This Secret Senate Committee Decides Whether Bills Live or Die
NYS Senate Media Services
In a series of closed-door meetings, the Working Rules group will make many of the year's remaining decisions. | NYS Senate Media Services
You haven’t heard of it, and your state senator might not have either. The Working Rules group helps determine the fate of hundreds of bills at the end of each legislative session.
“It’s not some cryptic committee.”
—former state senator Alessandra Biaggi
“Its existence is never acknowledged.”
A bin of bills sits next to the Senate Journal Clerk on July 22, 2020.
| NYS Senate Media Services
“I’d be silly to answer that question.”
—Senator Joe Addabbo
Many state senators don't know who gets a seat in the powerful Working Rules Group.
| NYS Senate Media Services
“It’s obviously a way for majority leaders to have a level of control.”
—Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt