BILL NUMBER:S3499

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the legislative law and the executive
law, in relation to enacting the "legislative online digital paperwork
reduction act"

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this bill is to reduce the number of bills,
reports, digests, records and various documents printed by the New York
State Legislature and establish a process to make these documents avail-
able electronically through the websites of the New York State Senate,
Assembly and State Agencies.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Establishes the title of the bill as the "Legislative Online
Digital Paperwork Reduction Act."

Section 2: States the creation of a new section, Section 44-b to Legis-
lative Law.

Section 44-b: Establishes that all documents produced by the Legislature
and Members of the Legislature be done electronically and made available
for printing on the websites of the State Assembly and State Senate.
This includes reports, digests and records produced by the Legislature.

Section 3: States the creation of a new section, Section 170-c to Execu-
              

tive Law.

Section 170-c: Establishes that all State Agencies shall make their
annual reports available on their websites for printing. State Agency is
defined as any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office,
council, committee or office of the state in addition to public benefit
corporations and public authorities.

Section 4: States law shall take effect on the nineteenth day after it
is signed into law.

JUSTIFICATION:  Each year, thousands of bills are introduced and every
single measure gets printed multiple times. It has been estimated that
this could save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Eliminating automatic bill printing would save money and. save
resources. Instead of having all legislation and reports printed on
paper, making them available on a digital format where lawmakers can
view it on their laptops and mobile devices would deliver significant
savings. If necessary, Members of the Legislature, State Agencies and
the public could print a copy from their own computer.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation (by a vote
of 399-0) to stop the mandatory printing of congressional bills.
Several state legislatures have gone paperless or are experimenting with

going digital. They include California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii,
Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wiscon-
sin, It's estimated that Ohio has saved $1.5 million since going
digital.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  3/21/11 Referred to Investigations and Operations
1/14/12 Referred to Investigations and Operations

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act will take effect on the ninetieth day after it
shall have become a law.