THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS: AN ...

Additional research is necessary to compare more fully the extent and nature of
debate in the many state legislative chambers. The telephone survey conducted
for this report provides only a rough snapshot of each chamber’s practices for
comparison, and in no way can substitute for a documentary review of the transcripts
from each chamber. Still, this survey makes clear that the paucity of
debate in New York’s Legislature – even on significant legislation – stands in stark
contrast with most of the other chambers.
Of course, in most contexts the fact that debate has not occurred in a particular
instance does not necessarily indicate that legislators have inadequately considered
a bill’s merits. In one commentator’s view, “[d]ebate is often irrelevant to
decision and only infrequently wins over votes. Most people’s votes have already
been committed.” 178 In New York State, however, at no point in the legislative
process prior to the floor vote is there any opportunity for members to hear from
each other in an open forum about the policy implications of a specific piece of
legislation. (The four closed legislative party conferences may offer such discussion,
but by definition these meetings do not allow cross-party debate or policy
discussion and are not open to the public.) Accordingly, the absence of public
debate at this late stage is significant as the final lost opportunity for sustained
policy debate to improve a bill.
■■ AMENDMENTS
In both the Assembly and the Senate, sponsors amend bills on occasion after
they have been reported out of a committee. Although such amendments are
customarily announced on the floor of each chamber after they have been made,
they are virtually never voted on or debated on the floor. Not a single one of the
308 major bills analyzed from 1997 through 2001 was amended by the full
chamber on the floor of either the Senate or the Assembly. 179 Moreover, none of
the amendments that were made to those 308 major bills off the floor were
debated on the floor of either chamber. See Fig. 11.
FIGURE 10
NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE
■ DEBATE ON MAJOR LEGISLATION 1997-2001
Total Bills Debated Total Bills Debated
Year Total Bills Considered in Assembly in Senate
1997 43 1 (2.3%) 4 (9.3%)
1998 60 4 (6.7%) 4 (6.7%)
1999 72 3 (4.2%) 3 (4.2%)
2000 82 3 (3.7%) 0 (0%)
2001 51 3 (5.9%) 4 (7.8%)
Total 308 14 (4.5%) 15 (4.9%)
NEW YORK STATE’S LEGISLATIVE PROCESS 25