Secretary of State of New York
Seal of the State of New York
Flag of the State of New York
Incumbent
Robert J. Rodriguez
since November 4, 2021
Department of State
StyleThe Honorable
Inaugural holderJohn Morin Scott
Formation1778
Salary$120,800
Websitewww.dos.ny.gov

The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS).[1]

The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat.

Duties

The secretary is responsible for the regulation of a number of businesses and professions, including private investigators, cosmetologists, real estate brokers, appraisers, and notaries public. The secretary also regulates cemeteries, registers corporations and business organizations, and maintains business records under the Uniform Commercial Code and other laws. The New York State Athletic Commission is vested within the department and regulates combat sports such as boxing and professional wrestling 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, coastal management, 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.[2][3][4] 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.[2]

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 for an indefinite term,[5] 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 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, the state administration was reorganized, and the office became appointive and has remained so. The last secretary elected was Florence E. S. Knapp; the first appointed by the governor was Robert Moses.

On March 31, 2011, Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011 merged the former New York State Consumer Protection Board into the Department of State creating a new Division of Consumer Protection.

List of secretaries of state

# Image Secretary of State Tenure Party Notes
1 John Morin Scott March 13, 1778 – September 14, 1784 died in office
2 Lewis Allaire Scott October 23, 1784 – March 17, 1798 – son of John Morin Scott; died in office; longest-serving Secretary of State (13 years and almost 5 months)
3 Daniel Hale March 24, 1798 – August 10, 1801 Federalist
4 Thomas Tillotson August 10, 1801 – March 16, 1806 Democratic-Republican
5 Elisha Jenkins March 16, 1806 – February 16, 1807 Democratic-Republican
6 Thomas Tillotson February 16, 1807 – February 1, 1808 Dem.-Rep./Lewisite
7 Elisha Jenkins February 1, 1808 – February 2, 1810 Dem.-Rep./Clintonian
8 Daniel Hale February 2, 1810 – February 1, 1811 Federalist
9 Elisha Jenkins February 1, 1811 – February 23, 1813 Democratic-Republican
10 Jacob R. Van Rensselaer February 23, 1813 – February 16, 1815 Federalist
11 Peter Buell Porter February 16, 1815 – February 12, 1816 Democratic-Republican
12 Robert L. Tillotson February 12, 1816 – April 16, 1817 son of Thomas Tillotson
13 Charles D. Cooper April 16, 1817 – April 24, 1818 Democratic-Republican son-in-law of Acting Governor John Tayler
14 John Van Ness Yates April 24, 1818 – February 14, 1826 Democratic-Republican first appointed, in 1823 re-elected by the State Legislature
15 Azariah Cutting Flagg February 14, 1826 – January 12, 1833 Democratic-Republican three terms; then elected New York State Comptroller
16 John Adams Dix January 15, 1833 – February 4, 1839 Democrat two terms
17 John Canfield Spencer February 4, 1839 – October 11, 1841 Whig resigned to become Secretary of War
18 Archibald Campbell October 11, 1841 – February 7, 1842 (none) as Deputy Secretary, acted until the election of a successor
19 Samuel Young February 7, 1842 – February 8, 1845 Dem./Barnburner
20 Nathaniel S. Benton February 8, 1845 – December 31, 1847 Dem./Hunker legislated out of office by State Constitution of 1846
21 Christopher Morgan January 1, 1848 – December 31, 1851 Whig first Secretary elected by general ballot; two terms
22 Henry S. Randall January 1, 1852 – December 31, 1853 Democrat
23 Elias W. Leavenworth January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1855 Whig
24 Joel T. Headley January 1, 1856 – December 31, 1857 American
25 Gideon J. Tucker January 1, 1858 – December 31, 1859 Democrat
26 David R. Floyd-Jones January 1, 1860 – December 31, 1861 Democratic
27 Horatio Ballard January 1, 1862 – December 31, 1863 Union
28 Chauncey Depew January 1, 1864 – December 31, 1865 Union
29 Francis C. Barlow January 1, 1866 – December 31, 1867 Republican
