Adds members to the board of trustees of the state university of New York who represent the interests of community colleges
Summary
This bill, titled the “community college representation act,” would expand the SUNY Board of Trustees from 18 to 21 members and add three voting trustees representing community colleges. Those seats would be appointed respectively by the New York community college trustees’ association, the New York community college association of presidents, and the faculty council of community colleges. The bill also keeps existing ex-officio members in place and specifies that the new community-college-appointed trustees would serve three-year terms and could be reappointed by their appointing organizations.
The bill further requires each of the three appointing organizations to adopt and publicly disclose a transparent selection process for choosing its trustee, including notice to members, a nomination period, and a verifiable voting procedure. It also requires the new trustees to be appointed within 90 days of enactment and to submit annual reports to their respective organizations on SUNY board actions affecting community colleges. In addition, the bill amends the Education Law to allow a county or other local governing body to appoint a trustee to a community college board if the governor fails to fill a vacancy within 180 days.
Impact
The bill would amend the Education Law, primarily section 353 governing SUNY’s board of trustees and section 6306 governing community college boards. It would change the composition of the SUNY Board of Trustees by adding three voting seats for community college representatives and would create a fallback appointment mechanism for community college board vacancies when the governor does not act within 180 days. The measure would also impose new procedural and reporting obligations on the organizations selecting the SUNY community college trustees, but it states that the new positions are uncompensated and intended to have no fiscal impact on the state or SUNY.
Sentiment
The bill’s stated purpose and structure suggest generally favorable treatment of community colleges and their role within SUNY, emphasizing representation, governance balance, and workforce and equity benefits. Because the bill was only introduced and referred to committee, there is no recorded vote or transcript evidence of opposition or support in the provided materials. The overall tone of the bill text is affirmative and policy-driven, framing the change as a corrective to underrepresentation rather than a broader restructuring of SUNY governance.
Contention
The main point of contention likely concerns governance and appointment authority. The bill shifts some influence on SUNY governance away from the governor and toward community college constituencies, which may raise questions about board size, selection legitimacy, and the balance of representation among SUNY sectors. Another possible issue is the new county appointment authority for community college trustee vacancies if the governor does not act within 180 days, which could be viewed as a check on executive delay or as an encroachment on existing appointment processes. No specific objections or supporters are recorded in the provided committee materials.
Same As
Adds members to the board of trustees of the state university of New York who represent the interests of community colleges as full voting members of the board of trustees; provides that the local legislative body or board of the county in which a community college is located may appoint a trustee in the event that the governor fails to appoint such trustee within 180 days of a vacancy on a board of trustees of a community college.
Adds members to the board of trustees of the state university of New York who represent the interests of community colleges as full voting members of the board of trustees; provides that the local legislative body or board of the county in which a community college is located may appoint a trustee in the event that the governor fails to appoint such trustee within 180 days of a vacancy on a board of trustees of a community college.
Requires that the state university of New York's board of trustees and the city university of New York's board of trustees shall each adopt a policy requiring all state university of New York, city university of New York, college, and community college campuses that offer membership programs to the general public for the use of fitness and aquatic facilities, to permit disabled veterans to obtain a membership for the use of fitness and aquatic facilities upon the same terms and conditions as apply to the general public, but without payment of any fees or other charges, or at a discounted rate; defines "disabled veteran".
Requires that the state university of New York's board of trustees and the city university of New York's board of trustees shall each adopt a policy requiring all state university of New York, city university of New York, college, and community college campuses that offer membership programs to the general public for the use of fitness and aquatic facilities, to permit disabled veterans to obtain a membership for the use of fitness and aquatic facilities upon the same terms and conditions as apply to the general public, but without payment of any fees or other charges, or at a discounted rate; defines "disabled veteran".
Relates to the membership of the board of trustees of the state university of New York; reduces the number of trustees appointed by the governor from fifteen to ten; adds one trustee appointment by the speaker of the assembly, one by the temporary president of the senate, one by a majority vote of SUNY and CUNY staff, and two by a majority vote of SUNY alumni.
Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.
Provides for the inclusion of a faculty or staff member on the board of trustees of community colleges elected by and from among the faculty and staff of the college.
Directs the state to provide annual base funding to community colleges operating under the university of the state of New York; requires funding to be indexed to inflation; requires annual reporting.