N.Y. ACA Law § 57.52 — New York Code / Act ACA / Title U / Article 57-B / Section 57.52
Amistad commission; established
Status: in_force

§ 57.52. Amistad commission; established. 1. The Amistad commission\n(commission), so named in honor of the group of enslaved Africans led by\nJoseph Cinque who, while being transported in eighteen hundred\nthirty-nine on a vessel named the Amistad, gained their freedom after\noverthrowing the crew and eventually having their case successfully\nargued before the United States Supreme Court, is hereby created and\nestablished. The commission shall consist of nineteen members, including\nthe commissioner of education or their designee, the secretary of state\nor their designee, and the chancellor of the state university of New\nYork or their designee, serving ex officio, and sixteen public members.\nPublic members shall be appointed as follows: four public members, no\nmore than two of whom shall be of the same political party, shall be\nappointed by the temporary president of the senate; four public members,\nno more than two of whom shall be of the same political party, shall be\nappointed by the speaker of the assembly; and eight public members, no\nmore than four of whom shall be of the same political party, shall be\nappointed by the governor. The appointed members shall be chosen with\ndue regard to broad ethnic diversity and shall have a demonstrated\neducational background in the history of the African slave trade and\nslavery in America or the contributions of African-Americans to our\nsociety. The public members shall be residents of the state, chosen with\ndue regard to broad geographic representation and ethnic diversity, who\nhave an interest in the history of the African slave trade and slavery\nin America and the contributions of African-Americans to our society.\n  1-a. Any business or other matter undertaken or commenced by the\ndepartment of state or the secretary of state pertaining to or connected\nwith the functions, powers, obligations and duties of the commission\nestablished pursuant to subdivision one of this section are hereby\ntransferred and assigned to the commissioner of education or the\ndepartment of education and pending on the effective date of this\nsubdivision, may be conducted and completed by such commissioner or such\ndepartment in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions\nand with the same effect as if conducted and completed by the department\nof state or the secretary of state.\n  2. Each public member of the commission shall serve for a term of\nthree years, except that of the initial members so appointed: one member\nappointed by the temporary president of the senate, one member appointed\nby the speaker of the assembly, and two members appointed by the\ngovernor shall serve for terms of one year; one member appointed by the\ntemporary president of the senate, one member appointed by the speaker\nof the assembly, and three members appointed by the governor shall serve\nfor terms of two years; and two members appointed by the temporary\npresident of the senate, two members appointed by the speaker of the\nassembly, and three members appointed by the governor shall serve for\nterms of three years. Public members shall be eligible for\nreappointment. They shall serve until their successors are appointed and\nqualified, and the term of the successor of any incumbent shall be\ncalculated from the expiration of the term of that incumbent. A vacancy\noccurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled within\nforty-five days in the same manner as the original appointment but for\nthe unexpired term only. If such vacancy is not filled within forty five\ndays, the vacancy shall be filled within thirty days by the commissioner\nof education but for the unexpired term only.\n  3. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but\nshall be entitled to reimbursement for all necessary expenses incurred\nin the performance of their duties.\n  4. The commissioner of education, or their designee, shall serve as\nthe chair and the secretary of state, or their designee, shall serve as\nthe vice-chair of the commission. The presence of a majority of the\nauthorized membership of the commission shall be required for the\nconduct of official business.\n  5. The department of education shall provide technical assistance and\ndata to the commission as may be necessary for the commission to carry\nout its responsibilities pursuant to this article. The commissioner of\neducation or their designee shall be responsible for hiring the staff of\nthe commission and shall serve as the liaison between the commission and\nthe department of education. The commissioner of education may designate\nemployees of the department of education to provide support and services\nto the commission as are reasonably necessary.\n