30 Homer A. Nelson January 1, 1868 – December 31, 1871 Democrat two terms
31 G. Hilton Scribner January 1, 1872 – December 31, 1873 Republican
32 Diedrich Willers, Jr. January 1, 1874 – December 31, 1875 Democrat
33 John Bigelow January 1, 1876 – December 31, 1877 Democrat
34 Allen C. Beach January 1, 1878 – December 31, 1879 Democrat
35 Joseph B. Carr January 1, 1880 – December 31, 1885 Republican three terms
36 Frederick Cook January 1, 1886 – December 31, 1889 Democrat two terms
37 Frank Rice January 1, 1890 – December 31, 1893 Democrat
38 John Palmer January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1898 Republican two terms (1894–1895, 1896–98)
39 John T. McDonough January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1902 Republican two terms
40 John F. O'Brien January 1, 1903 – December 31, 1906 Republican two terms
41 John S. Whalen January 1, 1907 – December 31, 1908 Dem./Ind. L.
42 Samuel S. Koenig January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1910 Republican
43 Edward Lazansky January 1, 1911 – December 31, 1912 Democrat
44 Mitchell May January 1, 1913 – December 31, 1914 Democrat
45 Francis Hugo January 1, 1915 – December 31, 1920 Republican three terms
46 John J. Lyons January 1, 1921 – December 31, 1922 Republican
47 James A. Hamilton January 1, 1923 – December 31, 1924 Democrat
48 Florence E. S. Knapp January 1, 1925 – January 17, 1927 Republican first woman in this office; the last elected Secretary of State
49 Robert Moses January 17, 1927 – January 1, 1929 Republican first Secretary of State appointed by the Governor
50 Edward J. Flynn January 1, 1929 – January 17, 1939 Democrat
51 Michael F. Walsh January 17,[6] 1939 – January 1, 1943 Democratic
52 Thomas J. Curran January 1, 1943 – January 1, 1955 Republican
53 Carmine DeSapio January 1, 1955 – January 1, 1959 Democratic
54 Caroline K. Simon January 1, 1959 – August 22, 1963 Republican appointed a judge of the New York Court of Claims
55 John P. Lomenzo August 22, 1963 – January 1, 1974 Republican
56 John J. Ghezzi January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1975 Republican
57 Mario Cuomo January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1978 Democrat elected Lieutenant Governor
58 Basil A. Paterson January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983 Democrat son David A. Paterson became Lieutenant Governor, and Governor.
59 Gail S. Shaffer January 1, 1983 – January 4, 1995 Democrat
60 Alexander Treadwell January 4, 1995 – April 12, 2001 Republican became Chairman of the Republican State Committee
61 Randy Daniels April 12, 2001 – September 23, 2005 Republican a Democrat when appointed, became a Republican in 2002; resigned
62 Frank Milano September 23, 2005 – April 19, 2006 Republican as First Deputy Secretary, acted until the appointment of a successor
63 Christopher Jacobs April 19, 2006 – January 1, 2007 Republican
64 Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez January 1, 2007 – September 1, 2010 Democrat
65 Ruth Noemí Colón September 1, 2010 – May 2, 2011 Democrat
66 Cesar A. Perales May 2, 2011 – February 3, 2016 Democrat confirmed by State Senate on June 7, 2011
67 Rossana Rosado February 3, 2016 – November 4, 2021 Democrat confirmed by State Senate on June 16, 2016, became Commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Services
68 Robert J. Rodriguez November 4, 2021 – present Democrat confirmed by State Senate on March 2, 2022

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Executive Law § 90. "There shall be in the state government a department of state. The head of the department shall be the secretary of state [...]"
  2. 1 2 Municipal Home Rule Law § 27; "[...] 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. [...]"
  3. ↑ Gibson, Ellen M.; Manz, William H. (2004). Gibson's New York Legal Research Guide (PDF) (3rd ed.). Wm. S. Hein Publishing. p. 261. ISBN 1-57588-728-2. LCCN 2004042477. OCLC 54455036.
  4. ↑ Adopting Local Laws in New York State (PDF). James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series. New York State Department of State. May 1998. pp. 19, 22.
  5. ↑ 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."
  6. ↑ Nominated on January 9 by the Governor, and confirmed on January 17 by the State Senate

Sources

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