New York State Assembly

Section 1. Contents.

1. Title.
1. The title of every bill shall briefly state the subject thereof.
2. The title of every bill amending or repealing any provision of a consolidated law shall refer to such law.
3. The title of every bill amending or repealing any unconsolidated law shall refer to such law by its short title, if it have one; if it have no short title, the title of such bill shall state the chapter number, year of enactment and the complete title of the original bill or a short summary of the provisions to which the law relates.
4. If such bill is amending or repealing a proposed provision of law contained in a bill that has not been enacted into law, the title shall state the number of the bill containing the proposed provision of law to be amended or repealed, with suffix, if there be one, and the subject of the provisions to which the amendatory bill relates.
2. Bill sections.
1. In any bill, each section proposing an amendment to or the repeal of: (i) any consolidated law, or any part thereof; or (ii) the Family Court Act, the Court of Claims Act, the Uniform District Court Act, the Uniform Justice Court Act, the Uniform City Court Act, the New York City Charter, the Administrative Code of the City of New York, the New York City Civil Court Act, the New York City Criminal Court Act, or the Charter of the City of Buffalo, or any part thereof shall refer to such law, act, charter or code.
2. In any bill, each section proposing an amendment to or the repeal of an unconsolidated law having a short title, or any part thereof, shall refer to such law by its chapter number and year of enactment and its short title. If an unconsolidated law shall have no short title, each section shall state the chapter number and year of enactment of such law and a short summary of the provisions to which the law relates or the complete title of the original bill.
3. If such section amends or repeals a proposed provision of law contained in a bill that has not been enacted into law, each section shall state the number of the bill containing such proposed provisions of law to be amended or repealed, with suffix, if there be one.
4. If the portion of the law proposed to be amended has been added, renumbered or amended since the original enactment or last general revision of the law of which it is a part, such section shall also state the chapter number and year of the last act adding, renumbering or amending the same, as the case may be.
3. Body.
1. Every bill amending, adding to or repealing existing law, upon its introduction, and if reprinted, must, in the body of the bill have:
1. All new matter to be added to or inserted in existing law underscored;
2. All matter to be eliminated by amendment from existing law printed in its proper place in the bill enclosed in black-faced brackets;
3. The word "repealed," when any existing law or part thereof is proposed to be repealed, printed in boldface type; and
4. Whenever it is proposed to amend only a part of a word in existing law, the whole of such word shall be printed in its proper place enclosed in black-faced brackets and the whole word as proposed shall be underscored.
2. Whenever a bill is amended by eliminating proposed new matter, such new matter shall be omitted in the reprint of the bill.
4. Explanatory note.
   
   There shall be appended at the end of every bill introduced in the Assembly, which proposes the repeal or extension of any existing law, or part thereof, merely by reference thereto, without setting forth the text thereof, an explanatory note which shall briefly and concisely state the subject matter of the law, or part thereof, proposed to be repealed or extended, unless such subject matter is stated in the title of such bill.
5. Nonconforming bills.
   
   Whenever it shall be called to the attention of the Speaker that any bill introduced is not drawn or printed in accordance with the provisions of this Rule, the Speaker may, in his or her discretion, direct the Index Clerk to cause such bill to be immediately amended and reprinted so as to comply therewith, and when reprinted said bill shall be restored to the place it held when such direction was given.
6. Introducer's memorandum.
   
   There shall be appended to every bill introduced in the Assembly, an introducer's memorandum setting forth the purpose of the bill, a summary of its provisions, a statement of its fiscal impact on the state and its localities, a statement of its impact on the regulation of businesses and individuals and a statement as to whether the bill imposes or changes any fine, term of imprisonment, forfeiture of rights or other penal sanction, together with the nature of such imposition or change. Whenever a bill is amended by its sponsor, it shall be the duty of the sponsor to file an amended memorandum setting forth the same material as required in the original memorandum, and describing the differences between the original and amended versions. In addition, whenever a bill is reported by a committee as amended, it shall be the duty of the committee to submit an amended memorandum. Such memorandum shall be submitted in a written or electronic format to be prescribed by the Speaker.

§ 2. Introduction.

