THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS: AN ...

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64 THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS: AN EVALUATION AND BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM 79 JOHANNA M. DONLIN & BRIAN J. WEBERG, NAT’L COUNCIL OF STATE LEGISLATURES, LEGISLATIVE STAFF SERVICES: PROFILES OF THE 50 STATES AND TERRITORIES 2 (1999). 80 ALAN ROSENTHAL, THE DECLINE OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY 139 (1998). 81 COUNCIL ON STATE GOVERNMENTS, BOOK OF THE STATES 158 tbl.3.22 (2003) [hereinafter BOOK OF THE STATES]. 82 The legislative director for one Assembly member notes that it is the committee staff members who “propose the committee meeting agenda to the Chair, who then approves the agenda.” E-mail Correspondence from B, Legislative Director for N.Y. Asssemblymember C (Oct. 10, 2003) (on file with the Brennan Center). 83 Telephone Interview with B, Legislative Director to N.Y. State Assembly Member C, Oct. 10, 2003; E-mail Correspondence from N.Y. State Sen. D (Oct. 21, 2003) (on file with the Brennan Center). 84 Telephone Interview with B, Legislative Director to N.Y. State Assembly Member C, Oct. 10, 2003. 85 BOOK OF THE STATES, supra note 81, at 160 tbl. 3.23. Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts were not included in these comparisons because those three states use a joint committee system that is not directly comparable to that of New York. 86 See Congressional Committee Listings, at http://www.house.gov/house/Committee WWW.html (last visited Jan. 14, 2004) & http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/ d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm, (last visited Jan. 14, 2004). 87 As Alan Rosenthal notes: “The more committees, the more opportunities for chairmanships. It is not unusual, therefore, for committees to proliferate during a tight race for leadership, when rivals make promises in return for support, or in an effort by an incumbent leader to consolidate his or her position.” ROSENTHAL, supra note 80, at 134. Section 5 of the Legislative Law establishes the uniform annual salary of all legislators ($79,500), N.Y. LEG. § 5, but that is just the baseline for members’ compensation. Section 5-a, which is amended every two years, provides a “schedule” of special “allowances” for members who serve in various official special capacities. The Senate includes 61 Senators; there are 87 special allowances for those Senators. The Assembly includes 150 members; there are 116 special allowances for those members. No legislator may receive more than one special allowance at any time, so all Senators and very nearly all Assembly members receive some kind of special allowance above and beyond their base salaries. See N.Y. LEG. § 5-a(2)(a). 88 Winnie Hu, Legislature’s Second Fiddles Take Lead Roles in Budget Fight, N.Y.TIMES, May 19, 2003, at B1. 89 John J. Pitney Jr., Leaders and Rules in the New York State Senate, 7 LEGIS. STUD. Q. 491, 494 (1982) (citing Peter A. Berle, DOES THE CITIZEN STAND A CHANCE? 31-32 (1974)). 90 See N.Y. ASSEMB. R. I, § 1(c)(3) (“The Speaker … shall appoint the chairpersons and members of all committees thereof, except where the House shall otherwise order[.]”); N.Y. SEN. R. II, § 2 (“[The majority leader] shall appoint . . . the chair, vice-chair and members of all committees and sub-committees, except when the Senate shall otherwise order.”). The speaker plays a major role in appointing members of committees in 44 (of 49) state houses and appointing committee chairs in 43 (of 49) state houses. State senates are more divided. In 10 (of 50, including New York) states, the president pro tem has member and chair appointment power, though New York is the only state in this group where the president pro tem is also the majority leader. In five other states, the majority leader possesses such appointment powers. The senate president (in four cases, the same as the lieutenant governor) has the power to appoint members in 19 (of 50) senates and chairs in 18 (of 50) senates. BOOK OF THE STATES, supra note 81, at 160 tbl 3.23. Hamm and Hedlund provide a more anecdotal perspective: “In more than two-thirds of the 99 state legislative cham-
