BILL NUMBER: S1697
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to the creation of the
division of research and analysis to assist the legislature
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This amends section 7-a of the legislative law to create a nonpartisan
Division of Research and Analysis within the Legislative Library to
provide research and analytical support for members of the legislature.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 lays out the legislative intent.
Section 2 amends the legislative law to lay out the structure and duties
of the Division of Research and Analysis, its staff, and the services it
will provide to the legislature.
Section 3 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
A nonpartisan Division of Research and Analysis (DRA) should be created
within the Legislative Library in order to provide members with unbiased
research and analysis on important topics. Modeled on the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) and the Canadian Library of Parliament, the DRA
will offer legislators and their staff impartial and confidential
research and analysis services. The DRA will give the legislature an
independent and unbiased source of information on issues of public
importance.
Currently, New York legislators rely largely on external sources for
expertise and policy analysis, in addition to the legislator's own
expertise and that of legislative staff. Legislative information can be
supplied by a wide variety of actors, ranging from think tanks and
academic experts to trade associations and private citizens. Such infor-
mation comes from a wide variety of sources and therefore reflects a
wide variety of potential biases. With limited resources and wide
demands in terms of time, legislators rely on these perspectives to help
craft policy and make weighty decisions. The resulting process can
advantage those with the resources and expertise to fill the informa-
tional gap in the legislative process, regardless of the quality of the
actual information or analysis they supply. A single nonpartisan office
to provide research and analysis will ensure all members have access to
unbiased, factual analysis that they can utilize in shaping legislation
with their colleagues.
The effectiveness of the DRA rests on its ability to serve all members
of the Legislature regardless of the house in which they serve or the.
side of the aisle on which they sit. To achieve this end, under this
legislation, all legislators and their staff will have equal access to
the services of the DRA. Members and their staff will be able to request
specific confidential memoranda to support their legislative agendas.
The DRA will also prepare, at the request of members or under its own
initiative, memoranda about issues that will be available to all members
and to the public. All of these products will be delivered by staff
selected for their ability to meet the needs of the legislature, without
regard to partisan affiliation. The DRA will be led by a Director named
by the Speaker of the Assembly and President of the Senate from a list
of nominees submitted by a committee comprised of the presidents of New
York's research universities.
The most effective legislatures are those with sufficient resources to
ensure access to expert analysis and research relating to the issues
before them. New York State can lead the way in becoming one of the
first large states to develop its own corollary to the Congressional
Research Service or the Canadian Library of Parliament to meet the needs
of governing a large and complex state.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024 - S.1294 (May) / A.4164 (Steck)
2021-2022 - S.622 (May) / A.304 (Steck)
2019-2020 - S.S159-A (May) /A.7429-A (Steck)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days after becoming law.