1. Every bill to be introduced in the House shall be in a draft form prescribed by the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission and accompanied by the introducer's memorandum. Such bill draft shall be presented by the introducer to the Index Clerk and delivered by the Index Clerk to the Office of Assembly Revision for the purposes set forth in subdivision a of section eight of this Rule. Thereafter, such bill shall be referred to a standing committee, other than the Committee on Rules, by the Speaker, assigned a number, printed and placed on the desks of the members consistent with section nine of this Rule. The Index Clerk shall, on the day of its introduction, cause such bill to be transmitted to the printer. A copy of each bill shall be available to the public.
2. On or after November fifteenth of a calendar year, a member and member-elect may submit a bill, in accordance with subdivision a of this section, for introduction at the commencement of the following legislative session. Such prefiled bill shall be assigned a number and referred to a committee, but shall not be deemed introduced until the commencement of such legislative session.
3. Each time a bill is amended and reprinted, a letter of the alphabet, starting with "A", shall be added to its number.
4. All bills, whether introduced in the House or communicated by message from the Senate, or by the Governor pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution, shall be deemed to have had their first reading unless otherwise ordered by the House and shall be referred to a standing committee, to consider and report thereon. At any time the Speaker may, with the consent of the House, change the reference of any bill. Every message from the Senate communicating an amendment to an Assembly bill shall, except with unanimous consent for immediate passage, be referred to the committee which reported the bill with power to report at any time.
5. No bill shall be introduced in the House except in one of the following modes:
1. by a member;
2. by a report of a standing committee;
3. by order of the House;
4. by message from the Senate; and
5. by the Governor under Article VII of the Constitution.
1. Any Assembly bill introduced in the regular legislative session of the first year of the term of the Assembly shall be deemed to be reintroduced for the second year of such term, provided such bill was:
1. not reported from a standing committee;
2. reported and referred;
3. recommitted to a standing committee; or
4. referred back to a standing committee by the Committee on Rules immediately prior to adjournment sine die.
2. Any Assembly bill introduced in the first year of the term of the Assembly, shall be deemed to be reintroduced for the second year of such term and referred to the committee where the bill was last referred, except that: (i) any bill that was last referred to the Committee on Rules shall be referred to the committee that reported the bill to the Committee on Rules; (ii) any bill that was on order of third reading shall be ordered to the order of third reading; (iii) any bill that was passed by the Assembly and did not become law, was not vetoed, or was substituted by a Senate bill which did not become law or was not vetoed, shall be ordered to the order of third reading, and further provided that:
1. any such bill which in such first year required a fiscal note as required by section 50 of the Legislative Law or home rule message for passage shall be referred to the committee to which such bill was originally referred;
2. upon request of the introducer or the chairperson of the committee to which such bill was originally referred, such bill shall be committed to the committee to which it was originally referred provided, however, such request may not be made later than the second Wednesday following the commencement of the second year of the term of the Assembly;
3. any such bill making an appropriation of money which was not referred to a committee pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph, shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means; and
4. upon the request of the chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means, any bill not referred to a committee pursuant to subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph, which in such first year was reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to section six of Rule IV shall be committed to the Committee on Ways and Means provided, however, such request may not be made later than the second Wednesday following the commencement of the second year of the term of the Assembly.
7. When a bill is submitted or proposed by the Governor by authority of Article VII of the Constitution, it shall become, for all legislative purposes, a legislative bill, and upon receipt thereof by the Assembly it shall be endorsed "Budget Bill" and be given a number by the Index Clerk, and shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and be printed. Bills submitted by the Governor, other than those submitted pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution, shall carry the designation "Introduced at the request of the Governor".
8. Whenever a member requests the preparation of legislation from the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission, the bill drafter assigned to prepare such legislation shall determine if a similar bill has already been introduced, and, if a similar bill has been introduced, the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission, on forms prescribed by the Commission, shall notify the member of such fact and inform him that subdivision b of section three of this Rule permits a member to become a multi-sponsor of a bill already printed by filing a request therefor with the Index Clerk. Notwithstanding that a similar bill has previously been introduced, a member shall have the right to have the legislation requested prepared by the Commission for introduction.
9. Whenever a bill requires a fiscal impact note pursuant to section 51 of the Legislative Law and Joint Rule I, or a home rule message pursuant to Article IX of the Constitution, such fiscal impact note or record of receipt of the home rule message shall be made available through the Assembly Public Information Office, the Assembly Internet site and the Legislative Retrieval System.

§ 3. Multi-sponsorship.

