Establishes the "New York local news act"; establishes the New York commission on local news and civic information to advance research and innovation in the field of media and technology to benefit the state's civic life and evolving information needs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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8471
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
November 17, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Higher Education
AN ACT in relation to establishing the "New York Local News Act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York
2 local news act".
3 § 2. Definitions. As used in this act:
4 (a) "Board of directors" or "board" means the board of directors of
5 the New York commission on local news and civic information.
6 (b) "Commission" means the New York commission on local news and civic
7 information.
8 (c) "In-kind contribution" means a contribution of goods or services,
9 other than a cash grant.
10 (d) "Local community organization" means a locally-based organization
11 serving a community of people having shared interests that is incorpo-
12 rated, organized, and operated in such a manner as to qualify as a
13 nonprofit corporation described in section 501(c)(3) of the federal
14 Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3).
15 (e) "Member university" means the University of the State of New York
16 and the City University of New York.
17 § 3. New York commission on local news and civic information estab-
18 lished. There is hereby established the New York commission on local
19 news and civic information which shall consist of the member universi-
20 ties. The purpose of the commission shall be to advance research and
21 innovation in the field of media and technology to benefit the state's
22 civic life and evolving information needs.
23 § 4. Board of directors. (a) The commission shall have a board of
24 directors that shall set strategic priorities and metrics to guide the
25 commission's grant-making and other initiatives, as well as to approve
26 grants.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13448-02-1
A. 8471 2
1 (b) The board of directors shall consist of 17 members as follows:
2 (i) two members appointed by the governor;
3 (ii) two members appointed by the temporary president of the senate,
4 and one member appointed by the minority leader of the senate;
5 (iii) two members appointed by the speaker of the assembly, and one
6 member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly;
7 (iv) five members appointed by the chancellor of the state university
8 of New York and the chancellor of the city university of New York, each
9 of whom shall have background or experience in the field of journalism,
10 media, or technology; and
11 (v) four members appointed by a majority vote of the eleven board
12 members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (i) through (iv) of this subdi-
13 vision, of which:
14 (1) one member shall represent the media sector;
15 (2) one member shall represent the technology sector; and
16 (3) two members, not employed by the state or a member university at
17 the time of the member's appointment, shall have demonstrated a record
18 of commitment to public service and understand the importance of media
19 and technology to the state's future.
20 (c) Each board member shall serve a term of four years, except that
21 the member representing the New York media sector shall serve an initial
22 term of one year and the member representing the New York technology
23 sector shall serve an initial term of two years. No board member shall
24 serve more than two four-year terms. In the appointment of members to
25 the board, every effort shall be made to strive for diversity and
26 balance of representation according to gender, race, ethnicity, and
27 geography within any limits allowed under law. Any vacancies in the
28 appointed membership of the board occurring other than by expiration of
29 term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but
30 for the unexpired term only. Board members shall serve without compen-
31 sation but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the
32 performance of their duties within the limits of funds available to the
33 board.
34 § 5. Executive director. (a) The board shall appoint and employ an
35 executive director and fix the executive director's compensation and
36 conditions of employment. The executive director shall be the chief
37 executive, administrative, and operational officer of the commission and
38 shall direct and supervise the administrative affairs and the general
39 management of the commission. The executive director shall oversee the
40 commission's day-to-day operations, which includes working with the
41 board to meet the commission's goals and grant-making requirements,
42 hiring and managing program officers and administrative staff pursuant
43 to subdivision (b) of this section, acting as spokesperson for the
44 commission's work, and raising funds from external sources. The execu-
45 tive director shall attend all meetings of the board.
46 (b) (i) The executive director shall employ program officers who shall
47 be experienced practitioners with a strong understanding of the media or
48 civic technology fields. The executive director shall strive to appoint
49 program officers that represent the state's racial, ethnic, gender, and
50 geographic diversity within any limits allowed under law. The program
51 officers shall manage the grant-making process, in accordance with the
52 commission's goals. The grant-making process shall include soliciting,
53 recommending, and processing grant proposals, working with grantees to
54 ensure work on grant project ideas, and directing public engagement and
55 evaluation efforts.
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1 (ii) The executive director shall employ no more than three adminis-
2 trative staff to provide operational support for the commission, includ-
3 ing office management, support for the executive director and program
4 officers, coordination among member universities, payment to grantees,
5 human resources, and logistics.
