The
New York State Legislature is bicameral and consists of the
New York State Senate and the
New York State Assembly. The Assembly consists of 150 members; the Senate varies in its number of members, but currently has 63. The Assembly is headed by the speaker; the Senate is headed by the president, a post held
ex officio by the
lieutenant governor, who only has a tie-breaking "
casting vote", but more often it is presided over by the temporary president or by a senator of the majority leader's choosing. chamber, where public viewing galleries are accessible The Legislature is empowered to make laws, subject to the governor's power to veto a bill. However, the veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a
two-thirds majority in favor of overriding in each House. Furthermore, it has the power to propose amendments to the New York Constitution by a
majority vote and then another majority vote following an election. If so proposed, the amendment becomes valid if agreed to by the voters at a
referendum. The
session laws are published in the official
Laws of New York. The permanent laws of a general nature are
codified in the
Consolidated Laws of New York.
Session The
New York State Assembly Legislative session is a cycle that takes place from the first month of the year up until a budget has been published by both houses. According to the New York State Legislative Calendar, session convenes January 9th throughout June 19th. Budget deadline is the last week of March, but historically it has dragged on 'til the month of August and can even surpass that if the Senate and the Assembly fails to compromise. During session both houses work both together and independently to introduce bills and propose changes or support for the governor's executive budget. During the legislative session for both houses (Senate and Assembly): • Bills are introduced and voted on to become law or not • Resolutions/
Proclamations are adopted • Changes to the governor's Executive Budget are proclaimed ==Judiciary==