December
18, 2012
State
Senators Jeffrey Klein and Dean Skelos
Legislative
Office Building, Room 304
Albany, NY 12247
Albany, NY 12247
Dear
Senators Klein and Skelos,
Like
many New Yorkers, we have closely followed the post-election developments that
have led to your new coalition in the Senate.
You have stated that this new partnership marks a bold new chapter in
the history of the Senate, and we are encouraged by your promise to work in a
constructive, bipartisan way to put good policy ahead of politics. As you know, our groups have long deplored
the Senate operating rules, which have been one of the most substantial
impediments to the thoughtful development of policy that benefits from the
creative input of affected New Yorkers.
Your coalition presents an unprecedented opportunity to reform those
rules and create a body that is more representative, responsive and
deliberative.
In particular, our groups call for four main
changes: (1) increase the strength and efficiency of committees, so that they
function fully and effectively; (2) provide greater opportunity for rank and
file members to bring legislation with majority support to the floor, even over
the objection of leadership; (3) institute more equitable allocation of resources
between all of the conferences; and
(4) increase transparency in the chamber.
More specifically, we strongly urge you consider
the following changes to legislative procedures:
1.
Increase the
strength and efficiency of committees by
a. Reducing
the number of standing committees, and the number upon which members can sit;
b. Allowing members to vote in committee only
if they are physically present;
c. Clarifying
the rule on petition for hearings, so that 1/3 of members can ensure a hearing
on a bill unless a majority of members object;
d. Requiring
a public reading and mark up process for bills before they can be passed
through committee; and
e. Requiring
that all bills that pass out of committee include reports that set forth the
purpose of the bill, proposed changes to existing law, a section-by-section
explanation of the bill, a cost-benefit-analysis, the bill’s procedural and
voting history, and any individual members’ comments on the bill;
2. Encourage greater
participation by all legislators by
providing the opportunity for a simple majority of members to bring any bill to
the floor for consideration and a vote, regardless of leadership objections.
3. Foster equity and comity through the fair allocation of
resources between the majority and minority parties by ensuring that funding
for central staff is proportionate to a conference’s size and tightening
rules prohibiting the use of resources for political purposes.
4. Increase transparency by making access to information on the
Legislative Retrieval Service free and following through with the creation of
the State Government Public Affairs Channel (often referred to as “NYSPAN”).
When your new coalition convenes for the first time in
January and adopts new operating rules, you will have a tremendous opportunity
to send a signal to New Yorkers about your commitment to making the Senate a
more representative, deliberative, accountable and efficient legislative
body. We hope
that you will adopt the reform proposals listed in this letter, and welcome the
opportunity to discuss them with you in greater detail in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director, Democracy
Program
Brennan Center for Justice
|
Susan Lerner, Executive Director
Common Cause New York
|
Russ Haven, Esq., Legislative Counsel
New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc.
|
Bill Mahoney, Research Coordinator
New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc.
|
Sally Robinson, President
League of Women Voters of New York State
|
Dick Dadey, Executive Director
Citizens Union
|
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