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Legislature?s enactment of a statute directing the State Comptroller to audit charter schools Constitutional

Legislature?s enactment of a statute directing the State Comptroller to audit charter schools Constitutional
Matter of New York Charter Schools Assn., Inc. v DiNapoli, 2009 NY Slip Op 00158, Decided on January 15, 2009, Appellate Division, Third Department

The New York Charter Schools Association, objecting, to being audited by the State Comptroller, filed an Article 78 petition seeking a declaratory judgment that legislation Article V, §1 of the State Constitution to the extent that it authorized such auditing charter schools.

The primary issue in this appeal is whether legislation directing respondent Comptroller to audit charter schools violated NY Constitution, Article V, §1*. Charter schools were authorized by a law enacted in 1998 [Chapter 4, Laws of 1998] and in 2005 a bill authorizing the Comptroller to audit Charter Schools was enacted into law [Chapter 267, Laws of 2005].

Supreme Court agreed with the Association that General Municipal Law §33(2) and Education Law §2854(1)(c), to the extent that they authorized the Comptroller to audit charter schools, violated Article V of the State Consititution.

The Appellate Division, Judge Rose dissenting, reversed, noting that ?Statutes carry a strong presumption of constitutionality, and judicial interpretations that result in statutes being unconstitutional should be avoided if at all possible.?

The Appellate Division concluded that charter schools, like public school districts, perform an important public function, and the significant public funding they receive is linked to and has an impact upon public school districts.

As the Legislature has ?broad delegatory authority regarding the Comptroller and the enormous public funding involved which implicates the Comptroller's fundamental duty to supervise state fiscal matters,? together with the strong presumption of the constitutionality of statutes, the Appellate Division said that it was ?unpersuaded that the Legislature violated the New York State Constitution's Article V, §1, when it directed audits of charter schools by the Comptroller.?

The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_00158.htm

* NY Constitution, Article V, §1 provides, in relevant part, as follows: "The comptroller shall be required: . . . to audit all vouchers before payment and all official accounts . . . In such respect the legislature shall define the powers and duties and may also assign to him or her: . . . supervision of the accounts of any political subdivision of the state . . . The legislature shall assign to him or her no administrative duties, excepting such as may be incidental to the performance of these functions, any other provision of the constitution to the contrary notwithstanding."

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on January 20, 2009 (boomark / email).