"SAY" Advocacy Training Review: New York State Policy

Review of New York State Policy Making

New York Governor: Andrew M. Cuomo

Website: http://www.governor.ny.gov/

New York Attorney General: Eric T. Schneiderman

Website: http://www.ag.ny.gov/about.html

New York State Senate:

· There are 62 New York State Senators.

· For more information on the New York State Senate or to find the State Senator that represents your district visit: http://www.nysenate.gov/

New York State Assembly:

· There are 150 New York State Assembly Members.

· For more information on the New York Assembly or to find the New York State Assembly Member that represents your district visit: http://assembly.state.ny.us/

The Process of Making a Bill into a New York State Law:

· Anyone can come up with an idea for a bill.

· A bill must be sponsored by a Legislator, the Governor, or the Attorney General.

· The sponsor will submit the bill to the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission (LBDC) to draft the bill, making sure that it is written in the correct language and formatted to reflect the intended content.

· At the Index Office the bill is assigned a number and printed.

· Once the bill has been introduced, it is referred to the appropriate committees for review, discussion, and revision.

· Changes to the bill are called amendments.

-Each time the bill is amended it is sent back to the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission to be proofread.

· Once a bill has made it through all the appropriate committees it is reported to the floor of the House.

-If one of the committees does not report the bill to the floor, the bill “dies” in committee.

· Bills that require funds from the state go to either the Assembly Ways & Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee.

· The bill is put before the House to which it was assigned to be debated and voted on. If it passes, the bill is then sent to the other House to be voted on.

· If the bill passes in both Houses, it is sent to the Governor.

-If the bill is signed by the Governor, it becomes a law.

· If the Governor vetoes the bill, the bill is reintroduced to both Houses.

-After a veto, if the bill receives two-thirds of the vote in both Houses, then the bill will become a law.

For more on how a bill becomes a NY State law: http://www.bcnys.org/inside/sb/billlaw.htm