2023 New York Laws › PBO - Public Officers › Article 2 - Appointment and Qualification of Public Officers › 11 - Official Undertakings.

§ 11. Official  undertakings.  1.  Every  official  undertaking,  when
required by or in pursuance of law to be hereafter executed or filed  by
any  officer,  shall  be to the effect that he will faithfully discharge
the duties of his office and promptly  account  for  and  pay  over  all
moneys  or  property received by him as such officer, in accordance with
law, or in default thereof, that the parties executing such  undertaking
will  pay  all  damages, costs and expenses resulting from such default,
not exceeding  a  sum,  if  any,  specified  in  such  undertaking.  The
undertaking of a state officer or clerk or employee shall be approved by
the  attorney-general  as to its form and manner of execution and by the
comptroller as to the sufficiency of the sureties and be  filed  in  the
comptroller's  office.  The undertaking of a municipal officer shall, if
not otherwise provided by law, be  approved  as  to  its  form  and  the
sufficiency  of  the  sureties  by the chief executive officer or by the
governing body of the municipality and be filed with the clerk  thereof.
The  approval  by  such  governing body may be a resolution, a certified
copy of which shall be attached to the undertaking. The  undertaking  of
such county officer shall, if not otherwise provided by law, be approved
as  to  its form and the sufficiency of the sureties by the clerk of the
county, and filed in his office.  The  undertaking  of  a  town  officer
shall,  if not otherwise provided by law, be approved as to its form and
the sufficiency of the sureties by the clerk of the county and filed  in
his  office.  The  sum specified in an official undertaking shall be the
sum for which such undertaking shall be required by or in  pursuance  of
law  is given. If no sum, or a different sum from that required by or in
pursuance of law, be specified in the undertaking, it shall be deemed to
be an undertaking for the amount so required. If no sum be  required  by
or  in  pursuance  of  law  to  be  so  specified,  the officer or board
authorized to approve the undertaking shall fix the sum to be  specified
therein.   Every   official  undertaking  shall  be  executed  and  duly
acknowledged by at least two sureties, each of whom  shall  add  thereto
his  affidavit  that he is a freeholder or householder within the state,
stating his occupation and  residence  and  the  street  number  of  his
residence  and  place  of  business  if in a city, and a sum which he is
worth over and above his just debts and liabilities and property  exempt
from  execution.  The aggregate of the sums so stated in such affidavits
must be at least double the amount specified in the undertaking. If  the
surety  on an official undertaking of a state or local officer, clerk or
employee of the state or political subdivision thereof or of a municipal
corporation be a fidelity or surety corporation, the reasonable  expense
of procuring such surety, not exceeding one percentum per annum upon the
sum  for  which such undertaking shall be required by or in pursuance of
law to be given, shall be  a  charge  against  the  state  or  political
subdivision or municipal corporation respectively in and for which he is
elected  or  appointed, except that the expense of procuring such surety
as aforesaid, on an  official  undertaking  of  any  officer,  clerk  or
employee  in  any  city  department  of  the city of New York, or of any
office, board or body of said city, or of a  borough  or  county  within
said  city,  including  officers,  clerks  and  employees of every court
within said city, shall not be a charge upon said city or  upon  any  of
the  counties  contained within said city, unless the comptroller of the
said city, shall first have approved the  necessity  of  requiring  such
official  undertaking  to  be given, and shall have approved of or fixed
the amount of any such official undertaking; but  this  exception  shall
not apply to an official undertaking specifically required by statute to
be  given, and the amount of which is specifically fixed by statute. The
failure to execute an official undertaking in the form or by the  number
of  sureties  required by or in pursuance of law, or of a surety thereto

to make an affidavit required by or in pursuance of law, or in the  form
so  required,  or  the omission from such an undertaking of the approval
required by or in pursuance of law, shall not affect  the  liability  of
the sureties therein.
2.  Notwithstanding  the  foregoing  provisions of this section or any
other law, general, special or local, requiring an official  undertaking
to  be conditioned substantially to the effect that an officer, clerk or
employee will faithfully discharge his duties and promptly  account  for
and  pay  over  all  moneys  or property received by him in his official
capacity, it shall be permissible in lieu thereof, with the consent  and
approval  of  the  officer  or  governing body authorized to require the
undertaking, for any department or agency of the state or any  municipal
corporation  or  district corporation or department or agency thereof to
procure a blanket undertaking from any duly authorized corporate  surety
covering  officers,  clerks  and employees. Any such blanket undertaking
entered into on or after January first, nineteen  hundred  seventy-eight
shall indemnify against losses:
(a)  through the failure of the officers, clerks and employees covered
thereunder faithfully to perform their duties or to account properly for
all moneys  or  property  received  by  virtue  of  their  positions  or
employment, and
(b)  through  fraudulent  or dishonest acts committed by the officers,
clerks and employees covered thereunder.
Notwithstanding any provisions of the civil practice law and rules any
such blanket undertaking entered into prior to January  first,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-three  may  contain  a provision that no suit, action or
proceeding of any kind to recover on account of loss under such  blanket
undertaking  shall  be  brought after the expiration of three years from
the cancellation of such blanket undertaking as an  entirety.  Any  such
blanket  undertaking  shall  be  approved  as  to  its  form,  manner of
execution and sufficiency of the surety and filed  and  the  expense  of
procuring such surety paid in the same manner as provided in subdivision
one  of this section. The failure to execute such blanket undertaking in
the form required by law, or the omission of the  approval  required  by
law, shall not affect the liability of the surety thereon.
3.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the
procuring of a blanket undertaking to cover the liability  of  employees
handling  funds collected pursuant to the provisions of section fifty of
the vehicle and traffic law.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or  any  other  law,
general  or  special,  requiring  an  official undertaking or bond to be
conditioned substantially to the effect that a state officer,  clerk  or
employee  will  faithfully discharge his duties and promptly account for
and pay over all moneys or property received  by  him  in  his  official
capacity,  the comptroller may, in his discretion, waive the requirement
of procuring such official undertaking  or  bond,  and  the  expense  of
procuring an official undertaking or bond shall not be a charge upon the
state  unless the comptroller shall first have approved the necessity of
requiring such official undertaking or bond.