The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

who leads the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

(NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York is

Robert J. Rodriguez Robert J. Rodriguez (born April 11, 1976) is a Democratic politician serving as the Secretary of State of New York. He formerly was member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 68th Assembly District based in East Harlem. Education an ...

, a Democrat.

Duties

The secretary is responsible for the regulation of a number of businesses and professions, including

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

s, cosmetologists, real estate brokers, appraisers, and notaries public. The secretary also regulates

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

, registers

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

s and

business organizations A business entity is an entity that is formed and administered as per corporate law in order to engage in business activities, charitable work, or other activities allowable. Most often, business entities are formed to sell a product or a servi ...

, and maintains business records under the

Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through UC ...

and other laws. The

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

is vested within the department and regulates

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppo ...

such as

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

occurring within the state. The secretary's office includes the Office of Local Government Services, which provides training assistance to local governments in areas such as

fire prevention Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions which should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires and how to survive these fires in the event that they do o ...

coastal management Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

, and code enforcement. The secretary of state is responsible for publishing local laws on their website and as a supplement to the ''

Laws of New York ''Laws of the State of New York'' are the session laws of the New York State Legislature published as an annual periodical, i.e., "chapter laws", bills that become law (bearing the governor's signature or just certifications of passage) which have ...

''.; " ..5. The secretary of state shall publish annually local laws on the department of state website and in a separate volume as a supplement to the session laws, and shall publish at least annually on the department of state website a complete codification of all local laws in effect that have been adopted by the legislative body of each county. The clerk, or other officer designated by the legislative body of each county, shall provide local laws to the secretary of state in a manner specified by the secretary of state to facilitate the publication requirements of this subdivision. ..7. The secretary of state shall have the authority to provide for the receipt and filing of local laws by electronic transmission. .. They are also responsible for publishing on their website a complete codification of all local laws in effect that have been adopted by the legislative body of each county.

History

The office of the secretary of state of New York was established in 1778, and is one of the oldest government agencies of the state of New York. Until 1822, the secretary of state was appointed by the

Council of Appointment The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822. History Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of Ne ...

for an indefinite term,Article XXVIII of the State Constitution of 1777 said: "...that where, by this convention, the duration of any office shall not be ascertained, such office shall be construed to be held during the pleasure of the council of appointment." but could be substituted at any time, especially if the majority party in the council changed. Besides his other duties, the secretary of state was also the secretary of the Council of Appointment. From 1823 to 1845, the secretary was elected by joint ballot of the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

for a term of three years. From 1847 on, the secretary and the other state cabinet officers were elected by the voters at the state elections in November in odd years to a two-year term, so that, until 1877, they served in the second half of the term of the governor in office and the first half of the term of the succeeding governor, since the governors at the time were elected to a two-year term in even years. From 1877 on, the governor served a three-year term, while the secretary continued to be elected for two years. The secretary elected in 1895 received an additional year and served a three-year term, and from 1898 on, the secretary and other state officers were elected in even years to a two-year term at the same time as the governor, and they served concurrently. In 1926, during the governorship of

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

, the state administration was reorganized, and the office became appointive and has remained so. The last secretary elected was

Florence E. S. Knapp Florence Elizabeth Smith Knapp (March 25, 1875 – October 26, 1949) was an American politician who was the first woman elected to a state cabinet office in New York state. Biography She was born March 25, 1875, in Syracuse, New York, as Florenc ...

; the first appointed by the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

was

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...

. On March 31, 2011, Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011 merged the former

New York State Consumer Protection Board The New York State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) is a former government agency of the State of New York that was responsible for protecting, educating and representing consumers. On March 31, 2011, Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011 merged ...

into the Department of State creating a new Division of Consumer Protection.

List of secretaries of state

Notes

Sources

Google Books
''The Civil List of New York''

External links

Official website of the New York Department of State

Department of State
in the

New York Codes, Rules and Regulations The ''New York Codes, Rules and Regulations'' (NYCRR) contains New York state rules and regulations. The NYCRR is officially compiled by the New York State Department of State's Division of Administrative Rules. Contents See also * ''New York ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretary Of State Of New York 1778 establishments in New York (state)