing citizens greater access to internal documents, decisions, and operations—enhancing public scrutiny of how libraries use public funds and make key decisions.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Make Libraries Follow Ethics Rules
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to cities
- Referred to cities
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1881
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to public libraries; and to amend the public officers law, in relation to the definition of agency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 2601 of the New York city charter, as added by a vote of the people of the city of New York at the general election held in November of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
2. "Agency" means a city, county, borough or other office, position, administration, department, division, bureau, board, commission, authority, corporation, advisory committee or other agency of government, the expenses of which are paid in whole or in part from the city treasury, and shall include but not be limited to, the council, the offices of each elected official, the board of education, community school boards, community boards, the financial services corporation, the health and hospitals corporation, the public development corporation, and the New York city housing authority, but shall not include any court or any corporation or institution maintaining or operating a [public library,] museum, botanical garden, arboretum, tomb, memorial building, aquarium, zoological garden or similar facility.
§ 2. Subdivision 19 of section 2601 of the New York city charter, as added by a vote of the people of the city of New York at the general election held in November of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
19. "Public servant" means all officials, officers and employees of the city, including members of community boards [and], members of advisory committees, and all executive directors and key library executive personnel from the Brooklyn public library and the New York public library, except unpaid members of advisory committees shall not be public servants.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01199-01-7
S. 1881 2
§ 3. Subdivision 3 of section 86 of the public officers law, as added by chapter 933 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
3. "Agency" means:
a. any state or municipal department, board, bureau, division, commission, committee, public authority, public corporation, council, office or other governmental entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for the state or any one or more municipalities thereof, except the judiciary or the state legislature[.]; and
b. the Brooklyn public library and the New York public library.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to public libraries; and to amend the public officers law, in relation to the definition of agency
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill will bring the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library within the jurisdiction of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Law and make explicit that each of these entities are subject to the state and city Freedom of Information Laws.
Summary of provisions
Sections one and two of the bill amends subdivisions 2 and 19, respectively, of section 2601 of the New York City Charter, as added by a vote of the people of the city of New York at the general election held in November of 1988, by removing the exclusion of a public library from the definition of agency and amending the definition of "public servant" to include executive directors and key library executive personnel of the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library.
Section three of the bill amends subdivision 3 of section 86 of the public officers law, as added by chapter 933 of the laws of 1977, by adding a new subdivision 3.b. to include the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library within the definition of agency thereby explicitly making these public library entities subject to the freedom of information law provisions in state and city law.
Section four of the bill sets forth an immediate effective date.
Justification
The legislation will make the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library subject to the city's Conflict of Interest law and the state and city Freedom of Information laws. While this legislation is not meant to be punitive to either of these important institutions, it recognizes the significant sources of public funding they each enjoy and the public service they provide to millions of people throughout the city. Given their funding structure and the public services provided these libraries should be subject to the same ethics and freedom of information requirements as all other quasi-public agencies who must comply with these important laws.
Prior legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
Minimal.
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.