NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2418
SPONSOR: Tedisco (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to
enacting the community needs integrity act and establishing the communi-
ty need review commission
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill reforms the "Member Item"
process by enacting the Community Needs Integrity Act and establishes a
Community Need Review Commission.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: This bill adds a new article 6-A to
the Legislative Law to create the Community Need Review Commission. The
Commission shall consist of twelve members to be appointed as follows:
three members shall be appointed by the Temporary President of the
Senate, three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly,
three members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate
and three members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the
Assembly. The members of the Commission, in cooperation with the Attor-
ney General and the Comptroller shall be charged with overseeing and
reviewing the distribution of member item funds set forth in the state
budget.
Members of the Commission are also charged with safeguarding the integ-
rity and openness of determining how member items shall be distributed
and for providing public access to that process. Members will establish
guidelines for prioritizing and ranking requests and will make the list
of requests available to the public on or before March 17th of each
year. Final funding decisions shall be made available to the public on
or before April 8th of each year. Finally, members of the Commission are
charged with developing a Community Needs Integrity Plan to provide for
the fair distribution of funds to all regions of the state. Funds shall
be awarded to programs based upon need, quality and merit. The allo-
cation of funds will be clearly referenced with projects being described
with specificity. Lastly, the plan will establish sanctions in the event
that funds are inappropriately disbursed and will establish expedited
collection mechanisms to recoup such funds.
JUSTIFICATION: The politically controlled member item process has
long been in need of reform. As our state faces its worst fiscal crisis
since the Great Depression, every taxpayer dollar that is spent needs to
be scrutinized. Historically, the majority parties receive the lion's
share of these funds. By way of example, before the recent coup, the
Senate Majority was expected to receive $77 million of the $85 million
allocated for that house despite only holding a two seat majority. The
member item process needs to be changed so that it is open, fair and
transparent.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2014: A.6162 referred to governmental
operations 2012: A.1486 held for consideration in government operations
2012: A.1486 referred to governmental operations 2011: A.1486 referred
to governmental operations 2010: Referred to Governmental Operations.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2418
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 16, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TEDISCO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CERETTO
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to enacting the commu-
nity needs integrity act and establishing the community need review
commission
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "community needs integrity act".
3 § 2. The legislative law is amended by adding a new article 6-B to
4 read as follows:
5 ARTICLE 6-B
6 COMMUNITY NEED REVIEW COMMISSION
7 Section 95. Community need review commission.
8 96. Powers and duties of the commission.
9 97. Community needs integrity plan.
10 § 95. Community need review commission. There is hereby established a
11 community need review commission which shall consist of twelve members,
12 to be appointed as follows: three members shall be appointed by the
13 temporary president of the senate, three members shall be appointed by
14 the speaker of the assembly, three members shall be appointed by the
15 minority leader of the senate and three members shall be appointed by
16 the minority leader of the assembly. Each member of the commission shall
17 serve at the pleasure of the official who appointed him or her. Vacan-
18 cies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the manner
19 provided for original appointments. The members of the commission shall
20 receive no compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for
21 the actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of
22 their duties pursuant to this article.
23 § 96. Powers and duties of the commission. The community need review
24 commission, in cooperation with the attorney general and the comp-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02622-01-5
A. 2418 2
1 troller, shall review and oversee the distribution of member item funds
2 set forth in the state budget. In carrying out this objective, such
3 commission shall have the following powers and duties:
4 1. to safeguard the integrity and openness of the process of determin-
5 ing how member items shall be distributed;
6 2. to ensure that the public has access to such process;
7 3. to establish guidelines for prioritizing and ranking requests for
8 member items;
9 4. to provide a mechanism whereby requests for member items are made
10 available to the public on or before March seventeenth of each year;
11 5. to provide a mechanism whereby final funding decisions regarding
12 the distribution of member items are made available to the public on or
13 before April eighth of each year; and
14 6. to develop a community needs integrity plan consistent with the
15 provisions of section ninety-seven of this article.
16 § 97. Community needs integrity plan. The community need review
17 commission shall establish a community needs integrity plan. Such plan
18 shall provide for the following:
19 1. fair distribution of member item funds to all regions of the state;
20 2. member item funds be awarded to programs based on the need, quality
21 and merit of the program or project;
22 3. member items be set forth in a detailed manner, open to the public
23 with specific references to the program or project being funded;
24 4. sanctions for member item funds inappropriately disbursed;
25 5. mechanisms to recoup inappropriately disbursed member item funds;
26 6. any other provision the commission deems appropriate.
27 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
