News from
Assemblyman 130th Assembly District
JOSEPH A. ERRIGO

 

For immediate release:
December 6th, 2004		 Contact:
Adam Peterson (585) 334-5210

District Office: 3045 East Henrietta Rd., Henrietta, NY  14467
Albany Office: Rm 427 LOB, Albany, NY  12248
 

ASSEMBLYMAN ERRIGO WANTS MAKE REFORM "PRIORITY NO. 1" IN 2005
 

     Assemblyman Joseph Errigo (R,C-Conesus) and members of the Assembly Republican Conference were joined today by representatives of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law to call on the Assembly to make legislative reform the first order of business when it returns for the new session beginning January 2005.

     "I am urging every Assembly member to support the reform recommendations made by the Brennan Center," Errigo said. "New Yorkers wants change and I will work hard to see that change happens in 2005," Errigo added.

     According to Errigo, Assembly Republicans have offered sweeping reforms to the Assembly rules at the beginning of each legislative cycle for the past decade. Recently, all 47 Republican members pledged support to the Assembly rules reforms recommended by the Brennan Center (with minor exceptions) and have said they will support the latest version of a resolution sponsored by Assembly Democrat Scott Stringer and 26 other Assembly Majority members as a positive first step towards achieving reform.

     In addition to those proposals, Assembly Errigo along with his Republican colleagues are also advocating a number of measures that would go much further towards achieving a more open, responsible and responsive state government in New York and giving greater voice to rank and file legislators.

     Among the measures that the Assembly Republican Conference has long championed, in addition to the Brennan Center's recommendations, are those to:
    

  • Further open the "motion to discharge" procedure to allow for consideration of bills by the entire legislative body despite inaction on the committee level.
     

  • Require that committee membership reflect the majority to minority membership ratio in the Assembly. Under the current formula, committee membership is calculated by determining the ratio of majority to minority members in the Assembly, and giving that ratio to the majority, plus any fractions, plus one additional member. For example, the Libraries Committee currently consists of eight Democrats and one Republican.
     

  • Allow the ranking minority member on each committee to call for public hearings by the committee.
     

  • Require that when a motion to hold a bill fails in committee, an immediate motion be made to report that bill.

     

  • Create a "member's prerogative" allowing each Assembly member to bring at least one bill of statewide implication to the floor for a vote during each legislative session.
     

  • Require that the Rules Committee provide an agenda and that it convene regularly scheduled meetings, as is now done by the other committees.
     

  • Require that bills with home rule requests from local municipalities be considered in committee at the first meeting that is held after the bill has been in committee for three days.
     

  • Require a supermajority, or two-thirds, vote for final passage of all bills that impose, continue or revive taxes.
     

  • Require that all bills on the calendar that impose a mandate on localities or school districts, as well as all bills that would require additional taxes, be specifically labeled or identified as such on the calendar.
     

  • Enact various provisions to ensure timely passage of the state budget, including forbidding consideration of nonbudget bills after April 1 if a budget is not in place and the convening of budget conference committees no later than March 15 of each year to facilitate the process of finalizing a budget before the April 1 deadline.


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