What's happening
This bill prohibits school districts from holding special meetings to vote on school bonds during certain periods between November and September.
Why it matters
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
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
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 School Bond Vote Dates
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor John T. McDonald III
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
986
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. BRESLIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to limiting the time periods when a special district meeting for the purpose of voting on a school bond may be conducted
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 416 of the education law, as amended by chapter 171 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
3. No addition to or change of site or purchase of a new site or tax for the purchase of any new site or structure, or for grading or improving a school site, or for the purchase of an addition to the site of any schoolhouse, or for the purchase of lands and buildings for agricultural, athletic, playground or social center purposes, or for building any new schoolhouse or for the erection of an addition to any schoolhouse already built, or for the payment or refunding of an outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall be voted at any such meeting in a union free school district or a city school district which conducts annual budget votes in accordance with article forty-one of this chapter pursuant to section twenty-six hundred one-a of this chapter, unless a notice by the board of education stating that such tax will be proposed, and specifying the object thereof and the amount to be expended therefor, shall have been given in the manner provided herein for the notice of an annual meeting. In a common school district the notice of a special meeting to authorize any of the improvements enumerated in this section shall be given as provided in section two thousand six. The board of education of a union free school district or a city school district which conducts annual budget votes in accordance with article forty-one of this chapter pursuant to section twenty-six hundred one-a of this chapter, may determine that the vote upon any question to be submitted at a special meet-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00510-01-9
S. 986 2
ing as provided in this section shall be by ballot, in which case it shall state in the notice of such special meeting the hours during which the polls shall be kept open. Printed ballots may be prepared by the board in advance of the meeting and the proposition or propositions called for in the notice of the meeting may be submitted in substantially the same manner as propositions to be voted upon at a general election. No school district in the state, however, shall conduct a special district meeting for the purpose of voting on a school bond, as authorized in this section, between the general election through March first of the following year and between the fourth Wednesday in June through the first Monday in September.
§ 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to limiting the time periods when a special district meeting for the purpose of voting on a school bond may be conducted
Purpose or general idea of bill
To encourage greater turnout at elections that impact school budgets, bonds, and taxes by increasing the likelihood that such votes will be held on a primary or general election day and creating predictability surrounding the dates the elections are held.
Summary of specific provisions
Sections one amends subdivision 3 of section 416 of the Education Law to provide that school bond votes must be held within certain dates.
Section two establishes the effective date.
Justification
This legislation would create a blackout period during which certain school district bond votes cannot be held. Currently, the individual school districts hold votes on issues such as bond referendums at their absolute discretion which leads to voters not knowing that elections are occurring or finding out after the fact. Votes are sometimes scheduled during times where it would be expected that turnout will be low includ- ing: the winter season, the week after a general election day, the week before Christmas, and other dates without consistency which has the practical impact of impeding turnout. The result of few voters for these important bond votes may not be the intent but the public perception, witnessed by extraordinary low voter turnout, is otherwise. The current system creates several problems including lack of participation in a matter that has far reaching impacts in the community and the accrual of significant costs to the school district when multiple elections are held on a single issue due to low turnout. By creating more predictabil- ity and increasing the likelihood that these important issues will be voted on during established election dates, voters will vote on these important issues at a time and date that that is consistent with their voting schedule and the financial burden will be alleviated by stream- lining the voting process.
This bill also speaks to the legitimate concern raised by school districts to allow flexibility for when they need to schedule a vote outside of the already established election days. By creating black-out periods for votes this bill prevents unduly burdening existing resources and will hopefully lead to timely approval of projects to avoid delays and additional costs while encouraging public participation in the proc- ess.
Prior legislative history
New Bill
Effective date
This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.