NY Senate Democrats share some power in GOP chamber
May 22, 2008
The Republican-controlled New York Senate has approved five major bills with Democratic prime sponsors and 16 more could reach the floor, which Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith says reflects unprecedented reform in the chamber.
It’s a claim the Republican majority later disputed, saying the Democrat-sponsored bills were supported on their merits as in past years.
Smith also said his next move includes exploring a constitutional change to alter the term of senators and Assembly members to four years, instead of the current two years. That could save up to $150 million every two years by eliminating the state and local costs of holding 212 legislative elections statewide.
Smith said Democrats have traditionally had their proposals blocked in committee, or co-opted by Republican members. Republicans face a similar difficulty in the Democrat-led Assembly.
But Smith said Wednesday that the passage of five major bills in the Senate with more than a month left in the legislative session is “no question _ it’s a break from the norm.”
In previous years, he said Senate Democrats were able to be prime sponsors on only ceremonial bills or those targeted only for their home districts.
“But these are real, meaningful bills,” Smith said.
The Senate’s Republican majority disputes that the Democrats scored any new successes. A similar number of bills sponsored by Democrats were approved in recent years, said Mark Hansen, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. The record of past years backs that up.
“This is not unusual,” Hansen said.
Smith credits Republican Sen. Dale Volker of Erie County for his support of bills strengthening child sex abuse laws which are among the five Democrat-sponsored bills passed so far.
Republicans have a one-vote majority with several closely contested races expected this fall.
Source: AP
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