2023 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, 2025