STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6503 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 8, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROMEO, SAYEGH, WILLIAMS, D'URSO, ARROYO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law and the legislative law, in relation to enacting the "unfunded mandate reform act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 5-A to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 5-A 4 UNFUNDED MANDATE REFORM ACT 5 Section 75. Short title. 6 76. Duty of governor to examine unfunded mandates; legislative 7 purpose. 8 77. Definitions. 9 78. Findings by governor; issuance of unfunded mandate reform 10 plan. 11 79. Contents of unfunded mandate reform plan. 12 80. Effective date of unfunded mandate reform plan. 13 81. Programs and services that shall not be the subject of an 14 unfunded mandate reform plan. 15 82. Severability. 16 § 75. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the 17 "unfunded mandate reform act". 18 § 76. Duty of governor to examine unfunded mandates; legislative 19 purpose. The governor, from time to time, shall examine those mandates 20 imposed by the state on local governments and school districts that the 21 state does not provide adequate funding to support, and shall determine EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08407-01-9

A. 6503 2 1 which changes are necessary to reduce the burden of these unfunded 2 mandates on political subdivisions. 3 § 77. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall 4 have the following meanings: 5 1. "Political subdivision" means any county, city, town, village, 6 school district or special district. 7 2. "Assembly" means the New York state assembly. 8 3. "Governor" means the governor of the state of New York. 9 4. "Legislature" means the legislature of the state of New York. 10 5. "Senate" means the New York state senate. 11 6. "Unfunded mandate" means any program or service requirement imposed 12 by the state through statute, regulation or other directive that has a 13 direct financial impact on any political subdivision in excess of ten 14 thousand dollars per year, or on two or more political subdivisions 15 collectively or on a city with a population of one million or more in 16 excess of one hundred thousand dollars per year. 17 7. "Unfunded mandate reform plan" or "plan" shall mean the bill 18 prepared by the governor, and submitted to the legislature as a program 19 bill, that contains the terms and information regarding the repeal or 20 revision of unfunded mandates upon political subdivisions. 21 § 78. Findings by governor; issuance of unfunded mandate reform plan. 22 1. Whenever the governor finds it to be in the public interest, he or 23 she may submit to the legislature an unfunded mandate reform plan. 24 2. Nothing in this article shall prohibit or limit the authority of 25 the governor or legislature to repeal, revise or provide funding for 26 unfunded mandates pursuant to any other lawful process. 27 § 79. Contents of unfunded mandate reform plan. An unfunded mandate 28 reform plan shall: 29 1. set forth as findings in such plan, a description of the nature and 30 purposes of the unfunded mandate reform plan, together with an explana- 31 tion of the advantages that will result from its implementation, includ- 32 ing the anticipated savings and costs associated with each repeal or 33 revision of an unfunded mandate; 34 2. describe in detail other actions, if any, necessary to implement 35 that plan; 36 3. any preliminary actions which have been taken in implementing the 37 plan; and 38 4. provide a projected timetable for completion of the implementation 39 process. 40 § 80. Effective date of unfunded mandate reform plan. 1. An unfunded 41 mandate reform plan shall be voted on by each house of the legislature, 42 without amendment as submitted by the governor, within thirty days after 43 such submission. The governor may submit only one such plan annually and 44 may amend that plan one time within such thirty day period. Both houses 45 of the legislature shall have thirty days from the submission of such 46 amendment to vote on the amended unfunded mandate reform plan. Without 47 the consent of both houses of the legislature, neither a plan nor an 48 amendment may be submitted by the governor after the thirtieth day of 49 May in any year. 50 2. Under provisions contained in an unfunded mandate reform plan, a 51 provision of the plan may be effective at a time later than the date on 52 which the plan otherwise is effective. 53 § 81. Programs and services that shall not be the subject of an 54 unfunded mandate reform plan. Notwithstanding any other provision of 55 this article to the contrary, the following categories of programs and 56 services shall not be considered unfunded mandates:

A. 6503 3 1 1. those which are required to comply with federal laws or rules or to 2 meet eligibility standards for federal entitlements, so long as such 3 mandates are not broader than federal eligibility standards; 4 2. those which are imposed on both government and non-government enti- 5 ties in the same or substantially similar circumstances; 6 3. those which permit, establish or enable only optional programs or 7 services; 8 4. those which repeal, revise, or ease an existing mandate or require- 9 ment, or which reapportion the costs of activities between boards of 10 education, counties and municipalities; 11 5. those which arise from a ruling by a court of competent jurisdic- 12 tion; 13 6. those which are enacted after a public hearing, held after public 14 notice that unfunded mandates will be considered, for which a fiscal 15 impact note as defined in section fifty-one of the legislative law is 16 available at the time of the public hearing and which, in addition to 17 complying with all other requirements with regard to the enactment of a 18 law, are passed by a two-thirds vote of both the senate and assembly; 19 and 20 7. those which are the result of the passage of a home rule message 21 whereby a local government requests authority to implement the program 22 or service specified in the statute, and the statute imposes costs only 23 upon that local government which requests the authority to impose the 24 program or service. 25 § 82. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, 26 section or part of this article shall be adjudged by any court of compe- 27 tent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, 28 or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its opera- 29 tion to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part 30 thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment 31 shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the 32 legislature that this article would have been enacted even if such 33 invalid provisions had not been included in this section. 34 § 2. The legislative law is amended by adding a new section 54-b to 35 read as follows: 36 § 54-b. Unfunded mandate reform plan. The legislature may by concur- 37 rent resolution prescribe rules for the consideration and disposition of 38 an unfunded mandate reform plan, as defined in article five-A of the 39 executive law. 40 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

Enacts the "unfunded mandate reform act"

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