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Secretary of State of New York
Seal of the State of New York
Flag of the State of New York
Incumbent Walter T. Mosley since May 22, 2024
Department of State
Style	The Honorable
Inaugural holder	John Morin Scott
Formation	1778
Salary	$120,800
Website	www.dos.ny.gov

The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS).

The current secretary of state of New York is Walter T. Mosley, a Democrat.

Duties

The secretary is responsible for the regulation of a number of businesses and professions, including private investigators, cosmetologists, real estate brokers, appraisers, and notaries public. The secretary also regulates cemeteries, registers corporations and business organizations, and maintains business records under the Uniform Commercial Code and other laws. The New York State Athletic Commission is vested within the department and regulates combat sports such as boxing and professional wrestling occurring within the state.

The secretary's office includes the Office of Local Government Services, which provides training assistance to local governments in areas such as fire prevention, coastal management, and code enforcement.

The secretary of state is responsible for publishing local laws on their website and as a supplement to the Laws of New York. They are also responsible for publishing on their website a complete codification of all local laws in effect that have been adopted by the legislative body of each county.

History

The office of the secretary of state of New York was established in 1778, and is one of the oldest government agencies of the state of New York.

Until 1822, the secretary of state was appointed by the Council of Appointment for an indefinite term, but could be substituted at any time, especially if the majority party in the council changed. Besides his other duties, the secretary of state was also the secretary of the Council of Appointment.

From 1823 to 1845, the secretary was elected by joint ballot of the New York State Legislature for a term of three years.

From 1847 on, the secretary and the other state cabinet officers were elected by the voters at the state elections in November in odd years to a two-year term, so that, until 1877, they served in the second half of the term of the governor in office and the first half of the term of the succeeding governor, since the governors at the time were elected to a two-year term in even years. From 1877 on, the governor served a three-year term, while the secretary continued to be elected for two years.

The secretary elected in 1895 received an additional year and served a three-year term, and from 1898 on, the secretary and other state officers were elected in even years to a two-year term at the same time as the governor, and they served concurrently.

In 1926, during the governorship of Al Smith, the state administration was reorganized, and the office became appointive and has remained so. The last secretary elected was Florence E. S. Knapp; the first appointed by the governor was Robert Moses.

On March 31, 2011, Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011 merged the former New York State Consumer Protection Board into the Department of State creating a new Division of Consumer Protection.