ers, the committee chair and majority-party committee members are appointed by the presiding officer or another leader. In roughly one-half of these 99 chambers, minority-party members on the committee are recommended by the minority-party leader.” Hamm & Hedlund, supra note 31 at 687. 91 ROSENTHAL, supra note 80, at 134. 92 NCSL, INSIDE THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, supra note 33, at tbl.96-4.6. As noted already, the survey does not contain information on the New York Senate. This information was obtained by dividing the number of committee seats for the 2003 session (510) by the number of senators (62). At approximately 8 committees per senator (rounded down) this exceeds the Alabama Senate, which ranked at the top of the NCSL survey with 6 committees per senator. 93 Hamm & Hedlund, supra note 31, at 675, 682. 94 RULES ANALYSIS, supra note 15. The rules on discharge motions in the states are as follows [hereinafter RULES ANALYSIS DISCHARGE RULES]: ALA. H.R.69;ALA. SEN. R. 59; ALASKA UNIFORM R. 48; ARIZ. H. R. 37; ARIZ. SEN. R.2(J);ARK. H. R. 69; ARK. SEN. R. 7.05(k); CAL. ASSEMB. R. 96; CAL. SEN. R. 28; CONN. JT. R. 19; DEL. H.R.25;FLA. H. R. 11.11; FLA. SEN. R. 4.10; GA. H. R. 58; HAW. H. R. 37.1 & 37.2; HAW. SEN. R. 52; IDAHO H. R. 45; IDAHO SEN. R. 14(E); ILL. H. R. 19 & 58; ILL.SEN. R. 3-9 & 7-9; IOWA H. R. 43 & 60; IOWA SEN. R. 13 & 42; KAN H. R. 1309; KAN.SEN. R. 11(b)-(c); KY.H.R.48;KY.SEN. R. 48; LA. H. R. 6.13; LA.SEN. R. 13.11; ME. H. R. 517; ME.SEN. R. 511; ME.JOINT R. 309; MASS.H.R.28;MASS.SEN. R. 27(C) & 32(A); MICH. H. R. 45(3); MICH. SEN. R. 3.203(e); MINN. H. R. 4.30 & 4.31; MINN. SEN. R.5;MISS. H. R. 95; MISS. SEN. R. 87 & 89; MO. H.R.34;MO. SEN. R. 50; MONT. H. R. H30-50(7) & H40-90; NEB. UNICAMERAL R. 3 § 19; NEV. SEN. R. 50; N.J. H. R. 10:23; N.J. SEN. R. 12.6; N.Y. ASSEMB. R. IV, § 7; N.Y. SEN. R. XI, § 2; N.C. H. R. 39; N.C. SEN. R. 47; N.D. H. R. 508 & 509; N.D. SEN. R. 508 & 509; OHIO H. R. 85 & 86; OHIO SEN. R. 32; OR. H. R. 9.30; OR. SEN. R. 8.20 & 8.42; PA. H.R.53;PA. SEN. R. XV, § 17; R.I. H. R. 26(e)-(g) & 48; R.I. SEN. R. 6.10 & 6.11; S.C. SEN. R. 22; S.D. JOINT R. 7-1.2 & 7-7; TENN. H.R.53;TENN. SEN. R. 63; UTAH H. R. HR-27.17; VA. CONST. ART. IV, § 11; WASH. SEN. R. 48; W.VA. H.R.82;W.V.SEN. R. 34; WIS. ASSEMB. R.15; WIS. SEN. R. 41; WYO. H. R. 4-4; WYO. SEN. R.7-4. 95 Although one Assembly member reports that the Health Committee enjoys considerable debate and frequent challenges to the chair, that member indicated a belief that that committee is unique. The same member also noted that many members feel pressured to vote with the chair to avoid giving offense. Telephone Interview with Assembly Member A (Dec. 15, 2003) (on file with the Brennan Center). 96 E-mail Correspondence from B, Legislative Director for N.Y. Asssemblymember C (Oct. 10, 2003) (on file with the Brennan Center). 97 ROBERT RIENOW, N.Y.STATE EDUC. DEP’T, OUR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 122 (1953); see also FINAL REPORT OF THE NEW YORK STATE JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE METHODS, PRACTICES, PROCEDURES AND EXPENDITURES 110-11 (1946). 98 Layhmond Robinson, New Era Dawns on Legislature, N.Y.TIMES, Jan. 10, 1964, at 15. 