"SAY" Advocacy Training Review: New York City Policy

Review of New York City Policy Making

New York City Mayor:

Michael R. Bloomberg; for more information:
http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.beb0d8fdaa9e1607a62fa24601c789a0/

New York City Council:

· The New York City Council is the law-making body of New York City.

· The City Council has 51 members, each one representing one of the council districts.

· Main responsibilities of the City Council:

1. To monitor the operation and performance of city agencies

· The Council holds regular oversight hearings.

2. To make land use decisions

· This includes the power to approve zoning changes, housing and urban renewal plans, community development plans, and disposition of city-owned property.

3. To approve the city’s budget

· The mayor proposes the budget for the coming year, but the Council has the final approval power.

4. Legislation

· The Council makes and passes laws that govern the City of New York.

· See the “Legislative Process” below for more information.

5. Committees

· Most of the legislative work is done in committee.

· Each Council Member serves on at least three standing committees, sub- and select committees and panels.

The Speaker of the Council:

Christine C. Quinn; for more information:

http://council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml

· The Council Speaker is elected by the Council Members.

· The Speaker’s primary role is to obtain a consensus on major issues.

Caucuses:

NYC Council Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus

· The BLA Caucus meets to make sure that issues of concern to the City’s Black, Latino, and Asian communities are being addressed.

NYC Council Women’s Caucus

· The goal of the Women’s Caucus is to advance women’s rights and promote equality in New York City.

Legislative Process: Making a Bill into a Local Law

· A bill is filed by a Council Member with the Council Speaker’s Office.

· The bill is introduced to the Council during a Stated Meeting and then referred to the appropriate committee(s).

· In committee the bill may be debated and amended.

· The committee votes on the final version of the bill.

· If passed in committee, the bill is sent to the Council for more debate and a final vote.

· If the bill receives a majority of the vote in Council (at least 26 members), it is sent to the Mayor.

· The Mayor has 30 days to either sign or veto the bill.

· If the Mayor signs the bill, it immediately becomes a local law.

· If the Mayor vetoes the bill, it sent back to the City Council.

-The City Council has 30 days to override the Mayor’s veto.

-Overriding the veto (to make the bill into a law) requires two-thirds of the Council vote (at least 34 members).

· If the Mayor neither signs nor vetoes the bill within 30 days of receiving it from the Council, the bill automatically becomes a local law.

*Legislation pending in the Council is referred to as an “Introduction”.

SAY! SMART Action Youth Advocacy

SMART Youth Presents: SAY! Our SMART Action Youth Advocacy Series

This Friday will be our fourth session of the training series. Together we will be learning about Sexual Health Policy Legislation in the U.S.

We hope you can join us!

Date: Friday, July 22nd

Time: 4:00 - 6:30 pm

Location: SMART's Office (at Bailey House in East Harlem)

1751 Park Avenue

(Between 121st and 122nd Streets)

Transportation: 4/5/6 train to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue

Food and Metrocards will be provided.

June 2011 Trip: Pride March and Museum of Sex

SMART Youth had a great day at the Pride March and the Museum of Sex last month!
Thank you to the Museum of Sex for making this possible!
We are amazed at how much we learned!

During the summer SMART Youth will have one fun field trip a month. You know it's going to be fun if we chose the Museum of Sex for June. Stay tuned for what we do in July!

"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

"SAY" Advocacy Training Review: Federal Policy

Review of Federal Policy Making

There are two houses in the United States Congress: The Senate and The House of Representatives.

The U.S. Senate:

· Each state is represented by two senators, regardless of the state’s population.

· Senators are selected by popular election.

· The elections are held on the first Tuesday of November on even-numbered years

-This coincides with the election for the House of Representatives.

· In most states, a primary election is held first for the Democratic and Republican parties. A few months later, a general election is held.

· Senators serve a term of six years

-The terms are staggered.

· The majority party is the party that holds the largest number of seats in the Senate

-The Democratic Party is currently the majority party in the Senate.

· The Vice President of the United States is the head of the Senate (The vice president can only vote to break a tie).

-The current U.S. Vice President (and President of the Senate) is Joe Biden (Democrat).

For more information on the U.S. Senate visit: http://www.senate.gov/

The House of Representatives:

· The number of representatives from each state is determined according to each states’ population.

-This is one of the reasons why the census is so important.

· The elections are held every even-numbered year in early November (like the Senate).

· For states that are entitled to more than one representative, the states are divided into single-member districts.

· Representatives serve a term of two years.

· The majority party is the party that holds the largest number of seats in the House (like the Senate).

-The Republican Party is currently the majority party in the House.

· The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by the members of the House and is usually the leader of the majority party in the House.

-The current Speaker of the House is John Boehner (Republican).

For more information on the U.S. House of Representatives visit: http://www.house.gov/

The Process of Making a Bill into a Law:

· A bill is introduced by a member of Congress (any member can introduce a piece of legislation).

· The bill is sent to the appropriate committee (or several committees) where it is reviewed and revisions and/or additions can be made.

· The bill is placed on the calendar of either the Senate or the House of Representatives. When the time comes, the bill is debated and voted on.

· If the bill receives 2/3 of the vote from one of the Houses in Congress, it is sent to the other House where it is voted on.

· If the other House passes the bill (also by 2/3 of the vote), then the bill is sent to the president.

-If the two Houses of Congress do not agree on the bill, then a conference committee with representatives from each House will convene to work out the differences.

-If a compromise is reached in the Conference Committee, then a report is drafted and presented to each House, where it will be voted on again.

-If this revised bill receives by 2/3 of the vote from both Houses, then the bill will be sent to the president.

· A bill becomes a law if it is signed by the President or if the President does not sign the bill within 10 days and the Congress is in session.

-Alternatively, the President can veto a bill. In this case, the bill is sent back to Congress.

-If the bill receives 2/3 of the vote from both Houses, then the veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.

· When a bill becomes a law it is assigned an official number.

For more information on policy making: http://www.votesmart.org/resource_govt101_02.php

*This site also includes a glossary with definitions of some important terms.

SAY! SMART Action Youth Advocacy

SMART Youth Presents: SAY! Our SMART Action Youth Advocacy Series

This Friday will be our third session of the training series. Together we will be learning about New York City Policy Making.

We hope to see you there!

Date: Friday, July 15th

Time: 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Location: SMART's Office (at Bailey House in East Harlem)

1751 Park Avenue

(Between 121st and 122nd Streets)

Transportation: 4/5/6 to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue

Food and Metrocards will be provided.

SAY! SMART Action Youth Advocacy

SMART Youth Presents: Say! Our SMART Action Youth Advocacy Series

This Friday will be our second session of the training series. Together we will be learning about the New York State policy making process.

Hope to see everyone there!

Date: Friday, July 8th

Time: 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Location: SMART's NEW Office (at Bailey House in East Harlem)

1751 Park Avenue

(Between 121st and 122nd Streets)

Transportation: 4/5/6 to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue

Food and Metrocards will be provided.