Makes the following participating agencies for purposes of agency assisted voter registration: public libraries, local housing authorities, and public high schools; directs the state board of elections to promulgate rules and regulations for implementation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
174--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH, COLTON, GALEF, GOTTFRIED, MILLER --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Election Law -- recommitted to the Committee on
Election Law in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to designating additional
participating agencies for purposes of agency assisted voter registra-
tion
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 5-211 of the election law,
2 as amended by chapter 265 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 Each agency designated as a participating agency under the provisions
5 of this section shall implement and administer a program of distribution
6 of voter registration forms pursuant to the provisions of this section.
7 The following offices which provide public assistance and/or provide
8 state funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons
9 with disabilities are hereby designated as voter registration agencies:
10 designated as the state agencies which provide public assistance are the
11 office of children and family services, the office of temporary and
12 disability assistance and the department of health. Also designated as
13 public assistance agencies are all agencies of local government that
14 provide such assistance. Designated as state agencies that provide
15 programs primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabil-
16 ities are the department of labor, office for the aging, division of
17 veterans' affairs, office of mental health, office of vocational and
18 educational services for individuals with disabilities, commission on
19 quality of care for the mentally disabled, office [of mental retardation
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01378-03-4
A. 174--A 2
1 and] for people with developmental disabilities, commission for the
2 blind, office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office of
3 the advocate for the disabled and all offices which administer programs
4 established or funded by such agencies. Additional state agencies desig-
5 nated as voter registration offices are the department of state and the
6 division of workers' compensation. Such agencies shall be required to
7 offer voter registration forms to persons upon initial application for
8 services, renewal or recertification for services and change of address
9 relating to such services. Such agencies shall also be responsible for
10 providing assistance to applicants in completing voter registration
11 forms, receiving and transmitting the completed application form from
12 all applicants who wish to have such form transmitted to the appropriate
13 board of elections. The state board of elections shall, together with
14 representatives of the department of defense, develop and implement
15 procedures for including recruitment offices of the armed forces of the
16 United States as voter registration offices when such offices are so
17 designated by federal law. The state board shall also make request of
18 the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to include
19 applications for registration by mail with any materials which are given
20 to new citizens. All institutions of the state university of New York
21 and the city university of New York, shall, at the beginning of the
22 school year, and again in January of a year in which the president of
23 the United States is to be elected, provide an application for registra-
24 tion to each student in each such institution. The state board of
25 elections may, by regulation, grant a waiver from any or all of the
26 requirements of this section to any office or program of an agency, if
27 it determines that it is not feasible for such office or program to
28 administer such requirement. Also designated as participating agencies
29 are all public libraries, which shall be required to offer voter regis-
30 tration forms to persons eighteen years of age or older upon initial
31 application for a library card. Also designated as participating agen-
32 cies are all local housing authorities, which shall be required to offer
33 voter registration forms to persons upon initial application for
34 services or recertification for services. Also designated as participat-
35 ing agencies are all public high schools, which shall be required to
36 offer voter registration forms to all seniors upon their graduation.
37 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
38 it shall have become a law; provided that the state board of elections
39 is authorized to promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act on
40 or before its effective date.
