Bay Ridge Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis today joined fellow Republican Assembly lawmakers Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville), Steve McLaughlin (R,C,I-Schaghticoke) and Pete Lopez (R,C,I-Schoharie) in calling for passage of legislation that would require any proposed bill that had sponsorship of 76 members of the Assembly and 32 members in the Senate — regardless of party affiliation — to bypass committee and move to the Floor for a debate and up or down vote.
Dubbed the “Spirit of ’76,” the measure says if at least 76 members of the 150 member assembly sign sponsor a bill and 32 members of the 63 member senate sponsor the bill – both majorities – the measure can bypass the Assembly Speaker and Senate Majority Leader and come for a vote.
Currently, the Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader hold enormous power to stop bills from coming to the floor even if they are mathematically sponsored by a majority of members from each house of the legislature.
“This legislation is about reducing the power of one individual to unilaterally stop bills that have major support,” said Malliotakis. “We have seen bills to adopt Mixed Martial Arts and tackle Human Trafficking that have had well over 76 sponsors, the number required to pass a bill in the Assembly, stopped by the speaker from coming to a vote on the floor. This act is one of a dictatorship, not a democracy. These bills should be brought to the floor for proper debate, discussion and vote.”
Queens Democratic State Sen. Tony Avella, who caucuses with the Independent Democratic Conference, is sponsoring the measure on the senate side.
“We usually attribute the gridlock in our government to the usual suspects: political polarization or philosophical disagreements. Yet not even political consensus on an issue is guaranteed to result in anything getting done. Leadership’s unchecked power to pick and choose which bill gets brought to a vote undermines the principles of a democratic-republic,” said Avella.
“Even with majority support, a bill can be purposefully left to die in committee. That is why it is so crucial for the New York Senate to amend its constitution so that, if a bill gets a majority of members to co-sponsor it, a vote is automatically triggered. This reform is crucial for letting good bills become law,” he added.
Similar power is given to the City Council Speaker. However, there is a little-used mechanism in which the Speaker can get overruled to bring a measure to the floor.
The mechanism involves at least seven city council members filing a discharge motion to move a proposed bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote. A majority of the City Council must then vote to move the bill to the floor, and if that happens then the bill comes to the floor for a final vote.
One City Council source could not recall this ever happening.
