Research

The origins of this agency can be traced back to the founding of an association on January 7, 1862 whose purpose was to afford relief to sick, wounded, and destitute New York State soldiers stationed in the Washington, D.C. area. Recognizing the usefulness of such an organization, the state legislature appropriated $30,000 for transportation, care, and hospital supplies for sick and wounded New York State soldiers. Under authority of this act (Chapter 458, Laws of 1862) Governor Edwin D. Morgan appointed S. H. Swetland agent in charge of disbursing these funds.

Petitions to the legislature from voters in twenty-four counties in 1844 asked for legislation authorizing the people to vote on the question of calling a Constitutional Convention. The legislature responded by passing such an act on May 13, 1845. The voters approved the Constitutional Convention at the polls that November. Delegates to the convention produced a major reorganization of the judiciary article of the constitution.

A court of chancery existed in New York from 1683 to 1847. Patterned after the English Court of Chancery, which traced its origins back to medieval jurisprudence, the Chancery court dealt with matters of equity rather than law. The English system of equity emerged during the late Middle Ages in response to several defects in the rigidly prescriptive English common law. Litigants sought to redress the defects in the common law through the Chancellor, the King's chief legal advisor and head of the Chancery (the government's writing office).

Through a Concurrent Resolution of February 8, 1944, the New York State Legislature created the Joint Legislative Committee to Inquire Into and Study Legislative Methods, Practices, Procedures, and Expenditures. The Committee consisted of six members, with Senator Floyd E. Anderson serving as Chairman. The Committee was to function for one year. Two subsequent resolutions extended the Committee until April 1946.

The State Nursing Council for War Service was formed in August 1942 to serve as the coordinating body for New York State nursing programs. These programs included conducting studies and inventories of the number of nurses in the State and recruiting students to nursing schools.

A Personnel Relations Board was established by a 1950 executive order (February 23, 1950) to administer a program for resolving employee grievances. The Board consisted of a Chairman appointed by the Governor and two other members selected by the Chairman from each of two panels. The panels were selected by the Governor; one consisted of twelve competitive class employees and the other of twelve State officers and employees who were not necessarily in the competitive class. The Board was placed in the Department of Civil Service (D.C.S.) but reported directly to the Governor.

The Temporary State Commission on Fire Laws was created (Laws of 1953, Chapter 500) to study laws relating to volunteer firemen and fire protection in towns, villages, and fire districts and to make recommendations for the appropriate revision and codification of such laws. The commission gathered a wide range of evidence from local governments on qualifications of firemen, liability insurance, financing of fire protection, relation of fire protection statutes to other local laws, and other topics of concern.

In 1942, the New York City Department of Investigation, under the direction of Commissioner William B. Herlands, conducted a study of irregularities in the Workmen's Compensation Law affecting municipal employees and New York City as an employer. The investigation revealed such problems as the submission by doctors of fraudulent bills to employers and insurance companies. New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia reported these irregularities to Governor Thomas E. Dewey and requested that he order an investigation.

The Office of General Services was established by Laws of 1960 (Chapter 459).

This Commission was created by Executive Order on October 10, 1953 to investigate the operations and management of New York harness racing associations, corporations, and tracks and of the New York State Harness Racing Commission. The investigation was prompted by the August 28, 1953 murder of Thomas F. Lewis, President of Local 32-E, Building Service Employees International Union, A.F. of L. This union claimed jurisdiction over several hundred employees at Yonkers Raceway. Questionable hiring and other practices were revealed at Yonkers Raceway following Lewis' murder.