1. Any number of members of the Assembly may join in the multi-sponsorship of a bill. When a bill is first introduced and before it is printed, the names of all multi-sponsors shall appear on the printed bill upon the following conditions:
1. Multi-sponsors shall file a written or electronic request to act as such with the Index Clerk of the Assembly on forms provided. The request so filed shall indicate that the first name appearing on the bill shall be deemed the introducer and all others deemed multi-sponsors.
2. The introducer shall at all times retain exclusive control of the bill.
3. After a multi-sponsored bill has been printed, any multi-sponsor desiring to withdraw from such multi-sponsorship shall file a written request on forms provided, so that such member's name will be stricken as a multi-sponsor from the records of the Index Clerk. The printed bill, however, shall not be reprinted.
2. Members of the Assembly and members-elect may multi-sponsor bills that have been pre-filed and bills introduced after the opening of each legislative session upon the following conditions:
1. After a bill has been introduced and printed and before final passage any member or members may file with the Index Clerk, on forms provided, to become a multi-sponsor of such bill, which forms must be signed by the introducer and the multi-sponsor.
2. Such bill shall not be reprinted solely for the purpose of adding or deleting names of multi-sponsors.
3. The introducer shall at all times retain exclusive control of such bill.
4. Any member, having become a multi-sponsor of a bill, may withdraw from such by filing a written request with the Index Clerk, on forms provided, requesting such member's name be stricken as a multi-sponsor from such clerk's records.
5. Any member who has become a multi-sponsor of a bill in the manner set forth herein shall have the right to distribute such bill bearing the endorsement "multi-sponsored by" and insert his or her own name as multi-sponsor.

§ 4. Final day.

1. The final day for the unlimited introduction of bills, including those recommended by the state government, local governments, public authorities and other public corporations and all departments, agencies and other instrumentalities thereof shall be the Monday of the week four weeks before the scheduled end of the legislative session as established by the annual legislative calendar in the second year of the term of the Assembly. After such date in the second year, no bill shall be introduced except by the Committee on Rules, by message from the Senate or, with the consent of the Speaker, by members elected at a special election who take office on or after the first Tuesday in May.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, bills may be introduced at any time by unanimous consent of the House.

§ 5. Resolutions.

1. Original resolutions, concurrent or otherwise other than privileged resolutions may be introduced by a member under the proper order of business on or before the Monday of the week four weeks before the scheduled end of the legislative session as established by the annual legislative calendar in the second year of the term of the Assembly. After such date in the second year no such resolution shall be introduced except by the Committee on Rules or by message from the Senate or, with the consent of the Speaker, by members elected at a special election who take office on or after the last Tuesday in May. Such resolutions shall be in quadruplicate and bear the name of the introducer and shall be referred to a standing committee for consideration and report. No such resolution may be introduced unless copies thereof first shall have been furnished to the Speaker, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader. Before the House may vote on a resolution, copies of such resolution shall be placed on each member’s desk prior to such vote in written or electronic format.
2. The following resolutions and motions relating thereto shall be considered privileged and their presentation and consideration shall be in order under any order of business:
1. resolutions recalling a bill from the Senate;
2. resolutions returning a bill to the Senate;
3. resolutions relating to the disposition of matters immediately before the House;
4. resolutions relating to the business of the day including adjournment or recess;
5. resolutions relating to the impeachment of State or judicial officers;
6. resolutions relating to printing bills, documents or chapter slips;
7. resolutions relating to the reports of joint legislative committees; and
8. resolutions in memoriam or honorific in nature, provided, however, that such resolutions shall be placed on each member's desk in either written or electronic format prior to their consideration.
3. Messages from the Senate communicating a concurrent resolution shall, if objection is made to immediate consideration, be referred to the appropriate committee with power to report at any time.
4. Concurrent resolutions proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State and concurrent resolutions ratifying proposed amendments to the Constitution of the United States shall, for all legislative purposes, be deemed to be and treated as bills.
5. All resolutions calling for or leading to expenditures, except resolutions for printing extra copies of bills, documents and chapter slips, shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and all other resolutions shall be referred to the appropriate standing committee or to an assembly calendar, as the Speaker may designate.
6. All resolutions shall be adopted by a majority vote of the members present and voting, provided, however, concurrent resolutions proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State or ratifying amendments to the Constitution of the United States and resolutions calling for or leading to the expenditure of money shall be adopted by a vote of a majority of all the members elected to the Assembly.

§ 6. Amendments.

