New York A 3588: Relates to run-off primary elections

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
A03588 Summary:

BILL NOA03588 

&nbsp

SAME ASNo Same As

&nbsp

SPONSORGonzalez-Rojas

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§74-a & 103, Pub Off L

&nbsp

Requires public officers and public bodies to make reasonable efforts to provide qualified interpreters at no charge for the hearing impaired at public meetings and hearings upon written request to the public officer responsible for the siting of such hearing; requires installation and use of assistive listening devices.

Go to top A03588 Actions:

BILL NOA03588 

&nbsp

01/28/2025referred to governmental operations

01/07/2026referred to governmental operations

Go to topA03588 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA03588 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA03588 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 3588

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 January 28, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the
 Committee on Governmental Operations

 AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the accessibil-
 ity of public hearings and meetings

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Section 74-a of the public officers law, as added by chap-
 2 ter 368 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
 3 § 74-a. Duty of public officers regarding [the physically handicapped]
 4 accessibility. 1. It shall be the duty of each public officer responsi-
 5 ble for the scheduling or siting of any public hearing to make reason-
 6 able efforts to ensure (a) that such hearings are held in facilities
 7 that permit barrier-free physical access to the physically handicapped,
 8 as defined in subdivision five of section fifty of the public buildings
 9 law; and (b) that services of a qualified interpreter, if available, are
 10 provided at such public hearings at no charge to persons who are deaf or
 11 hard of hearing upon written request to the public officer responsible
 12 for the scheduling or siting of the public hearing within a reasonable
 13 time prior to such hearing. If interpreter services are requested, the
 14 public officer responsible for the scheduling or siting of the public
 15 hearing shall engage the services of a qualified interpreter, if avail-
 16 able, to interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of such persons
 17 who are deaf or hard of hearing; provided, however, that such action
 18 does not impose an undue hardship on the public body holding such hear-
 19 ing.
 20 2. (a) On and after January first, two thousand twenty-eight, such
 21 public officers shall have the power and it shall be their individual
 22 duty to equip any rooms used for public hearings which accommodate more
 23 than one hundred persons with an assistive listening system for use by
 24 the deaf or hard of hearing; provided, however, that such action does
 25 not impose an undue hardship on the public body equipping such rooms.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD06318-01-5

 A. 3588 2

 1 (b) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "assistive listening
 2 system" shall mean situational-personal acoustic communication equipment
 3 designed to improve the transmission and auditory reception of sound.
 4 Such system shall include but not be limited to the use of standard
 5 amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), audio induction
 6 loop, infrared light sound, or hard wire systems.
 7 § 2. Subdivision (d) of section 103 of the public officers law, as
 8 added by chapter 40 of the laws of 2010, is relettered subdivision (g)
 9 and two new subdivisions (h) and (i) are added to read as follows:
 10 (h) Public bodies shall make or cause to be made all reasonable
 11 efforts to ensure that services of a qualified interpreter, if avail-
 12 able, are provided at meetings at no charge to persons who are deaf or
 13 hard of hearing upon written request to the public body within a reason-
 14 able time prior to such meeting. If interpreter services are requested,
 15 the public body shall engage the services of a qualified interpreter, if
 16 available, to interpret the proceedings o