STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
783
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to removing
certain requirements for official websites of small municipalities;
and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the general
municipal law relating to requiring municipalities to maintain munic-
ipal websites, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3353-A and
A. 2852-A, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 300 of the general municipal law, as added by a
2 chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the general municipal law relating
3 to requiring municipalities to maintain municipal websites, as proposed
4 in legislative bills numbers S. 3353-A and A. 2852-A, is amended to read
5 as follows:
6 § 300. Municipal websites. 1. All municipal corporations having a
7 population, as shown by the latest preceding decennial federal census,
8 equal to or greater than one thousand five hundred persons, shall main-
9 tain an official website with a ".gov" domain name that is accessible to
10 the public and update such website regularly[. The], as follows: the
11 official website shall contain basic information on the municipality
12 including but not limited to hours of operations, elected officials and
13 services provided[. The] and the website shall contain a privacy policy
14 that is prominently posted and written in plain language that informs
15 website visitors of any personal information that is being collected and
16 how it is being used; provided however, that any municipal corporation
17 having a population, as shown by the latest preceding decennial federal
18 census, of less than one thousand five hundred persons, shall comply
19 with the provisions of this section to the extent practicable. For
20 purposes of this section, a municipal corporation that hosts its offi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02683-01-5
S. 783 2
1 cial website on another municipal corporation's ".gov" Uniform Resource
2 Locator (URL) will satisfy this section's requirement to maintain an
3 official website with a ".gov" domain name.
4 2. [Municipal] All municipal websites of municipal corporations having
5 a population, as shown by the latest preceding decennial federal census,
6 equal to or greater than one thousand five hundred persons shall, at a
7 minimum, contain the following information:
8 a. all documents required by subdivision seven of section thirty of
9 this chapter;
10 b. notice of all municipal elections, public hearings and public meet-
11 ings including regular board or legislative meetings;
12 c. agenda and minutes of municipal meetings as required by article
13 seven of the public officers law; and
14 d. an up to date version of, or an active hyperlink to, the munici-
15 pality's codes or local laws and resolutions; provided however, that any
16 municipal corporation having a population, as shown by the latest
17 preceding decennial federal census, of less than one thousand five
18 hundred persons, shall comply with the provisions of this section to the
19 extent practicable.
20 § 2. Subdivision 7 of section 30 of the general municipal law, as
21 amended by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the general municipal
22 law relating to requiring municipalities to maintain municipal
23 websites, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3353-A and A.
24 2852-A, is amended to read as follows:
25 7. Each municipal corporation shall make accessible to the public on
26 its [official] municipal website required under article thirteen-E of
27 this chapter documentation pertaining to its most recent annual finan-
28 cial reports, current year budget, most recent independent audit report
29 and most recent fiscal performance plan or multiyear financial plan
30 required pursuant to paragraph g of subdivision ten of section fifty-
31 four of the state finance law, unless such information is covered by
32 subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public officers law.
33 § 3. Section 3 of a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the general
34 municipal law relating to requiring municipalities to maintain munici-
35 pal websites, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3353-A and A.
36 2852-A, is amended to read as follows:
37 § 3. This act shall take effect [on the one hundred eightieth day] one
38 year after it shall have become a law.
39 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
40 section one and two of this act shall take effect on the same date and
41 in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the general
42 municipal law relating to requiring municipalities to maintain munic-
43 ipal websites, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3353-A and A.
44 2852-A, takes effect.
