Prohibits the passage of bills by the legislature between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock a.m. unless two-thirds of the legislature is present and requires two-thirds approval for messages of necessity

2 Co-sponsors

• Tony Avella
• Kathleen A. Marchione

BILL NUMBER:S3498

Title of bill

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY propos- ing an amendment to section 14 of article 3 of the constitution, in relation to prohibiting the passage of bills between the hours of midnight and eight o'clock a.m. and requiring two-thirds approval for messages of necessity

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Amends section 14 of Article 3 of the New York State Consti- tution to create new subsections;

a. requiring a 2/3 vote of the Assembly and Senate accepting a message of necessity from the governor or acting governor;

b. bills that have aged shall be passed by a majority of members of the Assembly and Senate;

c. bills shall not be passed in session between 12 o'clock midnight and 8 o'clock a.m., unless session is voted upon to continue by 2/3 of the Assembly and Senate;

d. no amendments shall be considered upon the last reading of the bill.

Section 2: That the forgoing be referred to the first regular legisla- tive session convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the Assembly, and, in conformity with Section 1 of Article 19 of the Constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.

Justification

Recent uses of the messages of necessity by the Gover- nors' office have been applied to push through legislation in an effort to avoid debate, dissection, discussion, and criticism. Legislative initiatives such as the NY SAFE Act, Redistricting, Casino Gambling, expansion of the DNA Database, Pension Reform and the Teacher Evalu- ations were all pushed through the legislature and signed by the Gover- nor under the cover of darkness with zero input from the public. This bill is introduced to prevent secret government from keeping many legis- lators, the public and the media in the dark when significant legis- lation is being discussed.

Legislative history

This is new bill.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall be referred to the first regular legisla- tive session convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the Assembly, and, in conformity with Section 1 of Article 19 of the Constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.