STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5038 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 22, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LANZA, BORRELLO, ORTT, WEIK -- 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 certain appoint- ments by the governor and the senate The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 7 of the public officers law, as amended by chapter 2 230 of the laws of 1949, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 7. Appointment by the governor and senate. 1. An appointment to an 4 office by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate, 5 shall be made by communicating to the senate, while in session, a writ- 6 ten nomination of a person for the office, designating the residence of 7 the nominee, and if nominated to be an officer of a political subdivi- 8 sion of the state, designating also such subdivision, and if nominating 9 two or more persons to the same office for different terms, designating 10 the term for which each is nominated. If such nomination be of a succes- 11 sor to a predecessor in the same office, it may be made and acted upon 12 by the senate after the expiration of the term or occurrence of a vacan- 13 cy in the office of such predecessor, or at any time during the legisla- 14 tive session of the calendar year in which the term of office of such 15 predecessor shall expire or in which the office shall become vacant. If 16 the appointment be made before the expiration of the term of such prede- 17 cessor, the term of office of the appointee shall commence upon the 18 expiration of the term of such predecessor, or if made to fill a vacan- 19 cy, upon the occurrence of such vacancy, or immediately if a vacancy 20 already exist. If the senate shall reject such nomination, the secretary 21 of the senate shall forthwith communicate, by writing, signed by him and 22 by the president of the senate, to the governor the fact of such 23 rejection. If the senate shall confirm such nomination the appointment 24 shall be deemed complete, and thereupon duplicate certificates of the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08768-01-3S. 5038 2 1 confirmation shall be made and signed by the president and secretary of 2 the senate, who shall cause one to be delivered to the governor and the 3 other to the secretary of state, who shall record the same in his office 4 in a book kept for that purpose. 5 2. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, when an appoint- 6 ment to an office by the governor by and with the advice and consent of 7 the senate is communicated, in the form of a written nomination of a 8 person for the office, the senate shall wait at least thirty days to 9 confirm or reject such nomination from the date such written nomination 10 was received. If the senate acts to confirm or reject such nomination 11 within thirty days, such action: 12 (a) shall be deemed void; and 13 (b) shall not be reconsidered until thirty days have elapsed from the 14 date of such illegal confirmation or rejection. 15 3. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, when an appoint- 16 ment to an office by the governor by and with the advice and consent of 17 the senate is communicated, in the form of a written nomination of a 18 person for the office, the senate shall hold a hearing on such nomi- 19 nation within fifteen days after the communication of such nomination. 20 If the senate acts to confirm or reject such nomination without having 21 held a hearing within fifteen days of the communication of such nomi- 22 nation, then such action to confirm or reject such nominations shall be 23 deemed void. 24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.