BILL NUMBER: S945
SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to article 7 of the constitution, relating to content of article VII
bills
 
PURPOSE:
To amend the State Constitution to enable the Legislature to play an
equal role with the Governor in shaping the state budget.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Would amend SS 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Article VII of the Consti-
tution:
§ 2 would be amended to provide that the Governor's annual budget
proposal to the Legislature shall include statements of any new legis-
lation, amendment to legislation, or limitation on the effect of any
legislation contained in the budget.
§ 3 would be amended to provide that any new legislation, amendment to
legislation, or limitation on the effect of any legislation contained in
any bill submitted under Article VII shall be separately stated, in a
manner to enable the Legislature and the Governor to act on it under § 4
of Article VII.
§ 4 would be amended to provide that in addition to striking, reducing
or adding items of appropriation, the Legislature may modify or substi-
tute items of appropriation and may add, delete, modify or substitute
any new legislation, amendment to legislation, or limitation on the
effect of any legislation, provided that the additions, modifications
and substitutions shall be separately stated. This would also apply to
the portions of the budget funding the legislature and the judiciary.
The modifications and substitutions (as is now true for additions) will
be subject to veto by the Governor, and the veto would be subject to
override by the Legislature. Deletions of legislation items would not be
subject to veto.
§ 5 would be amended to repeal the requirement for a Governor's message
of necessity to enable the Legislature to act on appropriation bills
(for a single object or purpose) of its own before it has acted on the
Governor's budget appropriation bills.
§ 6 would be amended to clarify that if the Governor vetoes a separate
appropriation bill, the veto may be overridden. It would also be amended
to provide for legislative action on supplemental budget bills similar
to actions on the main budget.
Section 2 provides for referral of the bill to the next separately
elected session of the Legislature and publication.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Separation of powers and checks and balances are fundamental to America
democracy. In New York, the state budget is central to public policy
making. It controls not only appropriations but also most legislative
activity each year. Yet under our state constitution, as written and as
interpreted by a series of court decisions over decades, this central
part-of state government does not follow the doctrines of separation of
powers and checks and balances.
The Legislature may eliminate, reduce, increase or add items of appro-
priation. However, the Legislature is barred from modifying any appro-
priation. This has been interpreted to bar the Legislature from substi-
tuting an appropriation from one that is deleted or reduced. This
severely limits the Legislature's ability to fulfill its proper consti-
tutional role, especially as more and more substantive legislation is
incorporated in the budget.
When the current system of gubernatorial dominance and the Legislature's
subsidiary role is described to individual New Yorkers, they find it
hard to believe the system is so lopsided. This amendment would provide
the Legislature - the branch of government closest to individual New
Yorkers with the full-fledged role in budget-making and legislating
contemplated by our nation and state's founders.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S9635 Attorney General Opinion Referred to Judiciary
2022: S820 Attorney General Opinion Referred to Judiciary
2021: S820 Attorney General Opinion Referred to Judiciary
2020: S8198-A Attorney General Opinion Referred to Judiciary
 
FISCAL:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1 after approval by the voters.