Title PBO, Public Officers

§ 1. Short title. This chapter shall be known as the "Public Officers\nLaw."\n

§ 10. Official oaths. Every officer shall take and file the oath of\noffice required by law, and every judicial officer of the unified court\nsystem, in addition, shall file a copy of said oath in the office of\ncourt administration, before he shall be entitled to enter upon the…

§ 100. Legislative declaration. It is essential to the maintenance of\na democratic society that the public business be performed in an open\nand public manner and that the citizens of this state be fully aware of\nand able to observe the performance of public officials and atte…

§ 101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as\n"Open Meetings Law".\n

§ 102. Definitions. As used in this article: 1. "Meeting" means the\nofficial convening of a public body for the purpose of conducting public\nbusiness, including the use of videoconferencing for attendance and\nparticipation by the members of the public body.\n 2. "Public body"…

§ 103. Open meetings and executive sessions. (a) Every meeting of a\npublic body shall be open to the general public, except that an\nexecutive session of such body may be called and business transacted\nthereat in accordance with section ninety-five of this article.\n (b) Publi…

* § 103-a. Videoconferencing by public bodies. 1. For the purposes of\nthis section, "local public body" shall mean a public corporation as\ndefined in section sixty-six of the general construction law, a\npolitical subdivision as defined in section one hundred of the general\nm…

§ 104. Public notice. 1. Public notice of the time and place of a\nmeeting scheduled at least one week prior thereto shall be given or\nelectronically transmitted to the news media and shall be conspicuously\nposted in one or more designated public locations at least seventy-two…

§ 105. Conduct of executive sessions. 1. Upon a majority vote of its\ntotal membership, taken in an open meeting pursuant to a motion\nidentifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be\nconsidered, a public body may conduct an executive session for the below…

§ 106. Minutes. 1. Minutes shall be taken at all open meetings of a\npublic body which shall consist of a record or summary of all motions,\nproposals, resolutions and any other matter formally voted upon and the\nvote thereon.\n 2. Minutes shall be taken at executive sessions o…

§ 107. Enforcement. 1. Any aggrieved person shall have standing to\nenforce the provisions of this article against a public body by the\ncommencement of a proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of the\ncivil practice law and rules, or an action for declaratory judgment and…

§ 108. Exemptions. Nothing contained in this article shall be\nconstrued as extending the provisions hereof to:\n 1. judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, except proceedings of the\npublic service commission and zoning boards of appeals;\n 2. a. deliberations of political comm…

§ 109. Committee on open government. The committee on open government,\ncreated by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section eighty-nine of\nthis chapter, shall issue advisory opinions from time to time as, in its\ndiscretion, may be required to inform public bodies and person…

§ 11. Official undertakings. 1. Every official undertaking, when\nrequired by or in pursuance of law to be hereafter executed or filed by\nany officer, shall be to the effect that he will faithfully discharge\nthe duties of his office and promptly account for and pay over all\nm…

§ 110. Construction with other laws. 1. Any provision of a charter,\nadministrative code, local law, ordinance, or rule or regulation\naffecting a public body which is more restrictive with respect to public\naccess than this article shall be deemed superseded hereby to the exte…

§ 111. Severability. If any provision of this article or the\napplication thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid\nby a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or\nimpair the validity of the other provisions of the article or the\nappli…

§ 115. Application of chapter. This chapter applies to civil officers\nonly.\n

§ 116. Laws repealed. Of the laws enumerated in the schedule hereto\nannexed, that portion specified in the last column is hereby repealed.\n

§ 117. When to take effect. This chapter shall take effect\nimmediately.\n

§ 12. Force and effect of official undertaking. An officer of whom an\nofficial undertaking is required, shall not receive any money or\nproperty as such officer, or do any act affecting the disposition of any\nmoney or property which such officer is entitled to receive or have …

§ 13. Notice of neglect to file oath or undertaking. The officer or\nbody making the appointment or certificate of election of a public\nofficer shall, if the officer be required to give an official\nundertaking to be filed in an office other than that in which the\nwritten appo…

§ 14. Effect of consolidation on terms of office. If an office be\ncontinued by the consolidated laws constituting the consolidation of\nwhich this chapter is a part, the person lawfully holding such office at\nthe time of the taking effect of such consolidated laws shall, subje…

§ 15. Validation of official acts performed before filing official\noath or undertaking. If a public officer, duly chosen, has heretofore\nentered, or shall hereafter enter on the performance of the duties of\nhis or her office, without taking or filing an official oath, or\nexe…

§ 16. Qualifications of certain judicial officers in cities of the\nfirst class. A person shall be eligible for appointment to the office\nof magistrate, judge or justice of an inferior court of criminal\njurisdiction in a city of the first class, who shall at the time of such\n…

§ 17. Defense and indemnification of state officers and employees. 1.\n(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires the\nterm "employee" shall mean any person holding a position by election,\nappointment or employment in the service of the state, including\…

§ 17-a. Reimbursement of funds paid by state agencies and state\nentities for the payment of awards adjudicated in sexual harassment\nclaims. 1. As used in this section, the term "employee" shall mean any\nperson holding a position by election, appointment, or employment in the\…

§ 18. Defense and indemnification of officers and employees of public\nentities. 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise\nrequires:\n (a) The term "public entity" shall mean (i) a county, city, town,\nvillage or any other political subdivision or civil division …

