§ 83-M — Legislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment

* § 83-m. Legislative task force on demographic research and\nreapportionment. 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that: (a)\nthere is a need for intensive and thorough legislative study, research\nand inquiry into the techniques and methodology to be used by the bureau\nof the census of the United States commerce department in carrying out\nthe decennial federal census; (b) a technical plan will be needed to\nmeet the requirements of a legislative timetable for a reapportionment\nof the senate and assembly districts and the congressional districts of\nthe state based on such census; and (c) the task force herein continued\nis necessary to assist the legislature in the performance of its\nresponsibilities and in the conduct of legislative research projects\nrelating thereto.\n 2. The legislative task force on demographic research and\nreapportionment is hereby continued, consisting of six members of whom\ntwo shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, two by\nthe speaker of the assembly and one each by the minority leader of the\nsenate and the minority leader of the assembly. The appointments shall\nbe of members of the respective houses of the legislature, except that\none member appointed by the temporary president of the senate and one\nmember appointed by the speaker of the assembly shall not be members of\nthe legislature. A member of the senate appointed to the task force by\nthe temporary president of the senate and a member of the assembly\nappointed to the task force by the speaker of the assembly shall be\ndesignated by each to serve as the co-chairmen of the task force. Each\nmember of the task force who is not a member of the legislature shall be\nentitled to receive actual and necessary expenses incurred in the\ndischarge of his duties and shall be entitled to compensation as\ndetermined by the co-chairmen within the appropriations available\ntherefor, except that such member, who is serving in such capacity in a\ntransient, occasional and incidental manner, shall not be entitled to\nreceive more than the actual and necessary expenses incurred in the\ndischarge of his duties.\n 3. The task force shall engage in such research studies and other\nactivities as its co-chairmen may deem necessary or appropriate in the\npreparation and formulation of a reapportionment plan for the next\nensuing reapportionment of senate and assembly districts and\ncongressional districts of the state and in the utilization of census\nand other demographic and statistical data for policy analysis, program\ndevelopment and program evaluation purposes for the legislature.\n 4. The co-chairmen of the task force may employ such personnel,\nexperts and consultants as may be necessary for the performance of its\nwork and shall fix their compensation within the amounts appropriated\ntherefor.\n 5. The primary function of the task force shall be to compile and\nanalyze data, conduct research for and make reports and recommendations\nto the legislature, legislative commissions and other legislative task\nforces.\n 6. The task force, with the approval of its co-chairmen and subject to\nguidelines submitted by the co-chairmen and approved by the temporary\npresident of the senate and speaker of the assembly, may sell surveys,\ndata, copies of tabulations and other special statistical compilations\nand materials to departments, agencies and other entities of federal,\nstate or local government, of foreign countries, and to public benefit\ncorporations, or other public, not-for-profit and private persons and\nagencies, upon payment of fees at least sufficient to pay the actual or\nestimated cost of such projects. In furtherance of such sale, the task\nforce, with the approval of its co-chairmen, may execute contracts for\nsuch purpose. Any contract executed heretofore by the task force or the\nadvisory task force on reapportionment, without express statutory\nauthorization, of a nature similar in import as the contract for sale\nherein authorized is hereby validated, ratified and confirmed as an\nexercise of the inherent power of such task force or such advisory task\nforce to execute such contract. The co-chairmen shall take such action\nas shall be necessary to assure that any survey, data, tabulation,\nspecial statistical compilation or material made available for sale\nshall not identify the name of any corporation, company, association,\nfirm, partnership, proprietorship, society, joint stock company,\nindividual, or other organization or entity.\n 7. Moneys heretofore or hereafter received by or on behalf of the\nlegislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment from\nthe sale of surveys, data, copies of tabulations and other special\nstatistical compilations and materials available to such task force\nshall be deposited to the credit of the legislative computer services\nfund established by section ninety-seven-uu of the state finance law.\nThe moneys hereby credited to such fund may be made available for the\nlegislative task force on demographic research and reapportionment and\nshall, when made available, be payable out of the state treasury on the\naudit and warrant of the comptroller in the manner provided by section\nninety-seven-uu of the state finance law.\n 8. The co-chairmen of the task force are hereby authorized and\nempowered to make and sign any agreements in the name and on behalf of\nthe task force and to do and perform any acts that may be necessary,\ndesirable or proper to carry out the powers, purposes and objectives of\nthe task force and the provisions thereof.\n 9. The task force, with the approval of its co-chairmen, may complete\nany contract executed and conduct any business undertaken or commenced\nby the legislature or the advisory task force on reapportionment\npertaining to or connected with the reapportionment and readjustment or\nalteration of senate and assembly and congressional districts prior to\nthe enactment of these provisions into law, and the same shall be\ncompleted and conducted in the same manner and under the same terms and\nconditions and with the same effect as if completed and conducted by the\nlegislature or such advisory task force.\n 10. The task force may hold public and private hearings and otherwise\nhave all of the powers of a legislative committee under this chapter.\n 11. The co-chairmen of the task force may request and receive from any\ncourt, department, division, board, bureau, commission or agency of the\nstate or any political subdivision thereof such assistance and data as\nwill enable the task force to properly carry out its powers and duties\nhereunder.\n 12. Employees of the task force shall be considered to be employees of\nthe legislature for all purposes.\n 13. (a) The task force shall specify the form in which the department\nof corrections and community supervision shall provide such information\nrequired to be reported to the task force pursuant to subdivision eight\nof section seventy-one of the correction law.\n (b) Upon receipt of such information for each incarcerated person\nsubject to the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and\ncommunity supervision, the task force shall determine the census block\ncorresponding to the street address of each such person's residential\naddress prior to incarceration (if any), and the census block\ncorresponding to the street address of the correctional facility in\nwhich such person was held subject to the jurisdiction of such\ndepartment. Until such time as the United States bureau of the census\nshall implement a policy of reporting each such incarcerated person at\nsuch person's residential address prior to incarceration, the task force\nshall use such data to develop a database in which all incarcerated\npersons shall be, where possible, allocated for redistricting purposes,\nsuch that each geographic unit reflects incarcerated populations at\ntheir respective residential addresses prior to incarceration rather\nthan at the addresses of such correctional facilities. For all\nincarcerated persons whose residential address prior to incarceration\nwas outside of the state, or for whom the task force cannot identify\ntheir prior residential address, and for all persons confined in a\nfederal correctional facility on census day, the task force shall\nconsider those persons to have been counted at an address unknown and\npersons at such unknown address shall not be included in such data set\ncreated pursuant to this paragraph. The task force shall develop and\nmaintain such amended population data set and shall make such amended\ndata set available to local governments, as defined in subdivision eight\nof section two of the municipal home rule law, and for the drawing of\nassembly and senate districts. The assembly and senate districts shall\nbe drawn using such amended population data set.\n (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information\nrequired to be provided pursuant to subdivision eight of section\nseventy-one of the correction law shall be treated as confidential and\nshall not be disclosed by the task force except as aggregated by census\nblock for purpose specified in this subdivision.\n * NB Repealed June 30, 2026\n