What's happening
This bill ensures that bills retain their progress and continuity throughout New York’s two-year legislative session, reducing redundant reconsideration.
Why it matters
Reduces legislative inefficiency. by eliminating unnecessary repeat consideration and re-passage of bills that have already advanced during the first year, allowing lawmakers to focus time and resources on new or unresolved issues.
Improves legislative transparency and accountability. by maintaining the position of bills through the full two-year session, making it easier for the public and advocates to track the status and progress of specific legislation without restarting the process.
Encourages more consistent and deliberate lawmaking. by ensuring that bills retain their progress unless substantively amended, which may reduce strategic delays or procedural gamesmanship often used to stall or kill legislation.
Exempts sensitive or constitutionally unique legislation. (such as budget bills, home rule messages, constitutional amendments, and certain local bills), recognizing the need for special procedures and continued scrutiny for these categories.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Keep Bills Alive Two Years
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
26 Co-sponsors
- Jeffrey Dinowitz
- Felix Ortiz
- Kevin Cahill
- Donna Lupardo
- Ellen C. Jaffee
- William Magnarelli
- Aileen Gunther
- Michael Cusick
- Amy Paulin
- John T. McDonald III
- David Buchwald
- Carrie Woerner
- Shelley Mayer
- Phil Steck
- Diana Richardson
- Thomas Abinanti
- Frank Skartados
- Michael Blake
- Andrew Raia
- Luis R. Sepúlveda
- Stephen Hawley
- Joseph Giglio
- Dean Murray
- Karl Brabenec
- Mark C. Johns
- Kevin M. Byrne
24 Multi-sponsors
- William A. Barclay
- Kenneth Blankenbush
- William Colton
- Clifford Crouch
- Gary Finch
- Michael J. Fitzpatrick
- Christopher Friend
- Dov Hikind
- Brian Kolb
- Barbara Lifton
- William Magee
- David McDonough
- Robert Oaks
- Philip Palmesano
- Crystal Peoples-Stokes
- N. Nick Perry
- Edward Ra
- Linda Rosenthal
- Jo Anne Simon
- Dan Stec
- Fred Thiele
- Matthew Titone
- Tremaine Wright
- Kenneth Zebrowski
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Keep Bills Alive Two Years
In Senate Committee · Investigations And Government Operations · Sponsor John J. Bonacic
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3277
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. GALEF, DINOWITZ, ORTIZ, CAHILL, LUPARDO, JAFFEE, MAGNARELLI, GUNTHER, KAVANAGH, CUSICK, PAULIN, McDONALD, BUCHWALD, WOERNER, MAYER, STECK, RICHARDSON, ABINANTI, SKARTADOS, BLAKE, RAIA, SEPULVEDA, HAWLEY, GIGLIO, MURRAY, LUPINACCI,… Show allHide
Introduced by M. of A. GALEF, DINOWITZ, ORTIZ, CAHILL, LUPARDO, JAFFEE, MAGNARELLI, GUNTHER, KAVANAGH, CUSICK, PAULIN, McDONALD, BUCHWALD, WOERNER, MAYER, STECK, RICHARDSON, ABINANTI, SKARTADOS, BLAKE, RAIA, SEPULVEDA, HAWLEY, GIGLIO, MURRAY, LUPINACCI, BRABENEC, JOHNS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BARCLAY, BLANKENBUSH, COLTON, CROUCH, FINCH, FITZPATRICK, FRIEND, HIKIND, KOLB, LIFTON, MAGEE, McDONOUGH, McKEVITT, OAKS, PALMESANO, PEOPLES-STOKES, PERRY, RA, ROSENTHAL, SALA- DINO, SIMON, STEC, THIELE, TITONE, WRIGHT, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to the continuity of legislative sessions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that while New York and most other states operate on two-year legislative calendars, only the legislature of the state of New York interrupts procedural continuity of legislation during the two-year session. This practice commonly requires the reconsideration and readoption of hundreds of bills during the second year which were previously considered and adopted during the first year. The legislature determines that this practice is usually unnecessary and expends time and taxpayer money which could be better spent addressing other important legislative business. The legislature therefore declares its intent to preserve the procedural continuity of all bills within the biennial legislative session.
§ 2. The legislative law is amended by adding a new section 42-a to read as follows:
§ 42-a. Continuity of legislative sessions. 1. Upon passage of a bill by one house of the legislature, such bill shall automatically be sent to the appropriate committee in the other house for action on such bill,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02414-01-7
A. 3277 2
where that house may act on the bill at any time during the remainder of the biennial legislative session.
2. No bill reported by a standing committee of the senate or assembly shall be referred back to that committee unless such bill shall have been amended.
3. Every bill which shall have reached the order of third reading but which shall not have been acted on by the house before the end of the first year of the two-year legislative session shall maintain its place on the order of third reading until the house shall act on such bill or until the end of the two-year legislative session unless such bill shall have been amended, in which case such bill may be referred back to a standing committee for reconsideration.
4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to budget bills introduced by the governor pursuant to article seven of the constitution, bills requiring a home rule message from one or more local governments pursuant to article nine of the constitution, concurrent resolutions to amend the constitution pursuant to article nineteen of the constitution or bills subject to the provisions of section fifty of this article.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, that the senate and assembly shall, by concurrent resolution, adopt rules necessary to implement this act within twenty days after such act shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.