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For almost a decade and a half, Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann has felt like "a voice crying in the wilderness" on Legislative Reform. Now it is foremost in everyone's minds -- and the Senator is delighted!
Although the recently published Brennan Report has sparked a public outcry and a genuine grass roots effort to force the New York State Legislature to change its way of doing business, Senator Hoffmann was the first legislator, many years ago, to propose legislative solutions to the problems.
As a freshman Senator in the Minority party, Senator Hoffmann experienced firsthand the inequities of the distribution of political power in the Capitol. Long before the Brennan report, she developed strong solutions to the more egregious flaws, and submitted them as bills and proposed rules changes.
Below is a reproduction of her newsletter of September 1990 -- the first of many times she reached out to her constituency to support legislative and budgetary reform.
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| Needless to say, the leadership was less than thrilled with this effort. As the Oneida Daily Dispatch put it in an editorial on April 2, 1991, "Other legislators are to reform what a vampire is to a silver stake." The Dispatch applauded Senator Hoffmann, saying, "The Senator's suggested reforms could go a long way to reduce state spending and end the closed-door murky politicking that continues to benefit 'the old boy' network." |
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| Undaunted, Senator Hoffmann printed up flyers listing the proposed reforms, and handed them out to citizens' groups. She met with good government advocates in her district and throughout the state, carrying the message. Below is the flyer from 1993-1994. |
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| Each year, she attempted to force the Leadership to release the bills from committee so they could be debated on the Senate floor, using a device called a "Motion to Discharge" (the bills from committee). Each year, the motions were voted down.
The press and good government groups were very supportive, but without the backing of most of her colleagues and lacking any leadership interest, nothing happened. | |
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| May 13, 1992 Senator Hoffmann's Press Conference on her legislative reform.
Picture from left to right Thomas Carrol for CHANGE-NY, William Benson, Master of the New York State Grange, William Schult of The All-County Taxpayers Alliance, Senator N. L. Hoffmann, Andrea Vecchio of TAC-PAC on Long Island, and Blair Horner legislative director of NYPIRG.
It was not for lack of trying. In May of 1992, an event was held in Albany to promote Open Meetings and other legislative reform. There were representatives from CHANGE-NY, The League of Women Voters, The New York State Grange, United Transportation Union, New York Citizens for a Sound Economy, The New York State Taxpayers Alliance, and The All-County Taxpayers Alliance.
The same week, an event in Syracuse was attended by representatives from The Manufacturers Association of Central New York, The Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, The Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, The New York State Grange, and The Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. |
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| One of the most onerous devices used by the leadership was waiting until the last few days of session, and then "pulling all-nighters", like students cramming for an exam. With no time to study the bills put before them and weary from lack of sleep, numbed legislators often passed up to 25% of the year's bills in the last few days of session. One of Senator Hoffmann's bills called for an end to the practice, to no avail for many years. |
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| Senator Hoffmann praises Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on adopting one of her Reform proposals with the elimination of all night sessions and for inviting the public to attend the first ever open Majority Conference.
The tide changed with the election of Sen. Joseph Bruno to replace Sen. Ralph Marino as Majority Leader and President Pro Tem of the Senate in January 1995. On the very first day of session, January 3, 1995, usually a day devoted to ceremony and not "real" legislation, Sen. Bruno introduced a resolution to ban Senate session between midnight and 6:00 a.m., "except to complete action on a measure or measures upon which debate was begun prior to 12 a.m. or to act on a measure or measures for which a message of necessity has been received from the governor." This was the essence of one of Senator Hoffmann's reform bills. |
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In addition to banning all-night sessions, Sen. Bruno proposed:
- Itemized legislative spending reports -- one of Senator Hoffmann's reform bills
- Limiting introduction of "non-local" bills
- Disclosing a day ahead of time the bills on the next day's calendar
- Limiting length of time bills can stay on the calendar without action
- Establishing joint conference committees with the Assembly to work out differences in bills
Ten years later, two of these have stood the test of time -- itemized legislative spending reports and publishing the bill calendar twenty-four hours in advance. Joint conference committees are used for budget negotiations, but are rare for any other purpose.
Senator Hoffmann is pleased that some of her proposals have been implemented, but recognizes that more needs to be done, and that the push must be statewide. On March 6, 1994, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle said, " The remarkable thing about Hoffmann is that she has been pushing the reform agenda since taking office in 1985 and hasn't given up. She hasn't succumbed to cynicism or burnout, she hasn't taken to lurking in the corner, sulking. She deserves all the support she can get, not only because she's plucky and persistent, but because she is right." |
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| When Senator Hoffmann changed parties in 1998, her goal of reform remained consistent, but her strategy became one of persuasion, rather than confrontation. Her tactics as a Majority party member reflect her seniority in the Senate, and her ability to use her influence to convince her colleagues to move in new directions.
One example of that is Senator Hoffmann's introduction, in 2001, of a bill to require that the Governor's budget would go into effect automatically if the Legislature did not agree on a budget by the end of the fiscal year (March 31). This year (2004), the Legislature passed a similar bill -- one which would put a contingency budget into effect automatically if the Legislature failed to enact a budget by the newly-established fiscal year of May 1. It is a Constitutional amendment, so it must be passed again in the next Legislative term.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2002
SENATE PASSES HOFFMANN BUDGET REFORM
TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2004
HOFFMANN: CAREER-LONG GOAL FINALLY REALIZED
Also, in April 2002, the Senate passed a bill for a constitutional amendment providing for initiative and referendum.
TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2002
SENATE ACTS ON INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
These measures show the willingness of the Senate to move on matters of reform. However, in order to ensure reform bills that pass both houses and get signed into law by the governor, a statewide groundswell of support for reform is necessary. All legislators must become aware of the need for reform and engaged in the process. Hoffmann feels that this may be the year. |
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