Senator Onorato Pledges To Continue Fight To Reform And Open Up State Senate Operations

Following yesterday’s vote on a series of Senate rules reforms that he believes “simply don’t go far enough to retire the New York State Legislature’s reputation as the most dysfunctional governing body in the nation,” State Senator George Onorato (D-Queens) pledged that he will continue working to make the State Senate’s operations more open, democratic and accountable to the public.

Under the new rules adopted yesterday, the much-maligned practice of “empty-seat voting” was partially ended by requiring that senators be in their seats in the Senate chamber when legislation deemed controversial comes up for a vote. In addition to the partial ban on empty-seat voting, rules were adopted to let committee chairs hire and fire their own staff; end party-line voting; reduce the number of committee meetings held during the Senate session; and require all bills to be accompanied by majority and minority reports on the legislation’s impact.

“I don’t necessarily oppose any of these changes on their merits,” Senator Onorato said. “It’s simply that we could have done so much more. That’s why I and the vast majority of my Senate Minority colleagues voted against this package of rules changes, and proposed our own series of reforms. While they were not adopted by the full Senate, I will continue to work for their approval.”

For example, Senate Minority members proposed a series of amendments that would have:

O Eliminated the Senate Rules Committee to ensure that legislation is adequately reviewedand actedupon by substantive Senate committees before coming to the floor for a vote by the full Senate;

O Required the Legislature to remain in session if a State Budget isn’t adopted by the April 1st deadline;

O Allowed ranking minority members on committees, or any three members of a committee, to place a bill on a committee agenda for a vote, or to hold public hearings, and to permit any senator to join as a co-sponsor on a particular piece of legislation;

O Made it easier for senators to request that legislation be discharged from committees and brought to the Senate floor for a vote;

O Required a two-thirds Senate vote to accept a “message of necessity” from the Governor, which waives the customary three-day review of legislation and permits an immediate vote on the bill;

O Provided equal resources for all senators, regardless of political party affiliation.

“I believe that these reforms would go far to empower Senate committees and individual lawmakers, and to make the legislative process more responsive and accountable to the public,” said Senator Onorato, who serves as a member of the Senate Minority Task Force on Legislative and Government Reform. “They’re worth fighting for, and I intend to do just that.”