What's happening
This bill limits how long someone can temporarily serve as a department head without Senate approval in New York.
Why it matters
Reduces executive power to appoint acting department heads. by strictly limiting how long someone can serve without Senate approval, meaning the governor can’t keep “temporary” leaders in place indefinitely.
Strengthens legislative oversight and checks-and-balances. , as the Senate must confirm department heads within a set timeframe, ensuring more public scrutiny and accountability for these key appointments.
Prevents repeated or back-to-back temporary appointments. of the same individual, closing a loophole that could allow someone to serve repeatedly or indefinitely without ever being confirmed.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Temporary Department Heads
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
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.
Limit Temporary Department Heads
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Felix Ortiz
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2030
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 18, 2019
Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the temporary appointment of heads of departments without the advice and consent of the senate
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public officers law is amended by adding a new section 33-b to read as follows:
§ 33-b. Appointment of heads of departments without the advice and consent of the senate. 1. No person shall serve as the head of a department for more than ninety days without the advice and consent of the senate when the legislature is in session.
2. When a vacancy occurs when the legislature is not in session, no person shall serve as the head of a department without the advice and consent of the senate for longer than thirty calendar days of the next succeeding legislative session.
3. A person may only serve as the head of a department without the advice and consent of the senate once, regardless of the amount of time such person served as the head of a department.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05849-01-9
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 officers law, in relation to the temporary appointment of heads of departments without the advice and consent of the senate
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to provide stability at the executive level of New York's many state agencies, as well as save taxpayer money.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 defines the length of time an individual may head an agency in an acting capacity while the Legislature is both in and out of session, and it defines how often a person may serve in an acting capacity.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Existing law
Currently there is no limit to how long an individual may serve as the acting head of an agency or department.
Justification
New York has multiple state agencies and departments that are led by individuals who are serving that entity in an acting capacity. This is problematic for a number of reasons. First, by allowing agencies and departments to be overseen by someone who holds an acting title, the Governor is refusing to allow the Senate to actively vet an individual who will be responsible for that agency or department's employees and the New Yorkers that they service. Second, an individual who holds the "acting" designation is allowed to continue collecting the pay under their previous title, whereas if they were to officially hold the posi- tion they would have to take the salary that is statutorily designated. Lastly, this would provide stability within a governmental entity because the public who is serviced by it and the employees who work there would have a clearly defined organizational structure within the executive levels of that entity.
Legislative history
2018 S. 7781 - passed Senate.
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.