Research Guide: The Rules of the Senate of the State of New York
Article III, Section 9 of the New York State Constitution reads:
“A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members; shall choose its own officers; and the senate shall choose a temporary president and the assembly shall choose a speaker.”
The Rules of the Senate of the State of New York is a living document, subject to constant change in order to best reflect the current state of the Legislature. The Rules are adopted on the first day of each legislative session. Amendments to the rules can be proposed by the Committee on Rules or one of its subcommittees and are subject to adoption or refusal by Senate vote. Amendments that are adopted take effect immediately and become part of the Rules that are adopted as a whole on the first day of the next legislative session.
Where to Find the Rules:
The current Rules of the Senate can be found on the Senate’s website. Several editions of the rules, from 2014 to present, are also hosted here.
The New York State Library’s digital collections include copies of the Rules from 1997-1998, 2001-2002, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2015-2016, and 2017-2018.
The Legislative Library keeps physical copies of the Senate Rules going back to 1969, minus those from 1971 to 1972.
The 1835 Rules of the Senate were published in that year’s collection of Senate Documents.
Other Resources:
Some amendments or proposed amendments to the rules were published as Senate Documents:
1890 Amendment to the rules of the Senate
1889 Amendments to the rules of the Senate
1891 Proposed amendments to the Senate rules
1892 Proposed amendments to the Senate rules
Additionally, some committee and subcommittee reports are available:
1974 Report of the Senate Select Committee on Rules and Procedures
1998 Minority Report of the Senate Rules Subcommittee on Rules Reform
In 2009 there was a series of hearings on improving the legislative process through rules reform:
Hearing on improving the State Senate’s legislative process by reforming its rules and administration. (2/26/2009)
Hearing on improving the State Senate's legislative process by reforming its rules and administration. (2/27/2009)
Much of the language in the Rules of the Senate is based on the contents of Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, published by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Robert’s Rules of Order is also commonly referenced when Senate Rules are being debated or amended.