6 (c) To save on startup, operating, and ongoing administrative costs,
7 one member university shall be responsible for housing the commission
8 and providing back-office support.
9 § 6. Collaboration among member universities. The commission shall be
10 a collaborative effort among the member universities. Each member
11 university shall focus its initiatives on one area of expertise and the
12 board of directors shall decide on each member university's focus of
13 expertise in order to allow for greater collaboration among member
14 universities, decrease competition for grants, and reduce redundancy of
15 efforts. Member universities may collaborate on projects together, as
16 well as seek out other academic institutions to partner with on seeking
17 grants.
18 § 7. Eligibility for grants; project goals. (a) To be eligible for a
19 grant from the commission, a grant proposal application shall include,
20 but not be limited to:
21 (i) evidence of a collaboration between at least one member of the
22 faculty or graduate student of a member university and at least one
23 local community organization, media organization, or technology-based
24 organization;
25 (ii) information demonstrating that the collaboration would be a mutu-
26 ally respectful partnership wherein all community and member university
27 participants invest in a project designed to serve the commission's
28 mission and the goals cited pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section;
29 and
30 (iii) proof that the member university or universities in total will
31 provide an amount of funding or make an in-kind contribution having a
32 value that matches 10 percent of the amount of grant funding for which
33 the applicant has applied, if an application is sponsored by one or more
34 member universities. For a grant proposal application sponsored by a
35 member university housing the commission and providing back-office
36 support, the cost of that housing and support to that member university
37 shall count towards the funding or in-kind contribution match from that
38 member university.
39 (b) The commission shall provide grants for projects that achieve the
40 following goals:
41 (i) improve the quantity and quality of civic information in New York
42 communities;
43 (ii) give residents enhanced access to useful government data and
44 public information through innovative applications, platforms, and tech-
45 nologies;
46 (iii) train students, professionals, and community members in the
47 practice of community storytelling, journalism, and media production;
48 (iv) become sustainable without government support while offering
49 substantial civic information;
50 (v) better meet the information needs of low-income communities and
51 racial and ethnic communities that have been underserved by the media;
52 and
53 (vi) invest in research and practices that can help media outlets
54 become more closely connected to their audiences and more sustainable
55 without government support.
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1 § 8. Grant agreement. A grant issued by the commission shall be in the
2 form of a grant agreement. A grant agreement shall include a provision
3 establishing a set of metrics for assessing the goals contained in the
4 agreement to ensure evaluation of a grantee project on how well those
5 metrics are being met and any other relevant accountability measures.
6 The set of metrics shall be established by the board in conjunction with
7 the executive director and program officers. The agreement shall include
8 the expectations stated between the commission and the grantee, which
9 shall include, but not be limited to, a statement that:
10 (a) the grantee shall be independent from the influence of the state,
11 a member university, and any other grantor or contributor of funds or
12 outside source; and
13 (b) any grantor or other contributor of funds to the grantee shall
14 acknowledge in writing the grantor's or contributor's understanding that
15 the grant or donation does not entitle the grantor or contributor to
16 dictate or influence the content of any work the grantee produces or may
17 produce.
18 § 9. Annual report to the governor, the temporary president of the
19 senate, and the speaker of the assembly; public hearings. (a) The
20 commission shall annually report to the governor and to the temporary
21 president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, on the activ-
22 ities of the commission and make the report available on the commis-
23 sion's website. Such report shall include, but not be limited to:
24 (i) a list of all grant applicants and approved grant applicants;
25 (ii) the grant amounts of approved grant applicants;
26 (iii) the amount of matching funds and types of in-kind contributions
27 provided to approved grant applicants; and
28 (iv) a status report on the activities funded by an approved grant
29 applicant.
30 (b) The commission shall make available on its website its grant-mak-
31 ing criteria and other relevant documents.
32 (c) The board, in conjunction with the executive director and program
33 officers, shall hold one public hearing annually in the northern,
34 central, and southern regions of the state. The public hearings shall
35 provide a forum for the board to report on how the public funds that the
36 commission receives are spent and to gather public input on what the
37 commission's mission should be and whether the commission is meeting its
38 mission. Public input shall be used to assess whether the commission's
39 grant-making metrics and process for issuing grants needs to be changed.
40 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.
