Assemblyman Joe Borelli (R,C,I – South Shore) today stood with several of his colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to call on Governor Cuomo to lessen his use of the “Message of Necessity” rule with the NYS Government Transparency Act.
Under the state constitution, all bills are required to “age” for three days so legislators and the public are afforded ample time to thoroughly review them. However, the governor has the power to issue a “Message of Necessity” and forego the three-day waiting period. This method was employed last year for major bills involving redistricting, pension reform, teacher evaluations, expanding the DNA database and casino gambling.
“The governor is certainly not the first executive to take advantage of the ‘Message of Necessity’ rule,” said Borelli. “The rule exists for good reason, but there have been instances when a more thorough debate on bills would have been beneficial. I think the public deserves ample time to review legislation, just like legislators need, and I hope the Governor will consider this.”
The NYS Government Transparency Act seeks to amend the constitution so that all legislative proceedings will be brought to a halt between midnight and 8 a.m. It will also limit the use of a “Message of Necessity” to cases of legitimate emergency, such as a security threat, natural disaster or a dire fiscal crisis.