New York Laws
Article 3 - Procedure for Adoption of Local Laws; Referenda; Filing and Publication
20 - Procedure for Adoption of Local Laws by Legislative Body.

§ 20. Procedure for adoption of local laws by legislative body. 1. No
local law shall be passed except by at least the majority affirmative
vote of the total voting power of the legislative body. On the final
passage of a local law the question shall be taken by ayes and noes, and
the names of the members present and their votes shall be entered in the
record, journal or minutes of proceedings.

2. The style of local law shall be "Be it enacted by the (naming the
legislative body) of the (name of local government) as follows:"

3. Every such local law shall embrace only one subject. The title
shall briefly refer to the subject matter. For purposes of this chapter,
a local law relating to codification or recodification of ordinances or
local laws into a municipal code shall be deemed to embrace only one
subject. As used herein codification or recodification shall include
amendments, deletions, repeals, alterations or new provisions in the
municipal code; provided, however, that the notice of public hearing
required by this section shall briefly describe the codification or
recodification.

4. A proposed local law may be introduced only by a member of the
legislative body at a meeting of such body or as may be otherwise
prescribed by the rules of procedure adopted by the legislative body. No
such local law shall be passed until it shall have been in its final
form and either (a) upon the desks or tables of the members at least
seven calendar days, exclusive of Sunday, prior to its final passage, or
(b) mailed to each of them in postpaid properly addressed and securely
closed envelopes or wrappers in a post box or post office of the United
States post office department within the local government at least ten
calendar days, exclusive of Sunday, prior to its final passage, or (c)
e-mailed to the e-mail in-box of each of them in the Portable Document
Format (PDF) at least ten calendar days, exclusive of Sunday, prior to
its final passage, provided that (i) the local government has documented
that each member of the legislative body has an e-mail address, (ii) the
local government has published such e-mail address on the bulletin board
of the local government clerk, and (iii) the legislative body has
unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing such electronic delivery;
unless the elective or appointive chief executive officer, if there be
one, or otherwise the chairman of the board of supervisors, in the case
of a county, the mayor in the case of a city or village or the
supervisor in the case of a town shall have certified as to the
necessity for its immediate passage and such local law be passed by the
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total voting power of the
legislative body.

For purposes of this subdivision, a proposed local law shall be deemed
to be upon the desks or tables of the members if: it is set forth in a
legible electronic format by electronic means, and it is available for
review in such format at the desks of the members. For purposes of this
subdivision "electronic means" means any method of transmission of
information between computers or other machines designed for the purpose
of sending and receiving such transmissions and which: allows the
recipient to reproduce the information transmitted in a tangible medium
of expression; and does not permit additions, deletions or other changes
to be made without leaving an adequate record thereof.

5. In the case of a local government which does not have an elective
chief executive officer as defined by subdivision four of section two of
this chapter, no local law shall be passed by the legislative body until
a public hearing thereon has been had before such body and in every
other local government no such local law shall be approved by the
elective chief executive officer until a public hearing thereon has been
had before him. Such a public hearing held before the legislative body

or before the chief executive officer, as the case may be, pursuant to
this subdivision shall be on such public notice of at least three days
as has been or hereafter may be prescribed by a local law on which a
hearing shall have been held as prescribed by this section upon five
days' notice or, in the event such a local law prescribing the length of
notice is not adopted, upon five days' notice. Where the public hearing
is before such officer, such notice shall be given by him within ten
days after the local law shall have been presented to him and the
hearing shall be held within twenty days after such presentation.

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