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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 8th, 2004 Contact: Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w) 212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151 ***PRESS RELEASE*** Senate Democratic Task Force on Legislative and Budgetary Reform
Holds Groundbreaking Public Forum in Albany, NY – Experts on government reform testified today before a Democratic Task Force chaired by State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) to address the dysfunction that has paralyzed New York State government and resulted in twenty years of late budgets.
The Senate Democratic Task Force on Legislative and Budgetary Reform heard testimony from a variety of witnesses on ways to open the legislative process and increase accountability, efficiency and fiscal integrity in the Legislature.
"Members of the Senate Democratic Conference agree
that reforming the legislative and budgetary process in
Task Force members include Senators Neil Breslin (D-Albany), Byron Brown (D-Buffalo), Thomas K. Duane (D-Manhattan), Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D-Mt. Vernon), Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck), Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), John D. Sabini (D-Queens), Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) and Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens)
The witness list included: Senator-Elect David Valesky (D-Syracuse); Eric Lane, Special Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law; Barbara Bartoletti, Legislative Director at the League of Women Voters; Richard Kirsch, Executive Director of Citizen Action; Megan Quattlebaum, Associate Director of Common Cause New York; Jayne Bigelson, Director of Legislative Affairs at NYC Bar Association; Jo Brill, Director of State Studies at the Citizens Budget Commission; Blair Horner, Legislative Director of NYPIRG; and Doug Israel, Advocacy Director at Citizens Union.
The Task Force panel discussed a broad range of legislative and budgetary reform issues, such as instituting a nonpartisan budget process, requiring members to be physically present in the Chamber in order to vote, allowing bills and resolutions to be open to sponsorship by any member, requiring consent by a three-fifths majority to limit or end debate on a bill, establishing standing conference committees to resolve differences between similar two-house bills, reestablishing motions to discharge, and eliminating lu-lus to decrease the leadership power over individual members. These proposals were discussed with the goal of developing a package of amendments to the Senate Rules for adoption at the beginning of the new legislative session in January 2005.
“All of a sudden, a great many members of the New York State Legislature claim to be in favor of reform,” said Deputy Minority Leader Eric Schneiderman. “Well, the dues for the reformers’ club are due in a few weeks. When we begin the 2005 legislative session, we must enact rules for each house. Anyone who doesn’t support real changes to the rules of the Senate or the Assembly should turn in their membership cards and stop calling themselves a reformer.”
Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson stated, “Year after
year “When I first came to the Senate in 1999, I was warned
that
“What I am proposing is a top to bottom reform of state government,” stated Senator Kevin Parker. “That means changing the way Albany does business by opening up the legislative process, reforming the Rockefeller Drug laws that unfairly punish nonviolent minor drug offenders from the minority community, reforming our runaway public authorities where much of the state debt has occurred in the last decade, reforming our Medicaid program to bring public accountability to a discredited and mismanaged system, and rewriting our lobbying laws to make sure every New Yorker has an equal opportunity to petition its government.”
“There is a crucial need to make the legislative process more open to the public, efficient and fair,” said Senator Bryon Brown. "Now is the time to seize this moment of opportunity to fundamentally reform the Legislative process by ending the concentration of power and perks that bottlenecks legislation and diminishes the role of rank-and-file members; institutionalizing a nonpartisan budget process; and putting in place a standing conference committee where the two houses can resolve differences on specific legislation."
State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer said, “The
Legislature and the Governor need to deliver on reform of the budget process
and reform of the rules by which the Legislature functions. We must also make the decision-making
process more open to the public and the press. The real goal is better success in making
policy decisions for
Senator Malcolm Smith stated, “To quote from Federalist Number 51, ‘If men were
angels, no government would be necessary.
If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls
on government would be necessary.’
Since none among us has, as of yet, received our wings and halo, we
live under a system and structure where the people select and exercise a
modicum of control over their representatives. Those we serve, our employers, if you will,
are calling for democratic and egalitarian procedures in
“New Yorkers have loudly and clearly made their demands for state government reform heard. A culture of gridlock and cronyism has created an atmosphere in which the legislative arm of our state government can no longer function effectively,” remarked Senator John D. Sabini.
“Procedural reform is hardly an esoteric
concern, for our rules fundamentally shape the ways in which the State Senate
addresses – and fails to address – issues of great importance to New
Yorkers,” stated Senator Toby Ann
Stavisky. “We face twenty-first century
problems, but our legislature still operates in the nineteenth century. Today is the day that we begin working
towards a legislative process that will allow us to do the jobs we were
elected to do – to represent our constituents in
Senate Democratic Leader David A. Paterson (D-Manhattan) said, “The Senate Democrats have long been calling for the much needed reform of State government, and now that the voting public has made it clear they too want reform, our colleagues are taking notice. If we are serious about reforming the process, serious about ending the gridlock and late budgets, we can begin immediately with a few very simple changes to the Senate rules. Let’s take this first step, and make the Senate a more effective, more open and more democratic institution.”
“There is no better time than the present to mitigate the hampering restraints in the Capital, instill a sense of urgency throughout the legislature, and persuade the integration of constructive recommendations for reform,” concluded Senator Krueger.
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