The number of bills passed by the legislature over the past two years has fallen substantially, extending a trend documented by the New York Public Interest Research Group.
This is the second year of the Albany legislative session. NYPIRG reports that during this session, there were 16,818 two-house bills introduced. In the 2017-2018 session, the number was substantially higher at 17,960.
What You Need To Know
- Every session, the New York Public Interest Research Group issues an analysis of legislative activity in Albany
- An analysis of the 2020 session shows that legislative activity was down substantially
- The analysis is based on data from the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission
The report acknowledges the effect of COVID-19 on the session’s productivity. The report also compared relative productivity under various governors.
Under Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s tenure, the average number of two-house bills passed per year (as opposed to per session) was 1,356. Under Andrew Cuomo, that number dropped to 620, the lowest among the past 14 governors.