NY Legis L § 83-M (2021)
2021 New York Laws LEG - Legislative Article 5-A - Legislative Commissions 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, 2022