List of secretaries of state

#	Image	Secretary of State	Tenure	Party	Notes
1		John Morin Scott	March 13, 1778 – September 14, 1784		died in office
2		Lewis Allaire Scott	October 23, 1784 – March 17, 1798	–	son of John Morin Scott; died in office; longest-serving Secretary of State (13 years and almost 5 months)
3		Daniel Hale	March 24, 1798 – August 10, 1801	Federalist
4		Thomas Tillotson	August 10, 1801 – March 16, 1806	Democratic-Republican
5		Elisha Jenkins	March 16, 1806 – February 16, 1807	Democratic-Republican
6		Thomas Tillotson	February 16, 1807 – February 1, 1808	Dem.-Rep./Lewisite
7		Elisha Jenkins	February 1, 1808 – February 2, 1810	Dem.-Rep./Clintonian
8		Daniel Hale	February 2, 1810 – February 1, 1811	Federalist
9		Elisha Jenkins	February 1, 1811 – February 23, 1813	Democratic-Republican
10		Jacob R. Van Rensselaer	February 23, 1813 – February 16, 1815	Federalist
11		Peter Buell Porter	February 16, 1815 – February 12, 1816	Democratic-Republican
12		Robert L. Tillotson	February 12, 1816 – April 16, 1817		son of Thomas Tillotson
13		Charles D. Cooper	April 16, 1817 – April 24, 1818	Democratic-Republican	son-in-law of Acting Governor John Tayler
14		John Van Ness Yates	April 24, 1818 – February 14, 1826	Democratic-Republican	first appointed, in 1823 re-elected by the State Legislature
15		Azariah Cutting Flagg	February 14, 1826 – January 12, 1833	Democratic-Republican	three terms; then elected New York State Comptroller
16		John Adams Dix	January 15, 1833 – February 4, 1839	Democratic	two terms
17		John Canfield Spencer	February 4, 1839 – October 11, 1841	Whig	resigned to become Secretary of War
18		Archibald Campbell (acting)	October 11, 1841 – February 7, 1842	(none)	as Deputy Secretary, acted until the election of a successor
19		Samuel Young	February 7, 1842 – February 8, 1845	Dem./Barnburner
20		Nathaniel S. Benton	February 8, 1845 – December 31, 1847	Dem./Hunker	legislated out of office by State Constitution of 1846
21		Christopher Morgan	January 1, 1848 – December 31, 1851	Whig	first Secretary elected by general ballot; two terms
22		Henry S. Randall	January 1, 1852 – December 31, 1853	Democratic
23		Elias W. Leavenworth	January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1855	Whig
24		Joel T. Headley	January 1, 1856 – December 31, 1857	American
25		Gideon J. Tucker	January 1, 1858 – December 31, 1859	Democratic
26		David R. Floyd-Jones	January 1, 1860 – December 31, 1861	Democratic
27		Horatio Ballard	January 1, 1862 – December 31, 1863	Union
28		Chauncey Depew	January 1, 1864 – December 31, 1865	Union
29		Francis C. Barlow	January 1, 1866 – December 31, 1867	Republican
30		Homer A. Nelson	January 1, 1868 – December 31, 1871	Democratic	two terms
31		G. Hilton Scribner	January 1, 1872 – December 31, 1873	Republican
32		Diedrich Willers, Jr.	January 1, 1874 – December 31, 1875	Democratic
33		John Bigelow	January 1, 1876 – December 31, 1877	Democratic
34		Allen C. Beach	January 1, 1878 – December 31, 1879	Democratic
35		Joseph B. Carr	January 1, 1880 – December 31, 1885	Republican	three terms
36		Frederick Cook	January 1, 1886 – December 31, 1889	Democratic	two terms
37		Frank Rice	January 1, 1890 – December 31, 1893	Democratic
38		John Palmer	January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1898	Republican	two terms (1894–1895, 1896–98)
39		John T. McDonough	January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1902	Republican	two terms
40		John F. O'Brien	January 1, 1903 – December 31, 1906	Republican	two terms
41		John S. Whalen	January 1, 1907 – December 31, 1908	Dem./Ind. L.
42		Samuel S. Koenig	January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1910	Republican
43		Edward Lazansky	January 1, 1911 – December 31, 1912	Democratic
44		Mitchell May	January 1, 1913 – December 31, 1914	Democratic
45		Francis Hugo	January 1, 1915 – December 31, 1920	Republican	three terms
46		John J. Lyons	January 1, 1921 – December 31, 1922	Republican
47		James A. Hamilton	January 1, 1923 – December 31, 1924	Democratic
48		Florence E. S. Knapp	January 1, 1925 – January 17, 1927	Republican	first woman in this office; the last elected Secretary of State
49		Robert Moses	January 17, 1927 – January 1, 1929	Republican	first Secretary of State appointed by the Governor
50		Edward J. Flynn	January 1, 1929 – January 17, 1939	Democratic
51		Michael F. Walsh	January 17, 1939 – January 1, 1943	Democratic
52		Thomas J. Curran	January 1, 1943 – January 1, 1955	Republican
53		Carmine DeSapio	January 1, 1955 – January 1, 1959	Democratic
54		Caroline K. Simon	January 1, 1959 – August 22, 1963	Republican	appointed a judge of the New York Court of Claims
55		John P. Lomenzo	August 22, 1963 – January 1, 1974	Republican
56		John J. Ghezzi	January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1975	Republican
57		Mario Cuomo	January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1978	Democratic	elected Lieutenant Governor
58		Basil A. Paterson	January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983	Democratic	son David A. Paterson became Lieutenant Governor, and Governor.
59		Gail S. Shaffer	January 1, 1983 – January 4, 1995	Democratic
60		Alexander Treadwell	January 4, 1995 – April 12, 2001	Republican	became Chairman of the Republican State Committee
61		Randy Daniels	April 12, 2001 – September 23, 2005	Republican	a Democrat when appointed, became a Republican in 2002; resigned
–		Frank Milano (acting)	September 23, 2005 – April 19, 2006	Republican	as First Deputy Secretary, acted until the appointment of a successor
62		Christopher Jacobs	April 19, 2006 – January 1, 2007	Republican
63		Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez	January 1, 2007 – September 1, 2010	Democratic
64		Ruth Noemí Colón	September 1, 2010 – May 2, 2011	Democratic
65		Cesar A. Perales	May 2, 2011 – February 3, 2016	Democratic	confirmed by State Senate on June 7, 2011
66		Rossana Rosado	February 3, 2016 – November 4, 2021	Democratic	confirmed by State Senate on June 16, 2016, became Commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Services
–		Brendan C. Hughes (acting)	November 4, 2021 – December 9, 2021	Democratic
67		Robert J. Rodriguez	December 9, 2021 – May 8, 2024	Democratic	confirmed by State Senate on March 2, 2022, became president and CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
–		Brendan C. Hughes (acting)	May 8, 2024 – May 22, 2024	Democratic
68		Walter T. Mosley	May 22, 2024 – present	Democratic	confirmed by State Senate on May 22, 2024

See also

• List of company registers#United States

Notes

1. Executive Law § 90. "There shall be in the state government a department of state. The head of the department shall be the secretary of state "
2. "About Our Executive Team". New York State Department of State. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
3. ^ Municipal Home Rule Law § 27; " 5. The secretary of state shall publish annually local laws on the department of state website and in a separate volume as a supplement to the session laws, and shall publish at least annually on the department of state website a complete codification of all local laws in effect that have been adopted by the legislative body of each county. The clerk, or other officer designated by the legislative body of each county, shall provide local laws to the secretary of state in a manner specified by the secretary of state to facilitate the publication requirements of this subdivision. 7. The secretary of state shall have the authority to provide for the receipt and filing of local laws by electronic transmission. "
4. Gibson, Ellen M.; Manz, William H. (2004). Gibson's New York Legal Research Guide (PDF) (3rd ed.). Wm. S. Hein Publishing. p. 261. ISBN 1-57588-728-2. LCCN 2004042477. OCLC 54455036.
5. Adopting Local Laws in New York State (PDF). James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series. New York State Department of State. May 1998. pp. 19, 22.
6. Article XXVIII of the State Constitution of 1777 said: "...that where, by this convention, the duration of any office shall not be ascertained, such office shall be construed to be held during the pleasure of the council of appointment."
7. Nominated on January 9 by the Governor, and confirmed on January 17 by the State Senate

Sources

• Google Books The Civil List of New York

External links

• Official website of the New York Department of State
• Department of State in the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations

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