§ 18-a. Reimbursement of funds paid by a public entity for the payment\nof awards adjudicated in sexual harassment claims. 1. As used in this\nsection:\n (a) The term "public entity" shall mean (i) a county, city, town,\nvillage or any other political subdivision or civil divisi…

§ 19. Reimbursement of defense costs incurred by or on behalf of state\nemployees. 1. (a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise\nrequires, the term "employee" shall mean any person holding a position\nby election, appointment or employment in the service of the s…

§ 2. Definitions. The term "state officer" includes every officer for\nwhom all the electors of the state are entitled to vote, members of the\nlegislature, justices of the supreme court, regents of the university,\nand every officer, appointed by one or more state officers, or …

§ 20. Action upon official bond or undertaking. Where a public\nofficer is required to give an official bond or undertaking, and special\nprovision is not made by law for the prosecution of the bond or\nundertaking, by or for the benefit of a person who has sustained by his\ndef…

§ 21. Application may be made ex parte. Such application may be made\nwithout notice; but in that case the officer, or either of his sureties,\nmay apply upon notice, to vacate an order permitting the applicant to\nmaintain an action, upon any ground showing that it ought not to…

§ 22. Proof to accompany application. The application must be\naccompanied with\n 1. A certified copy of the official bond or undertaking;\n 2. Proof by affidavit of the default or misconduct complained of, and\nthat satisfaction of the same has not been received.\n 3. If the de…

§ 23. Order granting leave; action thereupon. Upon such an\napplication, the court must grant an order, permitting the applicant to\nmaintain an action upon the bond or undertaking. The action must be\nbrought, in the court which granted the order, by the applicant as\nplaintiff…

§ 24. Successive actions. The same, or any other applicant, may, in\nlike manner, either before or after judgment in the first action, obtain\nan order, permitting him to maintain another action, in the same court,\nupon the same bond or undertaking, for another default or misco…

§ 25. Indorsement upon execution. Where an execution is issued upon a\njudgment, recovered against the public officer and any of his sureties,\nin an action, brought pursuant to this article, the plaintiff's attorney\nmust indorse thereon a direction to collect the same, in the …

§ 26. Collection of execution; when a defence to subsequent action. It\nis a defence by a surety, against whom an action is brought upon an\nofficial bond or undertaking, that he, or any other surety or sureties,\nhave been or will be compelled, for want of sufficient property o…

§ 27. When claimants entitled to ratable distribution. If the\naggregate amount of the liabilities, which might be recovered by actions\nupon an official bond or undertaking, as prescribed in this article,\nexceeds the sum for which the sureties are liable, the court must, upon\…

§ 28. Receivers, assignees and trustees deemed public officers. A\nreceiver, an assignee of an insolvent debtor, or a trustee or other\nofficer, appointed by a court or a judge, is a public officer, within\nthe meaning of this article; but where he was appointed by or pursuant\n…

§ 3. Qualifications for holding office. 1. No person shall be capable\nof holding a civil office who shall not, at the time he or she shall be\nchosen thereto, have attained the age of eighteen years, except that in\nthe case of youth boards, youth commissions, recreation commis…

§ 3-a. Restrictions upon holding public office or employment of\npersons removed from office for certain reasons. Any public officer\nwho, upon being called before a grand jury to testify concerning the\nconduct of his office or the performance of his official duties, refuses\nt…

§ 3-b. Special peace officers to be citizens; other residency\nrequirements. 1. No sheriff of a county, mayor of a city, or official,\nor other persons authorized by law to appoint special deputy sheriffs,\nspecial constables, marshals, police officers, or peace officers in this…

§ 3-c. Restrictions upon nomination or election to compensated\nfederal, state or local office. 1. For purposes of this section,\n"candidate" has the meaning set forth in section 14-100 of the election\nlaw.\n 2. No commissioner, executive director or other head of any state\nag…

§ 30. Creation of vacancies. 1. Every office shall be vacant upon the\nhappening of one of the following events before the expiration of the\nterm thereof:\n a. The death of the incumbent;\n b. His resignation;\n c. His removal from office;\n d. His ceasing to be an inhabitant o…

§ 31. Resignations. 1. Public officers may resign their offices as\nfollows:\n a. The governor, lieutenant-governor, comptroller and\nattorney-general, to the legislature;\n b. All officers appointed by the governor alone, or by him with the\nconsent of the senate, to the govern…

§ 32. Removals by senate. The governor before making a recommendation\nto the senate for the removal of any officer may in his discretion take\nproofs, for the purpose of determining whether such recommendation shall\nbe made.\n The comptroller or attorney-general may be removed…

§ 33. Removals by governor. 1. An officer appointed by the governor\nfor a full term or to fill a vacancy, whose appointment is not required\nby law to be made by and with the advice and consent of the senate, any\ncounty treasurer, any county superintendent of the poor, any reg…

§ 33-a. Removal of heads of departments. Any officer who is, or any or\neither of the officers who are, the head of a department, if appointed\nby the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate, may be\nremoved from office by the governor whenever in his judgment …

§ 34. Proceedings for removal by governor. 1. In any proceeding for\nthe removal by the governor of a public officer, he may conduct an\ninvestigation into the charges, and may take the evidence as to the\ntruth of the charges at a hearing for such purpose, or he may direct\ntha…

§ 35. Removals from office. Every removal of an officer by one or\nmore state officers, shall be in written duplicate orders, signed by the\nofficer, or by all or a majority of the officers, making the removal, or\nif made by a body or board of state officers may be evidenced by…