N.Y. Legislative Law § 83-m: Legislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment

* § 83-m. Legislative task force on demographic research and

reapportionment. 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that: (a)

there is a need for intensive and thorough legislative study, research

and inquiry into the techniques and methodology to be used by the bureau

of the census of the United States commerce department in carrying out

the decennial federal census; (b) a technical plan will be needed to

meet the requirements of a legislative timetable for a reapportionment

of the senate and assembly districts and the congressional districts of

the state based on such census; and (c) the task force herein continued

is necessary to assist the legislature in the performance of its

responsibilities and in the conduct of legislative research projects

relating thereto.

2. The legislative task force on demographic research and

reapportionment is hereby continued, consisting of six members of whom

two shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, two by

the speaker of the assembly and one each by the minority leader of the

senate and the minority leader of the assembly. The appointments shall

be of members of the respective houses of the legislature, except that

one member appointed by the temporary president of the senate and one

member appointed by the speaker of the assembly shall not be members of

the legislature. A member of the senate appointed to the task force by

the temporary president of the senate and a member of the assembly

appointed to the task force by the speaker of the assembly shall be

designated by each to serve as the co-chairmen of the task force. Each

member of the task force who is not a member of the legislature shall be

entitled to receive actual and necessary expenses incurred in the

discharge of his duties and shall be entitled to compensation as

determined by the co-chairmen within the appropriations available

therefor, except that such member, who is serving in such capacity in a

transient, occasional and incidental manner, shall not be entitled to

receive more than the actual and necessary expenses incurred in the

discharge of his duties.

3. The task force shall engage in such research studies and other

activities as its co-chairmen may deem necessary or appropriate in the

preparation and formulation of a reapportionment plan for the next

ensuing reapportionment of senate and assembly districts and

congressional districts of the state and in the utilization of census

and other demographic and statistical data for policy analysis, program

development and program evaluation purposes for the legislature.

4. The co-chairmen of the task force may employ such personnel,

experts and consultants as may be necessary for the performance of its

work and shall fix their compensation within the amounts appropriated

therefor.

5. The primary function of the task force shall be to compile and

analyze data, conduct research for and make reports and recommendations

to the legislature, legislative commissions and other legislative task

forces.

6. The task force, with the approval of its co-chairmen and subject to

guidelines submitted by the co-chairmen and approved by the temporary

president of the senate and speaker of the assembly, may sell surveys,

data, copies of tabulations and other special statistical compilations

and materials to departments, agencies and other entities of federal,

state or local government, of foreign countries, and to public benefit

corporations, or other public, not-for-profit and private persons and

agencies, upon payment of fees at least sufficient to pay the actual or

estimated cost of such projects. In furtherance of such sale, the task

force, with the approval of its co-chairmen, may execute contracts for

such purpose. Any contract executed heretofore by the task force or the

advisory task force on reapportionment, without express statutory

authorization, of a nature similar in import as the contract for sale

herein authorized is hereby validated, ratified and confirmed as an

exercise of the inherent power of such task force or such advisory task

force to execute such contract. The co-chairmen shall take such action

as shall be necessary to assure that any survey, data, tabulation,

special statistical compilation or material made available for sale

shall not identify the name of any corporation, company, association,

firm, partnership, proprietorship, society, joint stock company,

individual, or other organization or entity.

7. Moneys heretofore or hereafter received by or on behalf of the

legislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment from

the sale of surveys, data, copies of tabulations and other special

statistical compilations and materials available to such task force

shall be deposited to the credit of the legislative computer services

fund established by section ninety-seven-uu of the state finance law.

The moneys hereby credited to such fund may be made available for the

legislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment and

shall, when made available, be payable out of the state treasury on the

audit and warrant of the comptroller in the manner provided by section

ninety-seven-uu of the state finance law.

8. The co-chairmen of the task force are hereby authorized and

empowered to make and sign any agreements in the name and on behalf of

the task force and to do and perform any acts that may be necessary,

desirable or proper to carry out the powers, purposes and objectives of

the task force and the provisions thereof.

9. The task force, with the approval of its co-chairmen, may complete

any contract executed and conduct any business undertaken or commenced

by the legislature or the advisory task force on reapportionment

pertaining to or connected with the reapportionment and readjustment or

alteration of senate and assembly and congressional districts prior to

the enactment of these provisions into law, and the same shall be

completed and conducted in the same manner and under the same terms and

conditions and with the same effect as if completed and conducted by the

legislature or such advisory task force.

10. The task force may hold public and private hearings and otherwise

have all of the powers of a legislative committee under this chapter.

11. The co-chairmen of the task force may request and receive from any

court, department, division, board, bureau, commission or agency of the

state or any political subdivision thereof such assistance and data as

will enable the task force to properly carry out its powers and duties

hereunder.

12. Employees of the task force shall be considered to be employees of

the legislature for all purposes.

13. (a) The task force shall specify the form in which the department

of corrections and community supervision shall provide such information

required to be reported to the task force pursuant to subdivision eight

of section seventy-one of the correction law.

(b) Upon receipt of such information for each incarcerated person

subject to the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and

community supervision, the task force shall determine the census block

corresponding to the street address of each such person's residential

address prior to incarceration (if any), and the census block

corresponding to the street address of the correctional facility in

which such person was held subject to the jurisdiction of such

department. Until such time as the United States bureau of the census

shall implement a policy of reporting each such incarcerated person at

such person's residential address prior to incarceration, the task force

shall use such data to develop a database in which all incarcerated

persons shall be, where possible, allocated for redistricting purposes,

such that each geographic unit reflects incarcerated populations at

their respective residential addresses prior to incarceration rather

than at the addresses of such correctional facilities. For all

incarcerated persons whose residential address prior to incarceration

was outside of the state, or for whom the task force cannot identify

their prior residential address, and for all persons confined in a

federal correctional facility on census day, the task force shall

consider those persons to have been counted at an address unknown and

persons at such unknown address shall not be included in such data set

created pursuant to this paragraph. The task force shall develop and

maintain such amended population data set and shall make such amended

data set available to local governments, as defined in subdivision eight

of section two of the municipal home rule law, and for the drawing of

assembly and senate districts. The assembly and senate districts shall

be drawn using such amended population data set.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information

required to be provided pursuant to subdivision eight of section

seventy-one of the correction law shall be treated as confidential and

shall not be disclosed by the task force except as aggregated by census

block for purpose specified in this subdivision.

* NB Repealed June 30, 2027