With a Republican governor, GOP lawmakers in both houses find themselves playing new roles in the legislative process. The possibility of legislative realignment exists for the first time in a generation. The hold of Democrats in me Assembly could be weakening as legislators from Upstate and Long Island face constituents who turned out in record numbers to elect George Pataki. Conservative Democrats may be lacing pressure to cross party lines
 
 
 

It was Democrat Bill Clinton who said, "Make change our friend," following his 1992 presidential victory. In Albany this winter, change is on the agenda. This time, it's the Republicans who are feeling friendly.

 Change is obvious in the governor's office, where George Pataki's broom is sweeping aside the vestiges of 20 years of Democratic rule. The symbols are dramatic: new faces running state agencies, a hiring freeze instituted by executive order, a convicted murderer sent back to Oklahoma. New York's new governor is carrying out his campaign promises

 On Feb. 1, Pataki released his first executive budget. New Yorkers are finally learning where the cuts will come from to close what is projected to be a $5 billion budget deficit. This is the meat-and-potatoes part of government. Until now, state lawmakers have been busy getting their houses in order. But with the money finally on the table, its time for the serious negotiating to begin.

 In the Legislature, both parties held onto their majorities: Republicans in the Senate, Democrats in the Assembly. But that doesn't mean it will be business as usual in the Capitol. Pataki's victory, coupled with what appears to be a Republican mandate nationwide, has already meant changes.

 The Senate shook off years of lethargy with a post-election coup that saw Pataki supporter Joseph Bruno (R-C, Brunswick) take the Senate majority leader's post away from Ralph Marino (R-Muttontown). Bruno introduced a series of in-house reforms and shook up the Senate's leadership structure He also made a few significant changes in the appointment of standing committee chairmen.

 The Assembly was slower to act. But it wasn't undergoing a leadership change. If anything symbolized the new power realities it was Speaker Sheldon Silver's (D-Manhattan) statement that he would not oppose implementation of the long-delayed fourth and last stage of the 1987 Tax Reduction and Reform Act. Pataki supporters believe his tax cut proposal was their strongest platform in the election, and many Upstate and Long Island Democrats were reelected in districts that otherwise went for the governor.

 In parliamentary business preceding the governor's Jan. 4 State of the State message, the Assembly and Senate called their houses to order and began organizing for the new legislative session.

 In the Assembly the routine votes were upset only by the Republican minority's traditional refusal to endorse the house rules. To accede, Republican Minority Leader Pro Tem George Winner (R-C, Elmira) explains, "would be inconsistent with our opposition to a number of them." Certainly not every rule is objected to. "We're interested philosophically in reducing the size and scope of this body," Winner says. That means reducing the number of committees, the expenditures that are involved, preparing an itemized budget of legislative expenses, and a joint budget conference committee, among other goals.

 In previous years, such ideas from the Assembly minority have been ignored as posturing. But now an alumnus of that minority is governor and he is implementing a program that draws on ideas developed within the Republican minority conference. And suddenly it is the Senate, despite its new conservative leadership, that is instituting progressive rules changes. Winner's protest, although barely noticed in the noisy Assembly hall, nevertheless had more force than in recent years

 It's not changes in internal house rules that will impress constituents, however, but how lawmakers vote on the issues that were key in helping Pataki achieve his striking victory tax cuts, welfare reform, and the death penalty foremost among them—. That kind of change, conservative activists say, is not only supported, but expected.

 Putting pressure on the Democrats' Assembly majority is the fact that in many districts where suburban and Upstate Democrats were re-elected, Pataki was also victorious. That, says CHANGE-NY's Brian Backstrom, means those lawmakers must think about supporting the governor's program or face losing their seats in 1996. In the event of a negotiations breakdown between Silver and Pataki, for example, conservative Democrats might find themselves forced to vote on the governor's tax cut plan, or more accurately, on a motion to discharge it from committee. It's a procedural tactic that can be used to focus local attention on specific lawmakers, even if it doesn't overcome the Democrats 96-54 majority.

 Pataki might also use the line item veto, a tactic rarely employed by Cuomo. Only 22 conservative Democrats would need to break away from the conference and support the governor in the event of a line item veto, Backstrom notes. There's already a precedent, at least from the many Democrats who disagreed with Cuomo's point of view on the death penalty.

 If Assembly Democrats begin to feel the heat, pressure will grow on Silver to keep the conference together, despite Majority Leader Michael Bragman's (D-Cicero) assertion that the conference is "rock solid" behind the speaker. But some have predicted that the most contentious battleground in Albany this year will be within the Assembly's Democratic majority conference.

 Raising the stakes is Pataki's promise to emulate Ronald Reagan and lobby Assembly Democrats directly. And failing that, to campaign for his programs in their districts.

 "We will see pressure on the speaker in two directions," says Assemblyman Jack McEneny (D-Albany), one of the few Upstate lawmakers from a district carried by former Gov. Mario Cuomo. "Some will say, we are the last liberal voice in New York and we have to stay true to that. Others will say it was a wake-up call."

