Relates to designating every government entity which issues licenses to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms as participating agencies for voter registration form distribution and assistance.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
687
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to designating every
government entity which issues licenses to carry, possess, repair and
dispose of firearms as participating agencies for voter registration
form distribution and assistance
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
20 and] for people with developmental disabilities, commission for the
21 blind, office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the office of
22 the advocate for the disabled and all offices which administer programs
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02402-01-9
S. 687 2
1 established or funded by such agencies. Additional [state] participating
2 agencies designated as voter registration offices are the department of
3 state [and], the [division] district offices of the workers' compen-
4 sation board and every court and law enforcement agency when such enti-
5 ties are issuing licenses to carry, possess, repair or dispose of
6 firearms. Such agencies shall be required to offer voter registration
7 forms to persons upon initial application for services, for partic-
8 ipation in activities or for use of facilities, and upon renewal or
9 recertification for services and upon change of address relating to such
10 services, participation in activities or use of facilities of the
11 agency. Such agencies shall also be responsible for providing assistance
12 to applicants in completing voter registration forms, receiving and
13 transmitting the completed application form from all applicants who wish
14 to have such form transmitted to the appropriate board of elections. The
15 state board of elections shall, together with representatives of the
16 United States department of defense, develop and implement procedures
17 for including recruitment offices of the armed forces of the United
18 States as voter registration offices when such offices are so designated
19 by federal law. The state board of elections shall also make request of
20 the United States [Immigration and Naturalization Service] Citizenship
21 and Immigration Services to include applications for registration by
22 mail with any materials which are given to new citizens. All insti-
23 tutions of the state university of New York and the city university of
24 New York, shall, at the beginning of the school year, and again in Janu-
25 ary of a year in which the president of the United States is to be
26 elected, provide an application for voter registration to each student
27 in each such institution. The state board of elections may, by regu-
28 lation, grant a waiver from any or all of the requirements of this
29 section to any office or program of an agency, if it determines that it
30 is not feasible for such office or program to administer such require-
31 ment.
32 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day
33 after it shall have become a law, provided however, that effective imme-
34 diately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regu-
35 lations necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
36 date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before
37 such effective date.
