BILL NUMBER: S7812
SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the line of
succession to the office of governor; and to repeal article 1-A of the
New York state defense emergency act relating thereto
 
PURPOSE:
To improve the statutory line of succession to the office of governor by
ensuring that it is usable in all situations when it is needed and
removing executive departments that no longer exist.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the public officers law by adding a new section 44
which specifies a list of successors to the governor's office comprising
the heads of eight executive departments.
Section 2: Repeals Article 1-A of the Defense Emergency Act of 1951,
which provides the current line of succession to the governor's office.
Section 3: Sets the effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The current statutory line of succession to the office of governor,
which lists successors beyond those designated in the constitution, is
only usable when "an attack or a natural or peacetime disaster" causes a
"vacancy" in the governor's office. These limitations can leave the
state without an acting governor in many situations. The "vacancy"
requirement makes the statutory line of succession unusable in all cases
where the governor is unable. Even when there is a vacancy, statutory
successors cannot act as governor unless the vacancy was caused by an
"attack" or "disaster." Of course, most vacancies will not be caused by
such events. This act removes these restrictions. It activates imme-
diately upon the incapacity, vacancy, or impeachment of the governor and
the constitutionally-designated successors (lieutenant-governor, tempo-
rary president of the Senate, and speaker of the Assembly).
This act also removes positions in the current line of succession that
no longer exist. Otherwise, the act retains a line of succession
comprising heads of executive departments. The first two successors-the
attorney general and the comptroller-are elected statewide, which
provides vital democratic legitimacy to their status as gubernatorial
successors. The remaining successors derive democratic legitimacy from
being nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. All succes-
sors in this act lead agencies in the executive branch. This provides
relevant government leadership experience and familiarity with the exec-
utive branch's functioning that makes these officials prepared to serve
as acting-governor.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date as a "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to article 4 of the
constitution, to the line of succession to the office of the governor"
takes effect, in accordance with section 1 of article 19 of the consti-
tution.