 McEneny says it will be a few months before it becomes clear which philosophy will dominate. And he warns not to forget the additional pressure on the Assembly now that the governor's office has been lost. "It's going to be much more important to be a member of the Assembly as a Democrat," he says, "because it s the last game in town."

 Under the Republican takeover scenario, Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito (D-Utica) should be feeling the heat. But she was successful in a district carried by Pataki. "I won in spite of the Pataki win, and I won bigger, so I must be doing something right that my constituents recognized," she says. Despite a nasty campaign which saw her targeted by the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee (RACC), Destito relied on her credentials as a conservative, pro-death penalty Democrat. Her support for last session's business tax cut legislation and job creation efforts at Griffiss Air Force Base and the Rome Laboratories were apparently rewarded. "They tried to say that I was tied to the same unsuccessful policies of Mario Cuomo," she says. "And it was untrue in many ways."

 In two neighboring Suffolk County districts, one incumbent Democrat lost, while another was re-elected. Yet it was the more progressive of the two who will be returning to Albany.

 William Bianchi (D-C, Patchogue) was defeated by more than 5,000 votes while Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-East Setauket), was returned by about 1,400 votes. Englebright, who is pro-death penalty, but has earned a strong environmental record during his first two terms, thinks people went looking for him "because they did not want to lose their environmental voice." Englebright's district includes the State University at Stony Brook. He thinks he'll have an easier time in two years, when students, who tend to be liberal, are more likely to turn out for the presidential race.

 But some of the young Republicans who rode Pataki's coattails into the Assembly don't even seem to realize that they are still in the minority, handing out advice freely. "I think they are going to take a fresh look at the way they represent their people," says Patrick Manning (R-East Fishkill), of the majority Democrats. Manning, who is just 29, carne out on top by nearly 7,000 votes in a three-way race. He says the battle this year in the Legislature isn't going to be about who spends more or less money, but about how the state serves the people. "I'm looking for a transformation in how we deliver services," he says.

 Manning takes over the district formerly held by Republican Glenn Warren, who unsuccessfully bid for a seat in Congress. Through his work as a real estate broker, he has an insight into why it's the Assembly districts in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island that are the real battlegrounds for the Assembly Democrats. Manning has worked with a lot of people moving out of New York City. Now they feel like the city is moving after them. "They escaped all the negatives they thought New York City provided their families," he says, and they're frustrated with policies "that pro mote crime and dependency. That's what I've been hearing."

 Gregory Meeks (D-Far Rockaway) believes the "Democratic Conference is willing to stand strong," but admits "there is some kind of pressure." He'll be studying the governor's budget to see what services are being cut. who got those services and how the poor are going to do without those services. "I don't see how you are going to pay for a lot of the things that poor people desperately need," he says.

 Meeks says his constituents are looking for community investment in education, housing and services. "We are not just talking about communities in rural New York and middle-class communities," he insists, "but communities in the so-called impoverished areas." What kind of economic development is being planned for those communities, he asks.

 McEneny isn't sure just how important a lawmaker's voting record will be, anyway, two years from now. He cites the cases of two Hudson Valley Democrats who lost in November. Eileen Hickey of Poughkeepsie and Kevin Cahill of Kingston followed different paths to defeat. Hickey, recalls McEneny, was allowed by her party to "vote like a Republican," while Cahill, who won the seat vacated by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-Saugerties), "let it all hang out" as one of the Assembly's most progressive members. "Both got in by a few hundred votes, both lost by a few hundred votes," McEneny recalls. "It makes you wonder if voters look at the record. The voting record between the two people was night and day."

 While Silver waited for Pataki to release his budget, he made a few new appointments. Taking over the influential Assembly Education Committee will be Steven Sanders (D-Manhattan) He will replace the late East Harlem Assemblyman Angelo Del Toro, who had chaired the committee since 1990. Sanders says he will work to increase the share of state education money that goes to New York City, which has about 37 percent of the state's students but receives only 35 percent of the aid. James Brennan (D-Brooklyn) takes Sanders place as head of the Mental Health Committee.

 Silver named Elizabeth Connelly (D-Staten Island) as speaker
pro tem. For the first time in the Assembly's history, a woman will be gaveling sessions to order. She replaces Erie County Democrat Vincent Graber, who retired. He also named Ronald Canestrari (D-Cohoes) to his first committee chairmanship. He will head the Committee on Ethics and Guidance.

 It's much less complicated in the Senate. Bruno has already punished those who opposed his takeover bid last Thanksgiving and rewarded those who were on his side. He made some changes among his committee chairmen, but a lot of the action was in his leadership appointments. Bruno removed Jess Present (R-Chautauqua), a Marino backer, as deputy majority leader and replaced him with Dean Squeals (R-Rockville Centre). Other top leadership positions went to Nicholas Spano (R-C, Yonkers), Guy Vellella (R-C, Bronx), Thomas Libous (R-C, Binghamton) and Owen Johnson (R-C, West Babylon) Marino supporters, including Roy Goodman (R-Manhattan), Frank Padavan (R-Queens), and John Marchi (R-Staten Island) lost leadership positions in the shakeup.

