|
What the experts are saying...
|
|
“The proposed rules are a good first step in expanding the transparency of the Assembly
and should make the house a more deliberative body. The rules will ensure that members
are more involved in floor votes, open up the Rules Committee to public scrutiny, allow for
greater opportunity to bring bills to the floor for debate, and should help kick start budget
negotiations between the Assembly and the Senate.”
– Brennan Center for Justice, Citizens Union, Common Cause/NY, New York State
League of Women Voters, New York Public Interest Research Group
“(The Assembly proposals are) a significant step forward.”
Blair Horner, Legislative Director, New York Public Interest Research Group
“There are examples of improvements in transparency, and these are good first steps.”
– Jeremy Creelan, Associate Council, Brennan Center for Justice
“Changes approved by the Assembly are a significant and positive
response to the Brennan Center recommendations and the calls for change.”
– Robert Volpe, Member, Citizens for New York State Legislative Reform
|
Assembly reaches bipartisan agreement on rules reform plan
The Assembly majority and minority conferences reached a bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive
reform plan that will improve the way the New York State Assembly operates. It’s no secret that serious
reform is needed in Albany, and the plan will make those reforms a reality. The proposals will help make
state government more open, accountable and responsive, and give rank-and-file lawmakers more power.
To ensure the reform plan was representative of the Assembly as a whole, many hours of productive
conversation and debate were spent among members of both sides of the aisle. It’s a process that will
continue an ongoing effort to revamp the way the Legislature – as well as all of state government – does
its business.
For the 2005 legislative session, the Assembly adopted a series of internal rules changes that will
dramatically improve the way the Assembly operates.
Making the People’s House more efficient
In order to make the People’s House more efficient, productive and responsive, the new rules include:
-
ending empty-seat voting by requiring slow roll calls on all bills;
-
instituting Tuesday sessions to allow for greater review and debate of legislation;
-
overhauling the Assembly’s Rules Committee by clarifying the committee’s function as a means for
scheduling floor action and making its meetings, which will have published agendas, open and public;
-
requiring the Assembly and Senate to each pass a concurrent budget resolution in early March setting
out a timetable for key budget decisions, including immediately convening a joint conference committee
to negotiate differences to achieve a more timely state budget;
-
conducting annual budget hearings to ensure a consistent process for a public review of state agency
compliance with the enacted budget;
-
renewing the Assembly’s efforts for a statewide public service cable TV channel to cover state government
with the immediate goal of televising Assembly proceedings statewide; and
-
restricting lobbyists’ access in the area at the rear of the Assembly Chamber.
Increasing the input of rank-and-file members
The Assembly’s internal rule changes helps rank-and-file members advance legislation by:
|
|
Responding to the public’s demand
These sweeping new reforms are designed to make the Assembly’s proceedings more open
and efficient and are just the first steps in a larger plan for change. The message has been sent
by the people of New York that reform is needed in Albany, and the Assembly has responded.
The Assembly will do everything it can to ensure that significant and comprehensive reforms
are realized.
|
|
|
-
establishing a subcommittee structure to provide members a greater role in researching, analyzing and
debating various legislative issues;
-
creating a process where sponsors can petition their bills to be reviewed by a new Committee on
Conference Committees, which will recommend bills to be negotiated in an open and public forum
with Senate representatives;
-
limiting the number of standing committees on which a member can serve to no more than six to
ensure greater involvement by members;
-
requiring that as a minimum, each standing committee meet once a month in order to speed up
consideration of legislation; and
-
revoking committee appointments of members who have three or more unexcused absences from
standing committee meetings.
|