Opinions by Subject

The positions of confidential assistant (secretary) to the town supervisor and member of the town planning board are compatible.

A sitting judge on the Court of Claims may not also serve on the New York State 690 State Laws under New York Constitution Article VI § 20(b).

The terms "rehabilitative occupational training" and "employment-oriented rehabilitative services" used in the crime victims law do not include start-up costs for a business operated by a disabled crime victim or the costs of enhancing a previously-established business.

The Cadyville Fire District has responsibility for providing fire protection to territory annexed to the Town of Plattsburgh and previously included within the Town of Saranac. Neither annexation of the territory nor, under the facts presented, an earlier judicial decision defining the towns' common boundary, affected the boundaries of the Cadyville Fire District.

Proposed local legislation that would institute a complete ban on the distribution of free promotional samples of tobacco products to any person within a county, is expressly preempted by section 1399-bb of the Public Health Law, which governs the distribution of tobacco products without charge.

A village may enact a local helmet law that conflicts with a county law. In the absence of a conflicting village law, the county law would govern.

Charging dual rates will not jeopardize the not-for-profit status of childcare centers located at New York State facilities under the New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. Our conclusion is limited to the application of the New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. This opinion does not address the possible ramifications of charging dual rates under other laws or regulations.

A county may obtain criminal history records from the Division of Criminal Justice Services for prospective employees of a county-owned nursing home pursuant to agreement with the Division and local law. Additionally, if authorized by contract and local law, a county may either obtain the criminal history records of individuals who seek to provide personal care services through the county Department of Health or require agencies that contract with the county to provide personal care services to obtain the criminal history records of prospective employees. A county may not require privately-owned nursing homes located in the county to fingerprint and/or obtain criminal background checks of prospective employees.

A city need not include plumbing regulations in the city code to satisfy the requirement of State law that it enact or adopt a code of rules regulating the work of plumbing and drainage in that city. A building inspector may conduct plumbing inspections if the plumbing inspector is unavailable provided that the building inspector meets the qualifications for and has been properly appointed as a plumbing inspector.

One person may simultaneously hold the elected offices of commissioner of a water district and commissioner of a fire district, but must recuse himself or herself from participating in any matters relating to a contract between the districts for installation and maintenance of fire hydrants, sale of water, and testing of backflow devices. If these or other matters involving the two districts lead to frequent or substantial conflicts, recusal would not be an appropriate remedy, and the individual may not hold both positions.

The position of Senior Typist in the City Building Department is incompatible with membership on the City Zoning Board of Appeals where the Typist's supervisor's duties are subject to review by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

A member of the Village of East Hampton's Design Review Board who is a professional architect need not resign from his position on the Board if the architectural firm in which he is a partner infrequently accepts projects over which the Board has jurisdiction. On the occasions when his firm is involved in a project requiring review by the Board, he should recuse himself from review of the project.

A member of a village Board of Trustees must avoid circumstances which compromise his or her ability to make decisions solely in the public interest. Therefore, if a member of a village's Board of Trustees, who owns property within the Business Improvement District of the village, has a substantial, direct personal interest in the outcome of the Board of Trustees' vote on the Business Improvement District=s annual budget, recusal from participating in the Board of Trustees' deliberations and voting on the Business Improvement District's annual budget is the appropriate course of action.

A judge of a city court is required to be a resident of the city in which he or she is elected or appointed.

Taxicab operators may charge different fares at different times of day so long as those fares and the conditions under which they apply are conspicuously posted.

A governmental subdivision may not, consistent with the "gift or loan" prohibition (N.Y. Const., Art. VIII, § 1), reimburse an individual member of a legislative body for litigation expenses incurred in an unsuccessful lawsuit initiated by that member under the 632, when commencement of such a suit is not part of the member's official duties.

A town may regulate the use of old mobile homes as fixed-based storage facilities pursuant to section 130(16) of the Town Law, but it may not enact a local law that uniformly prohibits such structures without satisfying the statute's procedural safeguards regarding removal and repair of unsafe buildings and structures.

The Town of Riverhead may abolish the position of receiver of taxes using the provisions set forth in Town Law § 36(1).

A county may authorize the use of all-terrain vehicles on County-owned reforested lands held for public use and may authorize construction of a trail system on such lands, provided that such use is consistent with forest and wildlife conservation and watershed protection, but may not grant a private organization of all-terrain vehicle owners exclusive use of the trail system.

One person may hold the positions of dispatcher in the County Department of Emergency Response as well as a member of the Dutchess County Fire and Safety Advisory Board. A dispatcher may also serve as a volunteer firefighter.

Neither a society for the prevention of cruelty to 648 nor its agents or officers is authorized to issue appearance tickets, summon, or arrest a person for violating any of the provisions of article 26 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, or to seize lost, stolen, strayed, homeless, abandoned or improperly confined 648 as set forth in section 373 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, within an adjacent county that is served by its own duly incorporated society.

County Clerks have no obligation to record Mortgage Electronic Recording Systems (MERS) as the mortgagee of record where MERS is not the actual mortgagee. Doing so (1) violates the terms of N.Y. Real Property Law § 316, and (2) tends to frustrate the legislative intent of the Real Property Law's recording provisions.

There is a substantial possibility that a municipality lacks the authority to pass a local law prohibiting a driver from holding and using a hand-held mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle on roads within the County.

A proceeding by the New York State Banking Department pursuant to Banking Law § 595 to suspend or revoke a license of a mortgage banker or to suspend or delete the name of a mortgage broker from the mortgage broker roll on the grounds of fraudulent consumer practices or failure to maintain adequate capital, whether commenced prior or subsequent to the mortgage banker's or mortgage broker's filing for bankruptcy under the Federal Bankruptcy Code, would fall within the police or regulatory power exception to the automatic stay in 11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(4) and thus would not be stayed by a bankruptcy filing. So long as there is sufficient evidence that NYSBD's action was not taken solely because of the bankruptcy filing itself, a proceeding on these grounds would not be prohibited by 11 U.S.C. § 525.

In applying standards governing conflicts of interest, pending litigation against a municipal board or board members does not as a matter of law require that board members recuse themselves in a separate application by the party that commenced the lawsuit. In particular cases, however, recusal will be appropriate. Local facts and circumstances must be reviewed to determine whether board members can act impartially as to the separate application.