Research

The commission has its origins in the New York State Commission for the Blind which was established by Chapter 415 of the Laws of 1913 to improve the condition of blind persons in the state and provide the governor with recommendations for ameliorating their condition and preventing blindness. In this it continued the work of two previous commissions (1903 and 1906) to investigate the condition of the blind, and its core responsibilities remained largely unchanged as it was moved over time within the state's developing social services hierarchy.

The New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) was created by the State Legislature in 1960 (Chapter 671; Article III of the Private Housing Finance Law) as a public benefit corporation charged with "providing of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations at rental rates which families and persons of low income can afford, and which the ordinary operations of private enterprise can not provide." The agency was to issue bonds and notes to encourage investment in projects that would achieve this goal.

State policies concerning housing date from the creation of a temporary Tenement House Commission in 1900 (Chapter 279) to study urban housing conditions. The following year the legislature acted on the commission's recommendations by passing the Tenement House Law (Chapter 334), requiring local governments to enforce minimum safety and sanitation standards in apartment buildings.

The Narcotic Addiction Control Commission was created in 1966 (Chapter 192) within the Department of Mental Hygiene to supervise the operation of alcohol and narcotics addiction treatment centers and coordinated community rehabilitation and prevention programs. In 1973 (Chapter 676), this commission was renamed the Drug Abuse Control Commission, and in 1975 (Chapter 667) it was replaced by the Office of Drug Abuse Services. Legislation of 1977 (Chapter 978) divided the Department of Mental Hygiene into three autonomous offices, including the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

The New York State Archives Partnership Trust (APT) was established by Chapter 758 of the Laws of 1992. Under that law and subsequent amendments to it, the APT is a public benefit corporation intended to create an endowment to help preserve archival State government records and information on them, and to make those records accessible through research, exhibits, and public programs. In order to establish its tax-exempt status in relation to potential donors, the APT is also organized as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with the Internal Revenue Service.

New York State began development of its coastal management program in 1975 when the Legislature designated the Department of State as the lead agency for the management of the state's coastal resources.

The office was established by Governor Mario M. Cuomo's Executive Order No. 79 in 1986, with jurisdiction over several executive agencies which handled large sums of money in contracts with local governments, community organizations, and private corporations. The jurisdiction of the office was expanded by Executive Order No. 86 of 1986 to include all agencies, departments, or divisions headed by appointees or nominees of the governor. Executive Order No.

In the context of the early years of the Cold War, as American forces were engaged in a war against communist North Korea and the country braced for a potential attack by the Soviet Union, civil defense became a significant focus at both the federal and state levels. In 1951, a year after the U.S. government passed the Federal Civil Defense Act, New York State crafted its own legislation known as the Defense Emergency Act (Chapter 784, and amended by Chapters 785 and 786).