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What are the requirements for swearing the oath in New York State Assembly?
Executive summary
The core legal requirement for swearing the oath to serve in the New York State Assembly is that members must take and subscribe to the constitutionally prescribed oath before performing any duties, pledging support for the U.S. and New York Constitutions and to faithfully discharge the office; the oath must then be filed with the Secretary of State [1] [2]. Procedural practice is governed by the Assembly Rules, which set who administers the ceremonial oath in chamber sessions, while statutory provisions in the Public Officers Law and Department of State forms prescribe filing and alternatives for administration [3] [2] [4]. These three elements — constitutional oath content, statutory filing/administration options, and Assembly procedural practice — together capture the full set of requirements and steps for members to be legally able to serve.
1. What the Constitution demands — the non‑negotiable pledge every member must give
Article XIII, Section 1 of the New York Constitution sets the substantive core: every member of the Legislature must take and subscribe an oath or affirmation before entering upon the duties of office, swearing to support both the United States Constitution and the New York Constitution and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office to the best of their ability; the Constitution also bars any additional oath or test as a qualification [1]. This constitutional text is dispositive about what words the officeholder must commit to and that no extra loyalty tests may be imposed. The constitutional requirement is the legal trigger: until the oath is taken and subscribed, the member cannot lawfully perform legislative functions. The Constitution therefore supplies the content and the timing — before commencing duties — while leaving details of administration and filing to statute and chamber rules [1].
2. Statute and recordkeeping — how and where oaths must be taken and filed
New York’s Public Officers Law implements the constitutional requirement by specifying who can administer the oath and where it must be filed: a judge of the Court of Appeals, the Attorney General, officers authorized to take acknowledgments of deeds, the presiding officer or clerk of the legislative body (provided they themselves have taken an oath), or certain military officers for members on active duty may administer the oath; once taken, a state officer’s oath must be filed with the Secretary of State, and related certification details are set out in statute [2]. This statutory framework creates lawful alternatives for oath administration outside the chamber and mandates recordkeeping that preserves the legal validity and public accessibility of the oath certificate. The filing requirement is a formal legal safeguard ensuring public notice and proof of qualification [2].
3. Assembly practice — ceremony, sequence, and the role of the Acting Clerk
The Rules of the New York State Assembly govern the in‑chamber ceremony and order of business: under Assembly Rule VI, Section 2, the Acting Clerk or a designee typically administers the ceremonial oath to members en banc, usually following an invocation and preceding the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the opening proceedings [3]. The Assembly’s procedural rules therefore establish the customary public ceremony and designate chamber officers to perform the administration, but they operate alongside and subject to the constitutional and statutory rules that determine whether an individual has in fact qualified to perform duties. The Assembly’s procedural oath is the public, ceremonial manifestation of the constitutional act; if a member has already taken a valid statutory oath elsewhere, the chamber may still administer a ceremonial oath consistent with its rules [3] [2].
4. Administrative alternatives and practical paperwork — employee forms and timing
For staff and certain legislative employees, Department of State forms such as DOS‑1688‑F function as a statement in lieu of oath pursuant to Civil Service Law procedures; the form is used for Senate or Assembly employees and reflects administrative compliance rather than constitutional qualification of members [4]. For members, statutory and departmental guidance requires signing and filing related certificates — for example Public Officers Law Section 78 filings with the Clerk of the Assembly within specified timeframes — and emphasizes that formal steps such as subscribing an oath and delivering it to the Secretary of State are essential parts of taking office, not mere ceremony [5] [4]. These administrative instruments ensure accurate personnel records and legal defensibility of the member’s authority.
5. Tensions, compliance risks, and how disputes get resolved
Legal disputes have arisen when members attempt to perform duties without completing the constitutional and statutory steps, or when questions surface about who validly administered an oath; the law is clear that substance trumps ceremony — an in‑chamber ritual does not cure a failure to take and file the required oath under Article XIII and the Public Officers Law [1] [2]. Different stakeholders — the Assembly leadership asserting procedural prerogatives and attorneys or the Department of State emphasizing statutory filing requirements — may highlight different aspects for political or administrative reasons, so potential agendas include protecting chamber order versus ensuring statutory compliance [3] [2]. When compliance is disputed, courts and officials (Secretary of State, legislative clerks) adjudicate by reference to the Constitution, statute, and recorded filings, which together determine whether a member may lawfully act [1] [2].