(2004-07-22) Nys Worst Legislature

New York State has the worst state legislature in the USA. It noted that the two men who control the Legislature - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, and the Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, a Republican (the 2 houses have different Gerry Mander-ing rules) - have almost total power over which bills they will allow their members to vote on, and a wide range of sticks and carrots to help them keep their members in line... State lawmakers who sign in in the morning are automatically counted as voting "yes" on every bill that comes before them unless they signal otherwise - even if they have left for the day... Just this week the Assembly Democrats held a passionate debate about whether they should reinstate the death penalty by passing a bill to change a section of the current law that was ruled unconstitutional. And the Republican senators agonized over whether to raise the state's Minimum Wage - an issue that has divided the Senate for some time. But neither debate was held in public.

Kenneth Silber said this in 1995. For more than two decades, a Republican majority has controlled the State Senate, and a Democratic majority has controlled the State Assembly. The result has been government by quid pro quo-the two majorities posturing over their differences while tacitly collaborating to accommodate the permanent interests of each, usually by spending more public money... Meanwhile, special-interest money flows ever more rapidly into the campaign coffers of both parties. In 1992 the ten most generous political action committees gave $3.2 million to legislative candidates, a 27 percent increase over 1990. The New York State United Teachers Union was the largest contributor to legislative candidates, followed by municipal Labor Union-s, medical and legal associations, and real estate interests. Fund-raising techniques frowned upon even in Washington - such as "breakfast clubs," in which lobbyists pay annual dues to hold private meetings with lawmakers - are routine in Albany... The majority in each house places a high priority on protecting its most vulnerable members, called "marginals" - relative newcomers, for example, or those from districts normally controlled by the opposition. When the majority seeks to raise taxes or pass other unpopular bills, marginals are allowed to vote against their party's position, provided there are enough votes to win without them... The majority in each chamber is closely allied with groups wary of cutting back New York State's $19 billion Medicaid system: Senate Republicans with hospitals and nursing homes, Assembly Democrats with patients' groups and social service organizations. As a result, New York has created the most expensive Medicaid system of any state, with generous eligibility rules and nearly all the optional benefits the Washington permits.