New York State Assembly

Bill No.:  

 
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A06481 Summary:

BILL NO	A06481
SAME AS	SAME AS S06303
SPONSOR	McMahon
COSPNSR	Conrad, Lupardo, Otis, Galef
MLTSPNSR
Authorizes political subdivisions to permit any public body to hold meetings remotely and without in-person access so long as the public has the ability to view or listen to such meetings and that such meetings are recorded and transcribed.

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A06481 Actions:

BILL NO	A06481
03/19/2021	referred to local governments
03/23/2021	reported
03/25/2021	advanced to third reading cal.214
04/19/2021	passed assembly
04/19/2021	delivered to senate
04/19/2021	REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
06/02/2021	SUBSTITUTED FOR S6303
06/02/2021	3RD READING CAL.1351
06/02/2021	PASSED SENATE
06/02/2021	RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY

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A06481 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A6481
 
SPONSOR: McMahon

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act authorizing political subdivisions to permit any public body to
hold meetings remotely and without in-person access during the COVID-19
state disaster emergency; and provides for the repeal of such provisions
upon the expiration thereof
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
 
To authorize political subdivisions to hold public meetings remotely
while also ensuring such meetings are publicly available.
 
 
SUMMARY PROVISIONS:
 
Section 1 authorizes political subdivisions to hold meetings remotely
provided that the public has the ability to view or listen to such
proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed.
 
Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date, which will expire
pursuant to the expiration of Executive Order 202 of 2020.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the ability of municipalities,
school districts and other special districts to hold public meetings and
protect public health. However, the need to conduct municipal business
remains. Executive Order 202 of 2020 authorizes meetings to be conducted
remotely while also providing guaranteed public access.  This legis-
lation is intended to codify the provisions of the executive order and
provide greater certainty to local governments regarding the conduct of
their public meetings.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
New bill.
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
 
To be determined
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately and shall
expire and be deemed repealed on the same date as the same expiration of
the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive order 202 of
2020.

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A06481 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6481
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 19, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. McMAHON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Local Governments
 
        AN ACT authorizing political subdivisions to permit any public  body  to
          hold  meetings remotely and without in-person access during the COVID-
          19 state disaster emergency; and  provides  for  the  repeal  of  such
          provisions upon the expiration thereof

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. For the duration of the state disaster  emergency  declared
     2  pursuant  to  executive  order  202  of  2020, political subdivisions as
     3  defined in section 100 of the general municipal law, shall be authorized
     4  to the extent necessary to permit any public body as defined in  section
     5  102  of  the public officers law to meet and take such action authorized
     6  by law without permitting in public in-person  access  to  meetings  and
     7  authorize  such meetings to be held remotely by conference call or simi-
     8  lar service, provided that the public has the ability to view or  listen
     9  to  such  proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later tran-
    10  scribed.
    11    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    12  deemed repealed on the same date as the expiration of the state disaster
    13  emergency declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020.
 
 
 
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10480-02-1

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