Brennan Center for Justice

The reforms proposed here seek to make the New York State Legislature more faithful in its representation, more deliberative and effective in its exercise of legislative powers, more accessible and accountable to the voters, and more efficient in its legislative work.








PROBLEM # 1


DYSFUNCTIONAL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES

Proposed Rule Changes:

• Each committee shall have the authority and funding to hire and fire its own professional staff.
  

  
  
  
  
  

• If one fourth or more of the members of a committee petition for a public hearing on a bill or an agency oversight hearing, such hearing shall take place unless the petition is rejected by a majority vote of the committee.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• All bills reported to the legislative floor must be accompanied by a detailed public committee report.
  

  
  
  
  
  

• Attendance at committee meetings shall be mandatory except upon good cause shown, and committee meetings shall be recorded and the record made publicly available.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• No member shall be assigned to more than three committees during a legislative session.
  

  
  
  
  
  

• All bills shall be considered and reported to the legislative calendar, if at all, by a standing committee with jurisdiction over the bill’s subject matter rather than being reported only by the Committee on Rules or the Ways and Means Committee.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

PROBLEM # 2


BARRIERS TO CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION BY THE FULL SENATE OR ASSEMBLY

• If three or more members of a committee petition for a vote on a bill, the chair shall schedule such vote as soon as practicable in the current legislative session and in any event no later than ten days before the end of the session.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• New York’s limits on discharge motions should be relaxed as follows:
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Any elected member of the chamber shall be allowed to make a motion to discharge a bill from a committee, and the sponsor’s agreement shall not be required.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Motions to discharge shall be allowed at any time after 20 days has passed since the bill was referred to the committee and until five days before the end of the legislative session – a much larger window than the current rules allow.
  

  
  
  
  
  

  There shall be no limit on the number of motions to discharge within a legislative session.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Debate on a motion to discharge shall not be limited in duration, except that such debate shall be closed by a majority vote of the elected members of the chamber.
  

  
  
  
  
  

• Every bill that is voted out of committee shall be placed on the calendar and must be considered by the full chamber within 60 days, or prior to adjournment, whichever comes first.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• All votes on discharge motions shall be taken by slow roll call and the votes of each member recorded as a public record.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

PROBLEM # 3

NO DEBATE, NO AMENDMENTS, INADEQUATE REVIEW

• Votes by members shall be recorded and counted only when the member is physically present in the chamber at the time of the vote and personally indicates whether s/he wishes to vote “aye” or “nay.” Such votes shall be made available as a public record.
  

  
  
  
  
  

• No messages of necessity shall be approved by the Governor unless (a) at least two thirds of the elected members of the chamber in question have voted to request such message and (b) the Governor has personally reviewed and signed such message as intended by the Constitution.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Debate on a bill shall not be limited to less than five hours and shall be so limited only by a majority vote of the elected members of the chamber.
  

  
  
  
  
  

• When considering bills, legislative party conferences shall be convened and remain in open session unless closed with respect to a specific bill by a vote of four fifths of the elected members of the conference.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

PROBLEM # 4


FEW CONFERENCE COMMITTEES

Each member shall be limited to introducing 20 bills in the Assembly and 30 bills in the Senate in each session.








No member shall be assigned to more than three committees during a legislative session.








All members shall receive equal funding for the operating costs and staff of their individual offices, regardless of the member’s party affiliation and seniority.

From The NYS Legislative Process:


An Evaluation and Blue Print for Reform, 2004





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