Onondaga County

WHEREAS, on May 18, 2023, I, J. Ryan McMahon, II, Onondaga County Executive, by the authority vested in me by the Onondaga County Charter, the Onondaga County Administrative Code, and the laws of the State of New York, declared, pursuant to Section 24 of Article 2-B of the New York State Executive Law, that the public safety was sufficiently imperiled such that a Proclamation of Emergency was declared within the territorial limits of Onondaga County;

WHEREAS, on May 18, 2023, I issued Local Emergency Order No. 1, referred to as the Onondaga County Sustainable Migration Protocol, prohibiting foreign municipal programs that burden the County to ensure for adequate care and to avoid overtaxing limited resources;

NOW, THEREFORE, in accordance with authority vested in me by the Onondaga County Charter and Code, local home rule powers conferred upon local governments, and pursuant to Article 2-B, Section 24 of the New York State Executive Law, I hereby promulgate and extend Local Emergency Order No. 1, effective within the territorial limits of Onondaga County:

Section 1. Prohibition of foreign municipal programs that burden the County to ensure for adequate care and to avoid overtaxing limited resources.

1. No municipality may make contracts with persons, businesses, or entities doing business within the County to transport migrants or asylum seekers to locations in the County, or to house persons at locations in the County for any length of time without the express written permission of the County Executive. In addition, no person or entity may act on behalf of any municipality or in performance of a municipal program, or other act funded by a municipality, to perform an act in violation of this subsection.
2. No hotel, motel or owner of a multiple dwelling in Onondaga County is permitted to contract or otherwise engage in business with any other municipality other than the County of Onondaga (an “external municipality”) for the purpose of providing housing or accommodations for migrants or asylum seekers without a license granted by the County. This prohibition extends to any person or entity participating in an external municipality’s government program, or a contract or service funded by an external municipality or acting on behalf of any external municipality.
   1. Licenses will be granted only by the Commissioner of Health of the Onondaga County Health Department, County Executive, or designee (“Commissioner, County Executive or designee”). The Commissioner, County Executive or designee may enlist the services of any other agency within the executive branch of the County government to perform the duties necessary to effect this provision.
   2. Licenses will only be granted where, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, County Executive or designee, both the applicant and the foreign municipality demonstrate that:
      1. The contract provides that the migrants or asylum seekers will be returned to the foreign municipality from which they arrived or another location outside the County, within thirty (30) days, subject to modification by the County Executive; and
      2. The foreign municipality demonstrates to the County that it has sufficient funding to sustain the needs of the migrants or asylum seekers during the time of their stay; and
      3. The foreign municipality agrees to assume any costs expended by any municipality in the County (“domestic municipalities”) including the County itself, for the care, welfare, law enforcement interactions, or other expenses related to municipal interaction with the migrants or asylum seekers upon demand; and
      4. The applicant and the foreign municipality each have a performance bond for the conditions set by the license in the amount of $2,000 per migrant or asylum seeker being housed or boarded at the applicant’s facility.
   3. The conditions described in this section will not apply to any contract directly between the foreign municipality and the County.
   4. License renewal will be at the sole discretion of the Commissioner, County Executive or designee, after consideration of the purpose and intent of the Emergency Proclamation that instigated this Emergency Order.
3. Remedies.
   1. Appearance tickets. Any local law enforcement agency, Commissioner, County Executive or designee, is authorized to issue appearance tickets for any violation of this Emergency Order for the penalty prescribed by NYS Executive Law§ 24(5).
   2. Civil penalties. In addition to those penalties prescribed by NYS Executive Law§ 24(5), any person who violates any provision of this Emergency Order or any term or condition of any license issued pursuant to this Emergency Order, shall be liable to a civil penalty; to be determined by a process set by the Commissioner, County Executive or designee, of not more than $2,000 per migrant/asylum seeker housed by the foreign municipality or other violator, for each day or part thereof during which such violation continues. The· civil penalties provided by this subdivision shall be recoverable in an action instituted in the name of this County and initiated by the County Executive or designee and/ or County Attorney.
   3. Abatement. Regardless of any other remedy or relief brought by the County for any violation, the Commissioner, County Executive or designee is authorized to direct the County Attorney to commence actions or proceedings in the name of the County, in a court of competent jurisdiction, to abate any violation of, or to enforce any provision of this Emergency Order.
4. Remedies not exclusive.
   1. No remedy or penalty specified in this Emergency Order shall be the exclusive remedy or remedy available to address any violation described in this Emergency Order.
   2. Each remedy or penalty specified in this Emergency Order shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for or limitation of, the other remedies or penalties specified in this Emergency Order or in any other applicable law.
   3. Any remedy or penalty specified in this section may be pursued at any time, whether prior to, simultaneously with, or after the pursuit of any other remedy or penalty specified in this Emergency Order or in any other applicable law.
   4. In particular, but not by way of limitation, each remedy and penalty specified in this section shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for or limitc1tion of, the penalties specified in NYS Executive Law § 24, and any remedy or penalty specified in this section may be pursued at any time, whether prior to, simultaneously with, or after the pursuit of any penalty specified in NYS Executive Law§ 24.
5. Notifications. In addition to such other powers or duties the Sheriff of Onondaga County may consider in the exercise of the Sheriffs duties with respect to this Emergency Order, the Sheriff is authorized by this order to make limited stops to notify persons suspected of transporting migrants or asylum seekers into the County in violation of the restrictions and regulations of this Emergency Order, and to similarly, notify the owners and operators of facilities suspected of housing any migrants or asylum seekers, or seeking or entering agreements with external municipalities, without the license required by this Emergency Order.
6. All provisions regarding enforcement of this Local Emergency Order must be in compliance with the Constitution of the United States of America, State of New York, and all other applicable laws.

Section 2. Effective Date.

This Local Emergency Order shall take effect immediately.

Section 3. Duration of Local Emergency Order

This Local Emergency Order shall remain in effect for five (5) days unless sooner modified, extended; or revoked, and may be extended for additional periods not to exceed five (5) days during the pend ency of the local state of emergency.

Section 4. Common Name

This Order may be referred to as the “Onondaga County Sustainable Migration Protocol.”

J. Ryan McMahon II
County Executive