Senate Rules Action Page - May 2009
|
 In
late April in Albany the State Senate Temporary Committee on
Rules and Administration Reform announced the results of its
4-month effort to study rules reform.
Good News: As advocates for the interests of
all New Yorkers, we are very pleased with the Senate committee's
report and recommendations. Assuming that these changes will
be adopted, the NY State Senate will be taking great strides toward
ending the legislature's dysfunction and lack of transparency.
They are taking huge steps toward adopting a culture of continuous
improvement. These changes begin the process of restoring
democracy to NY and perhaps ending "Three Men in a Room".
CFBNY Testimony Presented for you: As you may
know, we presented testimony at all four of the committee’s hearings
held throughout the state.
Action Requested:
1. Please send an e-mail or
call your State Senator and urge them to adopt the changes
proposed by the committee. You can find a list of the Senate e-mail
addresses:
Click Here.
2. Please send an e-mail
to Senator Malcolm Smith and the members of the committee
thanking them for their launch of a culture of continuous
improvement in the Senate.
Sample e-mail texts and a list of these e-mail addresses are shown
below.
3. If you can also support
CFBNY with a contribution of $15 at this time, it will help
defray the costs we incurred in delivering testimony to the
committee’s hearings. Click here to
chip in, and
make a contribution through PayPal or send your check payable to
CFBNY, Inc. to:
Bob Volpe
1940 Highland Ave.
Rochester NY 14618
Thanks for your continued support of CFBNY. Key Albany
officials have told us that our voice is important and is being
heard.
Committee Report Summary:
The details of the report will be available soon on the
committee’s website,
http://www.senate.state.ny.us/sws/reform/index.html
Below is a quick recap of the Committee’s recommendations.
These closely follow the recommendations of the Brennan Center that
we also endorsed.
The Temporary Committee: Should stay in existence and keep working
on continuous improvement of the legislative process. The next
frontier; More equitable and appropriate distribution of member
items.
Changes effective starting 2010:
Committees:
Reduce standing committees from 22 to 32. Sub-committees of
big committees if needed. Members would be limited to serve on
a maximum of 4 committees vs. the current 8. Members have to
be present at committee meetings and in the full chamber to vote.
Attendance will be recorded and publicly available
Flow of Bills:
Summary reports will be prepared for bills voted out of committee.
Guidance will be established on the structure and scope of these
reports so that staff can prepare them consistently and with high
quality. The U.S. Congressional process will be the model. Due
to a current lack of skills, implementation will require staff
training and a learning curve.
Committee hearings:
Will be held (encouraged) at chair's discretion. The new
culture also will encourage calling for testimony at committee
meetings.
-
There is a procedural “safety valve”: 1/3 of
members can call for a hearing.
-
A bill’s sponsor must maintain control of bill
amendment/mark-up.
-
Discharge motions: After 30 days following
bill introduction, a committee can take an "up/down" vote on the
substance of the bill. If yes vote, bill is "fast tracked" to
full Senate. If up/down fails, a super majority vote of
the full Senate can pull it up for consideration.
-
Limiting the number of bills introduced: The
Committee is considering capping number of bills introduced to
somewhere near 25 per member.
-
Committee oversight: Align committees
with regulatory agencies in the administration and give them
oversight of operations and budgets.
-
Transparency: Institute the equivalent of
statewide CSPAN-like publicly available video of Senate sessions
and committees with continued on-line video
-
Committee staff: Budgets will be common
at $350K/committee plus something extra for big/ranking
committees
-
Allocation of support resources: Share
common administration/IT and other support services with all
members not just the majority
-
Conference committees: Chairs or sponsors can
request holding such committee meetings to develop a common bill
for both houses. The control factor is the potential for
public embarrassment for denying such a request.
Please thank key Senators for their effort to begin real change
in Albany: Email addresses below.
Here’s some suggested text that you can cut and paste into your own
mail system. Please add your own personal thoughts as well.
Senator Malcolm A. Smith:
masmith@senate.state.ny.us
Dear Senator Smith;
Thanks for having the courage to take the bold step of appointing
and supporting a committee that would focus its efforts on
potentially reducing your individual power as Majority Leader.
Your leadership gives priority to an efficient and effective
legislature that can better meet the needs of all New Yorkers over
the needs of special interests.
As a member of Citizen’s For a Better NY, I will continue to work
for other improvements like independent redistricting and campaign
finance reform that will better meet the needs of all citizens.
I urge you to give these issues your attention in the near future as
you forge progress through a new culture of continuous improvement.
Sincerely,
Your Name and Address
Committee Co-Chairpersons
Senator David Valesky,
valesky@senate.state.ny.us
Senator John J. Bonacic,
bonacic@senate.state.ny.us
Thanks for taking up the challenge to begin to end “Three Men in a
Room” as the Albany decision-making culture. Your leadership
as demonstrated by the recommendations of your committee gives
priority to an efficient and effective legislature that can better
meet the needs of all New Yorkers over the needs of special
interests.
As a member of Citizen’s For a Better NY, I will continue to work
for other improvements like independent redistricting and campaign
finance reform that will better meet the needs of all citizens.
I urge you to give these issues your attention in the near future as
you forge progress through a new couture of continuous improvement.
Sincerely,
Your Name and Address
____________________________________________________________________________
Thanks
Stu Berger, President, CFBNY
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