S 8145: Prohibits the naming of state buildings after a public officer during the period in which that person is a public officer or after a public officer who has been convicted of a felony.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8145 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE May 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting the naming of state buildings after public officers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Prohibiting Elevation of Notorious Names (PENN) Act". 3 § 2. Article 50 and sections 1000, 1001, 1002 and 1003 of the execu- 4 tive law, as renumbered by chapter 770 of the laws of 1978, are renum- 5 bered article 60 and sections 1500, 1501, 1502 and 1503. 6 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 50 to read 7 as follows: 8 ARTICLE 50 9 NAMING OF PUBLIC FACILITIES 10 Section 1000. Naming of public facilities. 11 § 1000. Naming of public facilities. 1. As used in this section: 12 (a) "public facility" means a building or other real property owned by 13 the state or a political subdivision of the state; and 14 (b) "public officer" means a person elected to public office or any 15 person appointed or employed by the state or a political subdivision of 16 the state. 17 2. A public facility shall not be named for a public officer during 18 the period in which that person is a public officer. 19 3. A public facility shall not be named for a public officer who has 20 been convicted of a felony. The state shall remove the name from a 21 public facility named for such person immediately upon conviction, 22 whether or not another name has been offered or approved for substi- 23 tution and renaming. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11938-01-5 
 S. 8145 2 1 4. A public facility that has been named for a person who was not a 2 public officer at the time of the naming may continue to bear that name 3 if the person subsequently becomes a public officer. 4 5. Except as provided in subdivision three of this section, a public 5 facility named for a public officer prior to the effective date of this 6 section may continue to bear the name of that public officer. 7 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.