What's happening
This bill allows the Authorities Budget Office to suspend local authority board members or executive staff for failing to submit required reports within 36 months.
Why it matters
Creates real consequences for failure to report. By empowering the Authorities Budget Office (ABO) to suspend local authority board members or executives who don't file required reports for three years, the bill adds teeth to transparency and accountability measures that were previously difficult to enforce.
Protects public interests and taxpayer dollars. Suspending non-compliant officials can prevent local authorities from making new binding financial decisions (like approving contracts or incurring debt) while out of compliance, reducing the risk of mismanagement or abuse of public resources.
Establishes a clear, fair process. The bill requires advance notice, an opportunity to respond, and a window to fix the non-compliance before any suspension occurs. It also sets out how suspended members can be reinstated, ensuring due process and transparency in how suspensions are handled.
Increases accountability for appointing authorities. The ability—and obligation—of those who appoint board members or executives to act on reinstatements in public meetings, with reasons recorded, adds another layer of oversight and public involvement in local government operations.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Suspend Local Board Members
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 61
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
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.
Suspend Local Board Members
In Senate Committee · Rules · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7749
IN SENATE
February 16, 2018
Introduced by Sen. RANZENHOFER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to authorizing the authorities budget office to suspend local authority board members and executive staff
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 6-a to read as follows:
§ 6-a. Power to suspend local authority board members and executive staff. 1. The authorities budget office shall have the authority, subject to subdivision two of this section, to suspend one or more members of a local authority board of directors, or the chief executive officer or equivalent position of a local authority for a period not to exceed ninety days when such individual or individuals knowingly fails or neglects to submit any report required by section twenty-eight hundred of this chapter within thirty-six months of its due date. The authorities budget office is authorized to terminate such a suspension if the board member or chief executive officer demonstrates that he or she has remedied their non-compliance. For the purposes of this section, the "suspension" of an individual shall mean the temporary removal of the rights, responsibilities, powers and duties of a person who is an appointed board member of a local authority or the individual who serves as chief executive officer through appointment or contract. Should the authorities budget office suspend the full board of directors or a majority of current board members the term "suspension" shall mean the board of directors is prohibited from taking actions, votes, or adopting resolutions, that bind the board to future agreements, contracts, financial commitments, indebtedness, or other actions, other than actions necessary to resolve the noncompliance or satisfy existing legal or administrative obligations.
2. (a) Pursuant to policies and procedures developed by the authorities budget office and made available on its website, when the authori-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14692-01-8
S. 7749 2
ties budget office has reason to believe that one or more board members of a local authority has knowingly failed or neglected to submit any report required by section twenty-eight hundred of this chapter within thirty-six months of its due date, the authorities budget office shall provide at least thirty days' notice of its intent to initiate suspension proceedings to the chairperson of the local authority, to the individual or individuals responsible for appointing such board members, and to each such board member. If the authorities budget office has reason to believe that the chief executive officer of a local authority has knowingly failed or neglected to submit any report required by section twenty-eight hundred of this chapter within thirty-six months of its due date, the authorities budget office shall provide at least thirty days' notice of its intent to initiate suspension proceedings to the chairperson of the local authority and to the chief executive officer. Such notice shall include, but shall not be limited to (i) the date and a brief description of the facts and nature of each non-compliance for which such suspension is proposed; (ii) the number of days that the authorities budget office proposes to suspend such board member or chief executive officer; (iii) the option to submit a formal response to the authorities budget office which demonstrates why such board member or chief executive officer should not be suspended; and (iv) if applicable, a period of time in which such local authority or board member or chief executive officer may remedy the non-compliance.
(b) If, after the expiration of the deadline set forth in the notice of intent pursuant to subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the board member or members or chief executive officer, whichever is applicable, has not responded to the notice or has not remedied the non-compliance to the satisfaction of the authorities budget office, the authorities budget office shall issue to the non-compliant board member or members or chief executive officer a notice of suspension which shall include: (i) the number of days of suspension; and (ii) the date that such suspension shall commence, which date shall be at least one hundred eighty days from the date of the issuance of the notice of suspension.