99 R.W. Apple Jr., Revolt Dies Out in Legislature, N.Y.TIMES, Feb. 9, 1965, at A1. A New York Times editorial the following year again called for this reform. Modernize the Legislature, N.Y.TIMES, Dec. 28, 1966, at 36; see also Sydney H. Schanberg, Reform Drive Opens in Albany, But Leaders Sidetrack It, N.Y. TIMES, Jan. 5, 1967, at 22. 100 Rebuff to Travia ....,N.Y.TIMES, Mar. 6, 1968, at 46. 101 ROSENTHAL, supra note 80, at 142. The chambers that require committees to report all bills are: Arkansas House, California House, Colorado House and Senate, Idaho Senate, Illinois Senate, Indiana House, Maine House and Senate, Maryland Senate, Massachusetts House and Senate, New Hampshire House and Senate, North Carolina House, North Dakota House and ENDNOTES 65
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THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PROC
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The Brennan Center for Justice at N
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CONTENTS Executive Summary. . . . .
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viii THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE
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x THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE PR
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xii THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE
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xiv THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE
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INTRODUCTION It has become somethin
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■ Accessibility. An accessible le
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NEW YORK STATE’S LEGISLATIVE PROC
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■■ REFERRAL OF LEGISLATION TO C
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legislation. As a result, the final
Page 29 and 30:
■■ COMMITTEE REPORTS Legislatur
Page 31 and 32: usually adopted by the full committ
Page 33 and 34: Neither of New York State’s two c
Page 35 and 36: FIGURE 5 RESTRICTIONS ON MOTIONS TO
Page 37 and 38: that is overturned; this allows the
Page 39 and 40: of these committees. 142 In 1971, a
Page 41 and 42: into, a bill because the committee
Page 43 and 44: Additional research is necessary to
Page 45 and 46: Finally, analysis of the outcomes o
Page 47 and 48: maybe 20 staff people saw it before
Page 49 and 50: Few other states rely so heavily up
Page 51 and 52: Both the fast roll call (also known
Page 53 and 54: that the leaders exert over which b
Page 55 and 56: Nor is this pattern a recent phenom
Page 57 and 58: A COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF NEW YORK
Page 59 and 60: State A COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF LEGI
Page 61 and 62: THE IMPACT OF NEW YORK’S DYSFUNCT
Page 69 and 70: the people of New York State by acq
Page 71 and 72: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFORM The refo
Page 73 and 74: ■ Motions to discharge a bill may
Page 75 and 76: ENDNOTES 1 See, e.g., Albany’s Ad
Page 77 and 78: the New York State Legislature was
Page 79 and 80: 41 MAJOR LEGISLATION COMMITTEE ANAL
Page 81: Fin. Network, Inc., 830 A.2d 711, 7
Page 85 and 86: 90-day session and the 105th day of
Page 87 and 88: at 244, 547-48. 148 Aubrey Jewett,
Page 89 and 90: 175 MAJOR LEGISLATION ANALYSIS 1997
Page 91 and 92: 210 S4422B passed the Senate on Jun
Page 93 and 94: voted from 1997 through 2001 were a
Page 95 and 96: METHODOLOGY The research for this r
Page 97 and 98: ■ Vote Outcomes for All Bills 199
Page 99 and 100: A9291-A, S6292-A S7833, A1103 A7162
Page 101 and 102: TELEPHONE SURVEY RESPONDENTS Alabam
Page 103 and 104: Montana Legislative Services Divisi
Page 105 and 106: BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE BOARD OF
Page 108: BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE AT NYU S
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