1. Amendments to a bill shall be made by the member proposing the amendment in the form prescribed by the Clerk of the Assembly and delivered to the Index Clerk.
2. A copy of each amendment offered by the sponsor of a bill shall be provided by Journal Operations to the chairperson and ranking minority member of any standing committee that previously reported such bill.
3. Prior to the commencement of debate on a bill to which an amendment is offered by a member other than the introducer, the Clerk of the Assembly shall make copies thereof and cause one copy to be placed on the desk of each member of the House. When there is more than one amendment to a bill and one of such amendments is adopted, any of the other amendments so offered shall, if so requested by the member offering same, be debated and voted upon immediately after such adoption, provided, however, that such other amendments are offered to those provisions of the bill not changed by the adopted amendment and are consistent with the provisions of the adopted amendment.
4. If a motion to amend prevails, the Clerk of the Assembly shall distribute copies of the bill with the amendment correctly marked thereon together with copies of the detailed description of the amendment to the appropriate Assembly offices for purposes of renumbering and printing the bill as amended.
5. No amendment shall be allowed to any bill which is not germane to the original object or purpose thereof.

§ 7. Reading of bills.

1. Every bill shall receive three separate readings, and on three different days, previous to its passage, except when ordered to a third reading pursuant to paragraph two of subdivision f of section two of this Rule, by unanimous consent or when made a special order, or when accompanied by a message of necessity pursuant to section 14 of Article III of the Constitution.
2. Bills placed on the order of second reading, as provided for in subdivision g of section six of Rule IV, shall be subject to debate before the motion to order them to a third reading is entertained. Onehalf hour shall be allowed for such debate, but no person shall speak more than fifteen minutes, except by consent of the House. The main question, however, if ordered, shall be on the advancement of the bill; but when amendments are pending the question shall first be taken upon such amendments in their inverse order.
3. All bills on the order of second reading shall be ordered to third reading unless otherwise ordered pursuant to subdivision b of this section or pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of section ten of Rule IV.
4. A bill shall be considered automatically advanced to third reading once it has been on the printed Calendar on the order of second reading for at least one legislative day on that order, except where made a special order by report of the Committee on Rules, in which case it may be considered on second and third reading on the same day.
5. In all cases where unanimous consent is asked for advancing a bill or entertaining a motion or resolution out of its order, it shall be the duty of the Speaker to proclaim such request and determine if such consent will be granted.
6. A bill appearing on the Calendar may be "starred" by or at the request of the introducer, whereupon all further action on such bill shall be suspended, although it retains its place on the Calendar. Other than for the purpose of amendment or recommittal, a star may not be removed from a bill until one day after the request therefor. A bill on any order of third reading which has been laid aside by or at the request of the introducer on three separate days shall be automatically starred.
7. Substitution of Bills. Where there is a Senate bill in a standing committee and the identical Assembly bill is on the order of second or any order of third reading, the Senate bill may be substituted for the Assembly bill upon a motion by, or on behalf of, the introducer and a vote of a majority of the members present and voting. The motion to substitute may also be made on an identical Assembly bill which has been passed, recalled, vote reconsidered and restored to third reading.

§ 8. Revision and engrossing.

1. The Office of Assembly Revision shall examine and correct all bills, for the purpose of avoiding repetitions, insuring accuracy in the text and references, and consistency with the language of the existing statutes. Any recommendation of the Office of Assembly Revision which requires further amendment of the bill shall be handled by the member introducing it or by the Majority or Minority Leader as a regular amendment to the bill.
2. All bills when ordered to a third reading except Senate bills which have not been amended in the House, or bills, which have been made a special order on second and third reading, shall be sent to the Index Clerk to be jacketed with the proper jurat for certification of final passage. Each such bill shall, after passage by both Houses, be engrossed, if so ordered by the Speaker, or stamped "Official Copy" in which case it shall be deemed to have been engrossed.

§ 9. Printing and placement on the desks. For the purposes of these Rules, any requirement for the copying, printing, reprinting or placement of bills on the desks of members may be satisfied with either bills printed on paper or bills in electronic format as described in section fourteen of Article III of the Constitution.

§ 10. Transmittal of bills to the Governor. All Assembly bills passed by the Assembly and sent to the Senate for action shall, upon passage and return by the Senate to the Assembly, be transmitted by the Index Clerk to the Governor within ten legislative days after receipt from the Senate, except that any bill returned for transmittal to the Assembly after the first of May and before the first of June shall be transmitted to the Governor within thirty days of such receipt, and any bill returned for transmittal to the Assembly on or after the first of June shall be transmitted to the Governor within forty-five days of such receipt.