3. (a) Whenever the authorities budget office has suspended one or more board members of a local authority, the individual or individuals who appointed those board members may act to reinstate a suspended board member. If the appointing authority is a legislative body or a member of the legislative body, any action to reinstate a suspended board member shall occur in a public meeting of such body and following an opportunity for the public to comment. Such action shall be deemed valid upon passage of a written resolution of reinstatement by a majority and recorded vote of the legislative body. Such resolution shall describe the facts and circumstances by which the legislative body has reached this determination. If the appointing authority is the chief executive official of the municipality for whose benefit the local authority was created, any action to reinstate a suspended board member shall be through an official act of the chief executive official. Such act shall be recorded in writing and shall describe the facts and circumstances by which the chief executive official reached this determination.
(b) Whenever the authorities budget office has suspended the chief executive officer of a local authority, the chairperson of such local authority may initiate action to reinstate the suspended chief executive officer. Any action to reinstate a suspended chief executive officer shall occur in a public meeting of the board of directors and following an opportunity for the public to comment. Such action shall be deemed
S. 7749 3
valid upon passage of a written resolution of reinstatement by a majority and recorded vote of the current board of directors. Such resolution shall describe the facts and circumstances by which the board of directors reached this determination.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "reinstatement" shall mean the restoration of the rights, responsibilities, powers and duties of a board member or chief executive officer of a local authority.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to authorizing the authorities budget office to suspend local authority board members and executive staff
Purpose or general idea of bill
To authorize the Authorities Budget Office to suspend local authority board members and chief executive officers that are substantially delin- quent in filing required reports.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1- authorizes the Authorities Budget Office (ABO) to suspend local authority board members or chief executive officers that have failed to file the reports required by section 2800 for more than three years after its due date.
Section 2 - establishes the procedures the ABO must follow in order to issue a suspension which include notification and an explanation of the failure to file a required report. The notification procedures would include:
*the issuance of a notice of intent to suspend, informing the board member(s) or CEO that the local authority has 30 days to remedy the non-compliance; and
*in the event the board member(s) or CEO fails to respond to the notice, the issuance of a notice of suspension, which shall give the local authority 180 days to comply prior to suspension.
Section 3 - authorizes the appointing authority, typically a local municipal official or legislative body, to reinstate a suspended board member. This section also authorizes the chairperson of a local authori- ty to reinstate a suspended chief executive officer. In both instances, the facts and circumstances by how this decision was reached would be available to the public.
Justification
This bill would authorize the ABO to suspend local authority board members and chief executive officers (CEOs) that have failed to file the reports that are annually required under section 2800 of the Public Authorities Law. Reports are due 90 days after the end of the authori- ty's fiscal year. Currently, the ABO is only authorized to make recom- mendations and issue a public censure letter. Each year the ABO publishes a report listing authorities that are delinquent in these filings. Many of these authorities are only a few months overdue and the filings are made, if not on time at least soon after they are due. However, there are some authorities that have not filed for years, and these are the authorities that this bill addresses. The current lack of strong enforcement measures has led some authorities to ignore this filing requirement knowing that they can do so with impunity. By closing this gap in the ABO's enforcement powers, authority board members and CEOs can be held directly accountable for long term violations of filing requirements they are obligated to follow. This bill calls for a public
suspension process to shine a light on authorities that are not other- wise providing information to which the public is entitled.
As of February 5, 2018, 129 local authorities failed to file reports with the ABO required by the Public Authorities Law. This includes annu- al reports and audit reports which are important public documents to assure the public that a local authority is fulfilling its mission and remains accountable to the public they serve.
Prior legislative history
2015-16 - S.7878/A.7744-A - RULES/Codes
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
Effective on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.