New York Consolidated Laws, Statute of Local Governments - SLG § 20. Construction

1. Where a power granted by this statute relates to the property, affairs or government of a local government, its inclusion herein shall not be deemed to imply that the legislature has construed such power as not relating to the property, affairs or government of such local government or as restricting the powers of such local government in relation to its property, affairs or government to those powers included herein.

2. Nothing in this statute shall operate to restrict the meaning of or diminish or impair any power granted to a local government by the constitution or by any other law;  nor shall the failure to include a power of a local government in this statute operate to restrict the meaning of or diminish or impair such power.

3. No power granted in this statute shall be deemed repealed, diminished, impaired or suspended by the enactment of any subsequent act of the legislature, unless such act shall be enacted and re-enacted as prescribed in paragraph one of subdivision (b) of section two of article nine of the constitution and section twelve of this statute and unless such act shall contain a specific reference to this statute.

4. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this statute shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

5. Powers granted to local governments by this statute shall be liberally construed.

6. This chapter shall not affect or impair section sixteen hundred seven of chapter eight hundred seventy-nine of the laws of nineteen hundred thirty-six.