Empowers the commissioner of education to declare a disaster has substantially impacted a school board or school budget election and to allow school boards to set an additional day for voting if less than eight percent of registered voters cast ballots as a direct consequence of a disaster; requires the school board for each affected district to set a date for an additional day for voting.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7233--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 18, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- recommitted
to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to empowering the commis-
sioner of education to declare a disaster has substantially impacted a
school board or school budget election and to allow school boards to
set an additional day for voting
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 2022-a
2 to read as follows:
3 § 2022-a. Disaster; additional day for voting. 1. Upon request of a
4 school district, or upon the determination of the commissioner, the
5 commissioner may provide for an additional day of voting for any school
6 board or school budget election if they determine that less than eight
7 percent of registered voters cast ballots as a direct consequence of a
8 disaster. For the purposes of this section, "disaster" shall include
9 events such as a fire, earthquake, tornado, explosion, power failure,
10 act of sabotage, enemy attack or other event that results in substantial
11 damage to property or the possible or actual loss of life. The proce-
12 dures applicable to a school election shall thereafter be followed as
13 far as applicable and practicable.
14 2. Such additional day of voting shall be held between seven and four-
15 teen days after the original election date, provided that when the
16 commissioner determines it would not be feasible to hold the additional
17 day of voting within fourteen days, they may authorize the district to
18 schedule such additional day of voting as soon as may be feasible;
19 provided, further, that where a disaster occurs on the date of a resub-
20 mission of the budget to voters pursuant to either section two thousand
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10706-04-4
S. 7233--A 2
1 twenty-three-a or two thousand seven of this part, the district shall
2 hold an additional day of voting no sooner than five days after the
3 resubmission vote, but no later than the last day of the month of June.
4 The commissioner shall notify the board of education and county board of
5 elections of such date.
6 3. Official ballots shall be provided at public expense, pursuant to
7 subdivision eighteen of section thirty-six hundred forty-one of this
8 chapter, at each polling place for such additional day of voting. In any
9 election district in which voting machines were used upon the original
10 day of voting, they shall be used for the additional day for voting. The
11 original seal on such machines shall not be removed nor shall the
12 machines be unlocked until the opening of the polls on the additional
13 day for voting and the board of elections shall provide an additional
14 seal to be used as soon as the polls are closed on such day. County
15 boards of elections which have provided voting machines to school
16 districts for original days of voting shall continue to provide such
17 voting machines until the additional day of voting is complete.
18 4. Only those persons qualified to vote upon the original date of the
19 school district election who did not vote on such date shall be entitled
20 to vote on the additional day for voting. Voting on the additional day
21 provided for in this section shall be accomplished solely by physically
22 appearing at the polling place, and nothing contained in this section
23 shall be construed to extend the time set by law for casting or canvass-
24 ing an absentee, military, or special ballot; provided, however, that
25 nothing contained herein shall be deemed to invalidate any absentee,
26 military, or special ballot duly received on the original date of the
27 general election.
28 § 2. Section 3641 of the education law is amended by adding a new
29 subdivision 18 to read as follows:
30 18. School election disaster fund. a. For the purpose of this subdivi-
31 sion: (1) The term "eligible school district" shall mean a common, union
32 free, central, central high school, or city school district that has
33 conducted an additional day of voting following a disaster determination
34 by the commissioner pursuant to section two thousand twenty-two-a of
35 this chapter.
36 (2) The term "all actual costs associated with administering an addi-
37 tional day of elections" shall mean all costs borne by eligible
38 districts directly associated with administering an additional day of
39 voting, including: (i) wages for poll workers and other staff associated
40 with the additional day of voting, (ii) postage, printing, and mailing
41 costs to provide notice of the date of the additional election day to
42 eligible voters, (iii) costs of publishing notice in one or more newspa-
43 pers of the date of the additional election day, (iv) costs of trans-
44 porting voters to polling locations on the additional day of voting, (v)
45 costs associated with maintaining a polling place for the additional
46 time, (vi) costs for addressing damage to polling locations caused by
47 the disaster, (vii) rental and other costs due to the additional time of
48 maintaining the voting machine, (viii) necessary purchase of voting
49 machines due to damage done to other voting machines as a result of the
50 disaster, (ix) printing and furnishing of ballots for the additional day
51 of voting, (x) all other costs as the commissioner shall deem appropri-
52 ate.
53 b. Within the amount appropriated for such purpose, subject to a
54 request for funds developed by the commissioner and approved by the
55 director of the budget, the commissioner shall disburse monies to eligi-
56 ble school districts from the school election disaster fund pursuant to
S. 7233--A 3
1 this subdivision, beginning in the two thousand twenty-four--two thou-
2 sand twenty-five school year, to reimburse eligible school districts for
3 all actual costs associated with administering an additional day of
4 elections.
5 (1) For a three-month period following their day of additional voting,
6 eligible school districts may submit an application to the commissioner,
7 in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, to request funding
8 pursuant to this subdivision. The commissioner may determine that, as
9 the direct consequence of the disaster for which the commissioner issued
10 a disaster determination pursuant to section two thousand twenty-two-a
11 of this chapter, that an eligible school district's ability to make a
12 filing with respect to this subdivision is substantially impaired. Upon
13 making such a finding, the commissioner shall extend for a reasonable
14 time the period for making such filing.
15 (2) The commissioner shall make available such application on or
16 before May fifteenth of the preceding school year.
17 (3) Monies from the school election disaster fund shall be allocated
18 upon approval of applications by the commissioner.
19 (4) Applications submitted by eligible school districts shall include
20 information required by the commissioner, including a showing of all
21 actual costs associated with administering an additional day of
22 elections.
23 (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
24 disbursements pursuant to this subdivision shall be in addition to, and
25 in no way shall replace, reduce, or alter any other funds, aid, grants,
26 or other monies received by eligible school districts from the state,
27 including for the purposes of foundation aid.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
