NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10400B Revised 5/24/2022
SPONSOR: Rules (Lawler) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public officers law and the village law, in relation
to residency requirements for village justice of Chestnut Ridge
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation permits the Village of Chestnut Ridge to accept resi-
dents of the County of Rockland as eligible candidates for the position
of Village Justice for the Village of Chestnut Ridge.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds subdivision 72 to section 3 of the public officers law,
providing that the provisions requiring officeholders to be residents of
the municipalities in which they hold office shall be suspended for the
office of village justice in the village of Chestnut Ridge, provided
however that such officeholder resides in the County of Rockland.
Section 2 adds subdivision 32 to Section 3-300 of the village law,
providing that the village board of trustees may pass a resolution
authorizing the village justice of Chestnut Ridge to be held by an indi-
vidual who is not a resident of the Village of Chestnut Ridge, provided
however that such individual is a resident of the County of Rockland.
Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, officeholders are required to be residents of the
municipality in which they reside. Although this a crucial component of
representative democracy, it can, in practice, make hiring decisions
impractical or impossible in small communities. The village of Chestnut
Ridge is comprised of about five square miles and ten thousand resi-
dents. Allowing residents of the county of Rockland to hold the position
of village justice for the village of Chestnut Ridge will allow for a
more competitive and thorough selection process while ensuring that the
village justice is a member of the local community.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None projected.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10400--B
IN ASSEMBLY
May 13, 2022
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Lawler) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to the Commit-
tee on Rules -- Rules Committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the public officers law and the village law, in relation
to residency requirements for village justice of Chestnut Ridge
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3 of the public officers law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 72 to read as follows:
3 72. In the village of Chestnut Ridge, in the county of Rockland, the
4 provisions of this section requiring a person to be a resident of the
5 political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state for which he
6 or she shall be chosen or within which his or her official functions are
7 required to be exercised, shall not prevent a person from holding the
8 office of village justice of the village of Chestnut Ridge, provided
9 that such person resides in the county of Rockland. Provided, however,
10 the person performing the functions of village justice in any other
11 village shall be a resident of such village unless otherwise provided by
12 law.
13 § 2. Section 3-300 of the village law is amended by adding a new
14 subdivision 32 to read as follows:
15 32. Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter or any other gener-
16 al law, local law, ordinance or special act, the village board of trus-
17 tees of the incorporated village of Chestnut Ridge, Rockland county,
18 may, by resolution, provide that the village justice of the village of
19 Chestnut Ridge, Rockland county, may be held by a person who is not a
20 resident of such village, provided that such person resides within Rock-
21 land county.
22 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15727-04-2