 Marino, the big loser, was given the honorary title of counselor to the majority leader. The position lacks any stipend. According to reports, the Long Islander is looking for a job, and will eventually resign his Senate seat. Given the new power realities in the Senate, Present and Marchi may not be far behind.

 Bruno gave the Senate Health Committee to Kemp Hannon (R-Westbury), taking it away from Michael Tully Jr. (RC, Roslyn Heights). Tully was allowed to keep, at least for awhile, the chairmanship of the important joint legislative Council on Health Care Financing. But that, too, could eventually go to Hannon, or to Insurance Committee Chairman Velella. The council is co-chaired by Assembly Insurance Committee Chairman Pete Grannis (D-Manhattan). Tully was well-regarded in the health care community for leading the Senate away from a solely provider focus, to one that considered the interrelationship between providers and patients.

 Far from being banished, however, Tully was made chairman of the Environmental Conservation Committee.

 Another senator affected by the shake up was Serphin Maltese (R-C, Queens), who lost the chairmanship of the Crime and Correction Committee to Michael Nozzolio (R-C. Seneca Falls). Nozzolio's district contains several state prisons, making the post attractive to him. But Maltese. a former prosecutor and Conservative Party chairman, enjoyed the anti-crime spotlight. The two senators traded committees, with Maltese taking over the Elections Committee.

 The internal shakeup aside, however, it was Bruno s moves to reform Senate rules that drew the most attention. Perhaps inspired by Newt Gingrich's first day as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and definitely prodded by a New York State Court of Appeals ruling that forced the Senate to disclose the amount its members were spending on taxpayer-funded political mailings. Bruno served up a whole series of changes "Government in New York has been broke fiscally and the way it works," he announced. To fix it, he said. "the Senate is going to lead by example.

 Getting night to work on the first day of session, the Senate passed Resolution No. 1, which put an end to all-night sessions for non-emergency legislation. The Senate will no longer conduct business between Midnight and 8 AM, except to complete action on a debate in progress, or to act on a message of necessity from the governor. "Bravo! Bravo!" exclaimed Sen. Nancy Larraine Hoffman (D-Syracuse) who had introduced an identical measure numerous times. For Hoffman, it wasn't just a question of getting more sleep." Bad laws passed in the dead of night do not occur by accident," she says. They were used to approve deals "cut in secret" then sent to lawmakers in the early morning hours to avoid public scrutiny.

 A few days later, Bruno announced more of his reform ideas. If the Assembly agrees, he is ready to create a system of conference committees, with three to five representatives from each house, to resolve differences between the Senate and the Assembly on the same pieces of legislation. Bruno announced he had ordered the secretary of the Senate to begin tracking all w expenditures made by individual senators. He promised an itemized spending report, like that filed by U.S. House and Senate members, although the first one won't be ready until January 1996. The majority leader instructed his staff to post the active list of bills to be considered by the Senate at least one day ahead of time. In the past, the active list was not released to the public until just prior to the session. Bruno also proposed to limit the amount of time an individual piece of legislation can sit on the Senate calendar without action. And he announced that sessions will start on time, even without a quorum.

 Bruno also earned praise from good government groups like Common Cause and the New York Public Interest Research Group when he supported the idea of cable coverage of legislative proceedings, similar to the way C-SPAN covers Congress.

 Senate Minority Leader Martin Connor (D-Brooklyn) was supportive of the proposals, especially those like expenditure review that Democrats had been pushing for some time. He urged the reports to be issued quarterly and endorsed some of Bruno's other reforms as good "housekeeping actions."

 Hoffman, meanwhile, who has labored in the minority during her six terms in the Senate, is hopeful that some of the other reforms she has long advocated will finally get consideration. Her package of proposed changes has been developed in consultation with groups as diverse as Common Cause and the New York Grange. Hoffman has even tried using the motion-to-discharge tactic on some of her key proposals for the past several years, with little success. Of course, few lawmakers are even now ready to go along with her bill to open closed-door party caucuses whenever public business is being discussed.

 But when she heard the governor during his State of the State speech, recalling his own days in the Assembly minority, say that all New Yorkers would have equal representation, she was heartened. An itemized legislative budget, another key part of her reform package, would prevent "covert discrimination against those districts represented by Democrats in the Senate or Republicans in the Assembly," she says. "The public would simply never stand for the type of disparity that has been the long-standing practice in the Albany spoils system."

 Maybe Pataki will have the last word on reform. In his State of the State speech he told lawmakers he would not tolerate a late budget.

 "If the April 1^st deadline is not met,," he said, "I will not initiate, nor will I approve, legislation to provide interim appropriations for any state functions except those that directly affect the health and safety of New Yorkers."

 That means no emergency appropriations to pay the executive or the Legislature. "You won't be paid," he declared, "and neither will I."

 Jeff Jones is associate editor of Empire State Report.