1. 1. There is hereby established the New York 2010 Census Complete Count Committee (“Committee”), which shall raise awareness of the 2010 census and maximize the response of New Yorkers.
2. 2. The Committee shall be comprised of the heads of all state agencies subject to this Order and their designees and such other members as the Governor may appoint in his discretion. The work of the Committee shall be coordinated by a New York Census Action Council (“Council”), which shall be comprised of the following individuals or their designees: the Secretary of State, who shall serve as Chair; the Governor's Counsel; the Governor's Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs; the Commissioner of Economic Development; the Commissioner of Children and Family Services; the Commissioner of Health; the Commissioner of Housing and Community Renewal; the Commissioner of Labor; the Director of the Lottery; the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles; the Commissioner of Temporary and Disability Assistance; the Commissioner of Transportation; and the Chancellor of the State University of New York. All actions and recommendations of the Council shall require approval of a majority of the total members of the Council.
3. 3. The Committee, through the Council, shall work with the U.S. Census Bureau, local Complete Count Committees, Census Partners, community-based organizations and other local and regional entities to develop, recommend, and implement a census outreach strategy to encourage full participation of all New Yorkers in the 2010 census. The census outreach strategy shall include, but not be limited to:
4. a. identification of barriers and obstacles that may interfere with full participation of New Yorkers in the 2010 census, including geographic, linguistic, cultural and other barriers, and the development of strategies to overcome those barriers; and
5. b. the development and coordinated distribution by state and local agencies, organizations and entities of press releases, publications, displays and other promotional material designed to heighten the awareness of and encourage full participation in the 2010 census.
6. 4. The first meeting of the Council shall be held not later than December 15, 2009, and thereafter the Committee and Council shall meet as often as is necessary and under circumstances as are appropriate to fulfilling their duties under this order.

7. 5. Every agency, department, office, and division of this State shall cooperate with the Committee, and furnish such information and assistance as the Committee determines is reasonably necessary to accomplish its purpose.

   Signed: David A. Paterson Dated: November 12, 2009

WHEREAS, the decennial census of the population of the United States will be conducted on April 1, 2010, as required by Article I, § 2 of the Constitution of the United States and Title 13, § 141 of the United States Code; and

WHEREAS, the census is a count of every person living in the United States and its territories, including people of all ages, races and ethnic groups, both citizens and non-citizens; and

WHEREAS, it is illegal for the U.S. Census Bureau, or its employees, to share personal information about individual respondents or households with any other government agency; including immigration and law enforcement authorities and the Internal Revenue Service, and the unlawful release of census information is punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both such fine and imprisonment; and

WHEREAS, the census count is used to determine each State's congressional representation for the next ten years and to establish new boundaries for congressional, state legislative and many local government districts; and

WHEREAS, the federal government uses census data to allocate more than $400 billion in federal funds annually for community programs and services, such as education, housing and community development, health care, services for the elderly, job training and more; and

WHEREAS, state, local and tribal governments use census information for planning and to allocate funds for new school construction, libraries and other public buildings, highway safety and public transportation systems, new roads and bridges, location of police and fire departments, and many other projects; and

WHEREAS, federal estimates suggest that over 202,000 New Yorkers were not counted in the 2000 census, including more than 103,000 New York City residents, despite aggressive government and community-based efforts to reduce the 2000 census undercount; and

WHEREAS, it is of vital importance to New York State to ensure that each and every New York resident is counted in the 2010 census;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows: