N.Y. Municipal Home Rule § 20: Procedure for adoption of local laws by legislative body

§ 20. Procedure for adoption of local laws by legislative body. 1. No

local law shall be passed except by at least the majority affirmative

vote of the total voting power of the legislative body. On the final

passage of a local law the question shall be taken by ayes and noes, and

the names of the members present and their votes shall be entered in the

record, journal or minutes of proceedings.

2. The style of local law shall be "Be it enacted by the (naming the

legislative body) of the (name of local government) as follows:"

3. Every such local law shall embrace only one subject. The title

shall briefly refer to the subject matter. For purposes of this chapter,

a local law relating to codification or recodification of ordinances or

local laws into a municipal code shall be deemed to embrace only one

subject. As used herein codification or recodification shall include

amendments, deletions, repeals, alterations or new provisions in the

municipal code; provided, however, that the notice of public hearing

required by this section shall briefly describe the codification or

recodification.

4. A proposed local law may be introduced only by a member of the

legislative body at a meeting of such body or as may be otherwise

prescribed by the rules of procedure adopted by the legislative body. No

such local law shall be passed until it shall have been in its final

form and either (a) upon the desks or tables of the members at least

seven calendar days, exclusive of Sunday, prior to its final passage, or

(b) mailed to each of them in postpaid properly addressed and securely

closed envelopes or wrappers in a post box or post office of the United

States post office department within the local government at least ten

calendar days, exclusive of Sunday, prior to its final passage, or (c)

e-mailed to the e-mail in-box of each of them in the Portable Document

Format (PDF) at least ten calendar days, exclusive of Sunday, prior to

its final passage, provided that (i) the local government has documented

that each member of the legislative body has an e-mail address, (ii) the

local government has published such e-mail address on the bulletin board

of the local government clerk, and (iii) the legislative body has

unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing such electronic delivery;

unless the elective or appointive chief executive officer, if there be

one, or otherwise the chairman of the board of supervisors, in the case

of a county, the mayor in the case of a city or village or the

supervisor in the case of a town shall have certified as to the

necessity for its immediate passage and such local law be passed by the

affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total voting power of the

legislative body.

For purposes of this subdivision, a proposed local law shall be deemed

to be upon the desks or tables of the members if: it is set forth in a

legible electronic format by electronic means, and it is available for

review in such format at the desks of the members. For purposes of this

subdivision "electronic means" means any method of transmission of

information between computers or other machines designed for the purpose

of sending and receiving such transmissions and which: allows the

recipient to reproduce the information transmitted in a tangible medium

of expression; and does not permit additions, deletions or other changes

to be made without leaving an adequate record thereof.

5. In the case of a local government which does not have an elective

chief executive officer as defined by subdivision four of section two of

this chapter, no local law shall be passed by the legislative body until

a public hearing thereon has been had before such body and in every

other local government no such local law shall be approved by the

elective chief executive officer until a public hearing thereon has been

had before him. Such a public hearing held before the legislative body

or before the chief executive officer, as the case may be, pursuant to

this subdivision shall be on such public notice of at least three days

as has been or hereafter may be prescribed by a local law on which a

hearing shall have been held as prescribed by this section upon five

days' notice or, in the event such a local law prescribing the length of

notice is not adopted, upon five days' notice. Where the public hearing

is before such officer, such notice shall be given by him within ten

days after the local law shall have been presented to him and the

hearing shall be held within twenty days after such presentation.