What's happening
This bill allows village boards of trustees to appoint a non-voting high school senior as a student representative for one year.
Why it matters
Gives local high school seniors direct exposure to local government. , potentially sparking civic interest and leadership skills at an early age, which can have a long-term positive impact on community engagement.
Introduces youth perspectives into village board discussions. , allowing decision-makers to hear firsthand about issues and ideas important to younger residents—something often missing from local governance.
Establishes a formal, structured process for student participation. , ensuring consistent opportunities year-to-year and creating a potential tradition of youth involvement in public service.
Clarifies limits on the student role (no voting, no closed sessions, no pay). , balancing the desire for youth input with maintaining board confidentiality and governance responsibilities.
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Add Student to Village Boards
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to local government
- Reported and committed to rules
- Referred to local government
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.
Add Student to Village Boards
In Assembly Committee · Local Governments · Sponsor Steven Englebright
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
S. 2998 A. 2349
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 18, 2017
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the village law, in relation to including a high school member on village boards of trustees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 3-301 of the village law is amended to read as follows:
b. four trustees, except that the board of trustees of a village may change the number of trustees as authorized by section 3-304 of this article, and except that the board of trustees of a village may appoint one student representative to such board as authorized by section 3-305 of this article;
§ 2. The village law is amended by adding a new section 3-305 to read as follows:
§ 3-305 Student representative. The board of trustees by resolution or local law may appoint one student representative to such board. Such student representative shall be a senior in a high school of a school district in which all or part of such school district is contained within such village. The term of such student representative shall be for one year and shall begin on the July first preceding the senior year of such student representative and end the following June thirtieth. A vacancy of such representative may be filled by the board for the remainder of such term. Such student representative shall be entitled to sit with board members at all public meetings of the board and participate in all board hearings and meetings, provided that such student representative shall not be allowed to vote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session, and shall not be entitled to receive compensation of any form.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03879-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the village law, in relation to including a high school member on village boards of trustees
Purpose or general idea of bill
To permit a village to have an ex-officio non-voting student representative of its Board of Trustees
Summary of provisions
This bill would amend section 3-301 (1) (b) of the village law to provide for an ex-officio non-voting student representative of the village Board. The bill also adds a new section 3-305 to the Village Law which provides that a village may, subject to permissive referendum, appoint a local high school senior to a one year term. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE) :
Justification
The legislation is similar to legislation which allows students to be non-voting members of school boards. The appointment would be recognition by the community of its interest in student participation in local government.
Prior legislative history
2009-10 A.8940 referred to local governments 2011-12 A.5382 referred to local governments 2013-14 A.1214 referred to local governments 2015-16 A.6773 referred to local governments
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
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.