Section 44-0105. Hudson river valley greenway communities council

1.  The  governor's  council  on  the  Hudson  river  valley is hereby
  recreated within the executive department to be the Hudson river  valley
  greenway  communities  council.  The council shall consist of a total of
  twenty-seven voting members. The governor shall appoint two members, one
  of whom shall be the chairperson.  The legislative body  of  each  town,
  city or village other than the city of New York which is adjacent to the
  Hudson river may forward the names of a recommended council appointee to
  the  chief  elected  official of the county in which it is incorporated.
  One voting member shall be appointed from among the names  forwarded  by
  the  towns, cities and villages by the chief elected official of each of
  the ten counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer,
  Albany, Greene, Ulster, Orange and  Rockland,  and  two  voting  members
  shall  be  appointed  by  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York after
  consultation with the presidents  of  the  boroughs  of  the  Bronx  and
  Manhattan.    Two  voting  members  shall  be appointed by the temporary
  president of the senate, one of whom must reside in the countryside  and
  two  voting  members  shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly,
  one of whom must reside in the countryside.  One voting member shall  be
  appointed  by  the  minority  leader of the senate and one voting member
  shall be  appointed  by  the  minority  leader  of  the  assembly.  Such
  appointed  legislative  representatives  may designate a duly authorized
  representative to attend council meetings and to act in their place. The
  following seven members shall be ex officio members:  the  commissioner,
  the  commissioner  of  parks,  recreation and historic preservation, the
  secretary  of  state  and  the  commissioners   of   general   services,
  transportation,  agriculture  and  markets  and  economic development or
  their designated representatives who, to the extent  practicable,  shall
  be   residents  of  the  Hudson  valley.  All  persons  responsible  for
  appointing members of the council shall be mindful of the importance  of
  assuring  adequate  representation  on  the  council of the interests of
  various  municipal  entities,  conservationists,  business  owners   and
  operators,  persons  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, minorities and
  educators.     Notwithstanding  the   foregoing   provisions   of   this
  subdivision,  in the event that there is no vacancy in the membership of
  the council and there is no member of the council who is a member of  an
  organized  sporting  association, club or society, the membership of the
  council  shall  be  increased  to  twenty-eight  voting   members.   The
  twenty-eighth  voting  member shall be a representative of the organized
  sporting community and shall be selected  from  the  population  of  the
  Hudson river valley by a vote of the council.  In the event of a vacancy
  occurring  in  the office of any member, such vacancy shall be filled in
  the same manner as the original appointment.  The members of the council
  shall serve without compensation, except that members shall  be  allowed
  their necessary and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their
  duties  under  this article.  Any person other than an ex officio member
  who serves as a member of the council, shall not serve as  a  member  of
  the conservancy.
    2.  The  council  shall  meet at least once every two months and shall
  encourage attendance at such  meetings  of  representatives  from  local
  governments  in the greenway and other interested parties. Copies of the
  minutes of each meeting with the date  of  the  next  scheduled  meeting
  shall be made available to interested parties at their request.
    3.  Every  state  agency and public corporation having jurisdiction of
  land or water within  the  greenway  or  of  programs  relating  to  the
  purposes  and  goals  of  this  article  shall,  to  the  fullest extent
  practicable, offer full cooperation and assistance  to  the  council  in
  carrying out the provisions of this article.

    4. Every local agency with programs relating to the greenway may offer
  assistance  to  the  council  in  carrying  out  the  provisions of this
  article.