Aubertine: Senate Gop Held Up Bill Because He Was A Co-sponsor Newswatch 50

The State Senate Republican majority held up passage of a bill because Senator Darrel Aubertine, a Democrat, was a co-sponsor, Aubertine charged on Friday.

Aubertine used the case as an example of why Senate rules need reform as he released four point proposal.

He also pointed to in the inequity in staff resources given to minority members of the Senate versus those given to majority members.

"My office does with eight employees the work my predecessor did with 14 employees," Aubertine said. Aubertine's predecessor was Republican Jim Wright.

Aubertine's reform plan would:

    •    Make it easier for home rule legislation to reach the floor for a vote. 
          He said several home rule bills that passed the Assembly in June were 
          delivered to the Senate rules committee. But despite memos indicating 
          the importance of the bills, the Senate majority chose not to bring the 
          bills to the floor.
 
    •   Allow any member, regardless of party, to co-sponsor a bill. 
         Aubertine said he withdrew his name from a bill after it became clear 
         the majority leaders wouldn't pass it unless he withdrew his co-
         sponsorship. The bill, signed into law Wednesday, allows 14 and 15 
         year olds to hunt big game with a mentor. 

    •   Create conference committees when similar legislation passes both the
         Assembly and Senate. The committees would open up opportunities 
         for compromise. Right now, if one word is different in the Assembly 
         and Senate versions of a bill, the legislation goes nowhere, Aubertine
         said.
 
    •    Equalize office resources among Senators. Aubertine said this would end 
         the practice of stocking the offices of majority members with employees 
         who serve as professional campaigners while minority members are kept at 
        a bare bones level.
 
Aubertine said his request for a second district office in Oswego was denied last week, even though SUNY Oswego had agreed to donate the space. The budget request was for phone lines and internet service only, Aubertine said.

"You can be certain the powers that be in Albany do not like these bills, nor will they take kindly to this reform agenda," Aubertine said. "Their power depends on the system as it is."

Aubertine was elected in a special election in February following Wright's resignation. He's opposed in his reelection bid by Republican David Renzi.