Research

In 2001 (Chapter 590), the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Act created a commission to plan and develop the 400th anniversary celebrations of the voyages of discovery made by Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, as well as the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton's steamship voyage along the Hudson River.

This authority was established in 1944 (Chapter 524) as a public-benefit corporation to finance and prepare plans, designs and cost estimates for construction, and to operate and maintain dormitories for the state colleges for teachers. The enabling legislation designated a governing board of eight: the commissioner of education, the comptroller, and six members appointed by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.

The Governor's Task Force on Information Resource Management was established in 1996. In 1997, it became the Office of Technology (OFT) (Chapter 430, Laws of 1997). An Advisory Council for Technology, comprised of at least eleven state agency information resource directors, reviews and comments upon all rules and regulations drafted by OFT and guides and supports the office as it develops statewide plans.

The Office for the Aging is the successor to several legislative and executive bodies. The formulation of policies for the aging began in 1947 with the creation of the Joint Legislative Committee to Study the Problems of the Aging. This committee was reconstituted annually by legislative resolution until 1969. Meanwhile, in 1955, an Interdepartmental Committee on Problems of the Aging was established by executive order to advise the governor on problems and developments affecting the aging and to formulate recommendations for action.

The council was created in 1977 (Chapter 757). In 2003 (Chapter 62), the council was placed administratively within the Office of Children and Family Services but its structure and purpose remained essentially the same. The council consists of the commissioners or directors of the State's twelve health, education, and human services agencies. The governor designates the chairman and chief executive officer of the council. Staff of the Office of Children and Family Services assists the council in carrying out its functions.

The Office of Business Permits was established in 1978 (Chapter 770) to maintain and provide information on business related permits and licenses. The agency was reconstituted in 1984 (Chapter 698) as the Office of Business Permits and Regulatory Assistance and expanded its authority to include the review of State agency rule making procedures.

The New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform was established by Governor George E. Pataki in February 2005 (Executive Order No. 135). Chaired by Ira Millstein, the Commission is comprised of 13 individuals with demonstrated expertise in corporate governance and public finance. Seven commissioners, including its Chairman, were appointed by Governor Pataki with the Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the Assembly, State Comptroller, Attorney General, Senate Minority Leader, and Assembly Minority Leader each appointing one member.

In 1983, the Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development was formed in the New York City offices of the Department of Commerce. The office was created out of the Motion Picture and Television Assistance Bureau within the department, which in 1979 began to work closely with the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting to attract increased film and television production in New York State.

The Laws of 1851 (Chapter 502) authorized the governor to appoint trustees to establish an "Asylum for Idiots" to care for and educate a select number of the mentally retarded. The trustees were to procure a building and select pupils-- some from families unable to provide for their support (representative, based on residence in each of the state's judicial districts); the remainder "conveniently received" from those who could privately pay. The trustees reported annually to the legislature on the condition of the institution.

The Commission on Higher Education was established by Governor Eliot L. Spitzer (Executive Order No. 14) in May 2007.