What's happening
This bill expands the New York City Water Board from seven to eight members, changes the appointment process, and requires city council confirmation.
Why it matters
Shifts appointment power from solely the mayor to multiple city officials. (mayor, city council speaker, comptroller, public advocate, and city council), potentially increasing board diversity and reducing concentration of influence.
Adds a new requirement for city council confirmation of all appointments. , giving the city’s legislative branch a check over who serves and encouraging more public scrutiny of appointees.
Mandates at least one board member with water resource science expertise and restricts city employees or recent former employees from serving. , aiming to improve technical oversight and reduce potential conflicts of interest.
Requires the board to elect its own chairperson instead of being appointed by the mayor. , which could enhance board independence and shift internal power dynamics.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Change Water Board Appointments
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4407
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 4, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the city of New York water board
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 1045-f of the public authorities law, as added by chapter 513 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
2. (a) The water board shall consist of [seven] eight members to be appointed [by the mayor.] as follows:
(i) Four members appointed by the mayor;
(ii) One member appointed by the speaker of the city council;
(iii) One member appointed by the comptroller of the city of New York;
(iv) One member appointed by the public advocate; and
(v) One member appointed by the city council, who shall be a resident of the water shed area.
(b) All members appointed to the board must be confirmed by the city council before they may commence their term.
(c) Terms of office of the members shall be two years except that the terms of four of the board members first appointed shall be one year. At least one member shall have experience in the science of water resource development. No member shall be a director of the authority. [The mayor shall appoint a chairman from among the members of the board.] No appointee shall be an officer or employee of the city, or have served in such capacity in the preceding six month period. The chairman shall be duly elected by the members of the board, subject to the same quorum and voting requirements as provided for in subdivision seven of this section. All members shall continue to hold office until their successors are appointed and qualified. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. Vacancies, occurring otherwise than by expiration of term of office, shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments for the unexpired terms.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07395-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.