PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATIVE WATCH
The Legislative Watch is a project of the Libertarian Party of New York. Its purpose is to inform New York State residents about legislation proposed and being discussed in the New York State Legislature. We apply a simple standard to all legislation: If it results in more freedom for New Yorkers, we will support it; if it results in less freedom, we will oppose it. We do this by encouraging members to write to their Assemblymember, Senator, and others.
Every 2 years we have the opportunity to decide who we want to send to Albany to represent us. Between elections we have the right and responsibility to lobby our representatives and encourage them to vote for or against legislation. The purpose of this project is to make the voice of freedom heard in Albany.
HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW
Any legislator (Assemblymember or Senator) can introduce a bill. Once the bill is introduced, it is referred to the appropriate standing committee. For example, Assemblyman Gottfried introduced a bill on Medical Marijuana, and it was referred to the Assembly Health Committee, where he is Chairman. In that committee several things can happen to the bill. The committee could hold Public Hearings, asking for comment on the bill. They could Amend the bill, Defeat it by voting against it, Hold For Consideration (do nothing while they think about or research it), Dual Referral ( refer it to another related committee) or Report it (send it to the rules committee to be scheduled for a vote by the whole Assembly or Senate). Once it reaches the full Assembly (or Senate) it is voted on by the entire membership, and then referred to the other body, where it starts the process all over again. Often a legislator will ask someone in the other body to sponsor an identical bill at the same time to speed up the process.
Once a bill passes both the Assembly and the Senate, any differences in the bills have to be worked out before it is sent to the Governor for a vote. Once it reaches the Governor's desk, he can approve it, reject it, or hold onto it. He has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to act on the bill. If he does not act on it, it automatically becomes law. If a bill reaches his desk after the Legislature has adjourned, he has 30 days to act on it, and these bills may not become law without the Governor acting on them.
US House: Understanding the Legislative Process
HOW YOU CAN LOBBY
This process gives us several points where we can lobby for or against a bill. The best time is when the bill is in committee, because you need to influence fewer people. For example, the Assembly Corrections Committee has only 12 members, so if 7 members voted against a bill, it would die in committee. Once that same bill gets to the Assembly floor, you would need over 75 votes to defeat it. You can write to every member of the committee, but if your time is limited, I recommend that you at least write to the chairman of the committee. Once the bill is reported out of committee, you can write to your Assemblyman or Senator and urge them to vote for or against the bill, because at that point he or she will be faced with a decision to vote on the bill. Up until that point your Assemblymember may have no interest in the legislation because he or she is busy with committee activities.
When the bill passes both the Assembly and Senate, it goes to the Governor. This is the time to write to the Governor with your opinion on the bill.
Obviously, the Assemblymembers and Senators will have their own opinion and judgement regarding the bills they are asked to vote on. But they are also practical people. They wanted to be in Albany, and most want to stay there- so they may take into consideration the mail they receive on a bill. It is reasonable to conclude that people who would be active enough to write to their legislators will vote as well- and voters are the people who give the legislator the ticket to Albany.
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
In addition to lobbying your legislator, you can also do the following:
1. Write a letter to the Editor of your local paper. Follow the guidelines listed in the paper, and focus tightly on one subject. If you want to write something longer or more substantial, consider a Guest Essay. Letters to the Editor reach thousands of people and may influence a few to act on what you have written.
2. Ask friends to become part of the Legislative Watch. The more people we have writing to Albany, the more influential we will become.
3. Contact other groups that have an interest in the bill. For example, when I started campaigning for the Medical Marijuana bill I called the Rochester Task Force on AIDS, and the American Cancer Society. Neither group knew that the bill had been introduced, and both groups took action on the bill because I brought it to their attention.