THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS: AN ...

22 THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS: AN EVALUATION AND BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM
its listing, and no action can be taken until one day after the “star” is removed. 153
A bill may be “starred” by its sponsor or by the Majority Leader, and only the
Majority Leader can remove his own star. 154 Of course, the starring procedure
arguably helps to keep bills that are technically defective off the floor until
revisions are made, 155 and one commentator suggests that more than half of all
“stars” are requested by the sponsors. 156 Still, this procedure has been described
by one former Senator as “[t]he most absolute, undemocratic procedure that can
possibly exist.” 157 What cannot be disputed is that the practice allows the Majority
Leader to halt consideration of a scheduled bill, even where it would have
majority support in its current form. 158
In the Assembly, the calendaring process is similar in substance although not in
form. The Speaker alone determines the order of bills on the calendars. 159 The
Speaker does not have parallel authority to “star” a bill and prevent its consideration
directly. 160 Instead he must rely on more indirect, though no less effective, tools
to control which bills are considered by the full chamber. The Speaker can prevent
committee chairs from reporting bills to the floor rather than to the Committee on
Rules (which he controls), or from reporting bills at all. He can also convince a
sponsor to delay a bill by using the many informal tools of leadership at his disposal,
including the threat of defeat or the loss of committee appointments or
member items. In other words, the formal absence of “starring” authority does
not prevent the Speaker from controlling whether a bill reaches the floor for a vote.
New York is among a small handful of states that give to the leaders of their
legislative chambers such extensive control over the legislative calendars.
Specifically, New York State’s Senate is the only legislative chamber in the
country that grants its leader the unilateral authority to “star” a bill. 161 New
York’s Senate and Assembly are two of only three chambers (out of 99) in which
the leader of the chamber determines the order of bills placed on the second
reading and special orders calendars; 162 and two of only five chambers in which
the leader determines the order of bills placed on the third reading or final
passage calendar. 163 Although the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
effectively maintains control over which bills reach the floor through the Rules
Committee, in the U.S. Senate the lack of a germaneness rule against bringing
amendments to the floor allows any Senator to bring an issue or legislation (in the
form of an amendment) to the floor over the Majority Leader’s objections. 164 In
New York, however, the Speaker’s and Majority Leader’s control over the calendars
gives them unparalleled control over the legislative agenda in each chamber
and prevents the consideration of any bill that does not enjoy their support.
■ DEBATE AND AMENDMENTS ON THE FLOOR
In most legislatures, legislators debate and amend bills not only in committees but
also on the floor of their full chambers prior to a final floor vote. In New York,
such debate and amendment on the floor would provide the only meaningful
opportunity for rank-and-file members to comment publicly upon and have input