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Assembly Democrats Join Speaker Silver To Turn Back Democracy
by Assemblyman Willis H. Stephens, Jr.
We are fortunate to live in a country where democracy reigns; however, it is unfortunate when certain individuals believe they can challenge the very essence of what the Founding Fathers fought so dearly for - an open government.
It was only last year when a group of Assembly Democrats tried to overthrow Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver because of his failure to open the legislative process to all state legislators, so they could better serve their constituents. After the failed coup attempt, promises were made to reform the state Assembly. But, as it stands now, we’ve seen little progress, if any.
On Feb. 12, I joined my Assembly Republican colleagues in introducing the following reform package that would unlock the doors to democracy and create a new-found spirit of participation from every state legislator.
- Television and Internet Coverage of Assembly Sessions and Proceedings - Live transmission of all legislative sessions would be made available to any media outlets requesting it, and videotape of all legislative sessions would be made available for viewing or copying.
- Eliminate Restriction on Motions to Discharge - A simple majority of all assemblymembers could bring bills to the floor for a vote, eliminating the ability of party leadership to block legislation.
- Only Budget Bills After April I - Either house would be prohibited from considering any nonbudget related bills after the start of the fiscal year unless the budget has been adopted.
- Present to Vote - Members would be required to actually be present to vote on a bill.
- Member Prerogative - Each member of the Assembly would have the right to have one piece of legislation discharged from committee and be brought to the floor for a vote.
I believe these long-overdue changes to make the legislative process more democratic would benefit all New Yorkers. Unfortunately, the partisan Democratic majority in the state Assembly, led by Speaker Sheldon Silver, did not see it this way and voted against these meaningful reforms. If the necessary reforms are realized, we will all be able to better serve our constituents, and the seemingly covert operation that has become our state government would again be opened to the most important participants in government - the people.
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