BILL NUMBER: S7150A
SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing deadlines
for finalizing and objecting to nominating petitions for small city
school board elections
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To update the procedures for objections to nominating petitions, and
finalizing of ballots, for small city school district elections.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Education Law section 2608 to require that nominating
petitions for small city school district elections must be submitted no
later than thirty days prior to the election. It also provides for a
ten-day period for objecting to any nominating petitions, and outlines
the duties of the clerk of the board of education in finalizing the
ballot after the ten-day objection period.
Section 2 amends Education Law section 2032 paragraph 2 subdivision b to
provide that its provisions concerning the date of the drawing for the
names on the ballot do not apply to small city school districts.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Residents of a school district are entitled to being able to ensure that
those nominated to serve on Boards of Education, those charged with the
fundamental obligation of directing. and overseeing the education of our
children, have the required legal qualifications to serve as Board
Members.
The time periods for filing petitions and finalizing the ballot provided
in the law, different than those for all other types of school
districts, deprives residents of small city school districts the right
to object to the sufficiency of the petitions filed on behalf of candi-
dates nominated to a Board of Education.
This legislation would change the deadlines for submission of nominating
petitions, in order to allow members of the public to object to their
validity for a five-day period after submission, a five-day period of
boards reviewing any objections, and the ballot being finalized the next
day.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.6846 of 2023-2024 (McDonald), referred to education.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date
on which it shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S7150: 2032 education law, 2032(2) education law
S7150A: 2032 education law, 2032(2) education law