New York State Legislature

New York State Legislature
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate Assembly
Leadership
President of the Senate/Lt. Governor	Kathy Hochul (D) Since January 1, 2015
Temporary President of the Senate	John J. Flanagan (R) Since May 11, 2015
Speaker of the Assembly	Carl Heastie (D) Since February 3, 2015
Structure
Seats	213
Political groups	Governing parties      Republican (31)      Independent Democratic Conference (8)      Caucusing Democrat (1) Opposition parties      Democratic (22)      Vacant (1)
Political groups	Governing parties      Democratic (103)      Independence Party (1) Opposition parties      Republican (42)      Conservative (1)      Independent Democratic (1)      Vacant (2) www.nysenate.gov
Salary	$79,000
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016
Next election	November 6, 2018
Meeting place
New York State Capitol, Albany
Website
public.leginfo.state.ny.us www.assembly.state.ny.us

Governing parties

Opposition parties

Governing parties

Opposition parties

New York State Legislature refers to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together. It says only that "legislative power is vested in the senate and assembly." 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. The legislature is seated at the New York State Capitol in Albany.

Legislative elections are held in November of every even-numbered year. Both Assembly members and Senators serve two-year terms.

In order to be a member of either house, one must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state of New York for at least five years, and a resident of the district for at least one year prior to election.

The Assembly consists of 150 members; they are each chosen from a single-member district. The Senate, in accordance with the New York Constitution, varies in its number of members, but currently has 63. Senate districts are currently between two and three times more populous than Assembly districts. As of 2009 the New York State Legislature has 2700 employees, more than any other state legislature except for the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The Assembly is headed by the Speaker, while the Senate is headed by the President, a post held ex officio by the State Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor, as President of the Senate, has only a tie-breaking "casting vote". More often, the Senate is presided over by the Temporary President or by a senator of the Majority Leader's choosing.