New York Law – What is Law New?

Law new includes news and explainer articles about how government works; research and analysis; a wide variety of public events with expert guests; in-depth podcast conversations; and other tools that help make New York City and State law more transparent, understandable, and effective. The Center also helps the public engage with government through our award-winning civic leadership programs.

A bill is a proposal for a new law or an amendment to an existing one. A bill can be introduced by a member of Congress during an election campaign, or it can be recommended to a Congress committee by members or people who petition the committee. Once a bill is proposed, it goes through the process of debate and amendments to become a law. The process is different in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and each chamber has its own rules for passing a bill.

This bill would add language to City law requiring State agencies that interact with the public to provide individuals with access to their services and benefits with the option of receiving those services through oral interpretation in the individual’s primary language, as well as clarify and expand upon certain provisions of existing law. The bill also requires agencies to provide notice of student loan forgiveness programs for employees and job applicants of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and prohibits general vendors and mobile food vendors from occupying bicycle lanes with their vendor-related activities.

After being passed by the Council, a bill goes to the Mayor for review and approval or veto. The Mayor has 30 days to sign a bill into law, or veto it. If the Mayor vetoes a bill, it must be overridden by Council with a 2/3 vote.

NYS Statutes, a free online resource provided by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York, offers New Yorkers access to the laws of the State of New York. It allows the public to search statutes by keyword and includes links to legislative reports, a calendar of events and more. The site is updated regularly. The Westlaw database of New York State regulations is also available through Findlaw and includes a search feature that lets users look up specific regulations by number or title.