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191st New York State Legislature
← 190th 192nd →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1, 1995 – December 31, 1996
Senate
Members	61
President	Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross (R)
Temporary President	Joseph Bruno (R)
Party control	Republican 1995: (36–25) 1996: (37–24)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Sheldon Silver (D)
Party control	Democratic 1995: (94–56) 1996: (95–55)
Sessions
1st January 4 – June 30, 1995 2nd January 3 – July 13, 1996 3rd December 17 – 18, 1996

The 191st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1995, to December 31, 1996, during the first and second years of George Pataki's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1938 and the U.S. Supreme Court decision to follow the One man, one vote rule, re-apportioned in 1992 by the Legislature, 61 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms. Senate and Assembly districts consisted of approximately the same number of inhabitants, the area being apportioned contiguously without restrictions regarding county boundaries.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Conservative Party, the Independence Party, the Liberal Party, the Right to Life Party, the Tax Cut Now Party, the Libertarian Party and the Socialist Workers Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1994, was held on November 8. State Senator George Pataki was elected Governor, and Betsy McCaughey Ross was elected Lieutenant Governor, both Republicans with Conservative and Tax Cut Now endorsement, who defeated the incumbent Democrats Mario Cuomo and Stan Lundine. The elections to the other three statewide elective offices resulted in the re-election of State Comptroller Carl McCall and U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, both Democrats; and the election of Dennis Vacco as Attorney General, a Republican with Conservative endorsement who defeated the incumbent Democrat G. Oliver Koppell. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Democrats 2,273,000; Republicans 2,156,000; Conservatives 329,000; Independence 217,000; Liberals 92,000; Right to Life 68,000; Tax Cut Now 54,000; Libertarians 9,500; and Socialist Workers 5,500.

36 of the sitting 39 women members of the legislature—State Senators Nancy Larraine Hoffmann (Dem.), of Syracuse; Mary Ellen Jones (Democrat), of Irondequoit; Olga A. Méndez (Democrat), of East Harlem; Velmanette Montgomery (Democrat), of Brooklyn; Suzi Oppenheimer (Dem.), of Mamaroneck; Mary Lou Rath (Republican), of Williamsville; Nellie R. Santiago (Democrat), of Brooklyn; and Ada L. Smith (Dem.), of Queens; and Assemblywomen Patricia Acampora (Republican), of Mattituck; Carmen E. Arroyo (Democrat), of the Bronx; Nancy Calhoun (Republican), of Blooming Grove; Joan Christensen (Democrat), of Syracuse; Barbara M. Clark (Democrat), of Queens; Elizabeth Connelly (Dem.), of Staten Island; Vivian E. Cook (Dem.) of Queens; RoAnn Destito (Democrat), of Rome; Gloria Davis (Dem.), of the Bronx; Eileen C. Dugan (Democrat), of Brooklyn; Donna Ferrara (Rep.), a lawyer of Westbury; Sandy Galef (Democrat), of Ossining; Deborah J. Glick (Dem.), of Manhattan; Aurelia Greene (Dem.), of the Bronx; Audrey Hochberg (Dem.), of Scarsdale; Elizabeth C. Hoffman (Republican), of North Tonawanda; Earlene Hill Hooper (Dem.), of Hempstead; Rhoda S. Jacobs (Democrat), of Brooklyn; Susan V. John (Dem.), of Rochester; Melinda Katz (Dem.), a lawyer of Queens; Naomi C. Matusow (Democrat), a lawyer of Armonk; Nettie Mayersohn (Democrat), of Queens; Patricia McGee (Republican), of Franklinville; Catherine Nolan (Dem.), of Queens; Chloe Ann O'Neil (Republican), an elementary school teacher of Parishville; Audrey Pheffer (Democrat), of Queens; Frances T. Sullivan (Republican), of Fulton; and Helene Weinstein (Democrat), a lawyer of Brooklyn—were re-elected. Catherine M. Abate (Democrat), of Manhattan, was also elected to the State Senate. Debra J. Mazzarelli (Republican), of Patchogue; and Sandra Lee Wirth (Republican), of West Seneca, were also elected to the Assembly.

The New York state election, 1995, was held on November 7. Four vacancies in the Assembly were filled. Betty Little (Republican), of Queensbury, was elected to fill one of the vacancies.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 218th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1995; and recessed indefinitely in the morning of June 30.

Sheldon Silver (Dem.) was re-elected Speaker of the Assembly.

Joseph Bruno (Rep.) was elected Temporary President of the Senate.

The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 219th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1996; and recessed indefinitely on July 13.

The Legislature met for a special session from December 17 to 18, 1996, to consider legislation concerning the administration of the public school system in New York City.

State Senate

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Vincent Leibell changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this legislature. Assemblymen Larry Seabrook and James S. Alesi were elected to fill vacancies in the Senate.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

• Secretary: Stephen F. Sloan

State Assembly

Assembly members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

• Clerk: Francine Misasi

Notes

1. NEW YORK'S NEW GOVERNOR: THE OVERVIEW; PATAKI PROMISES A REDUCED BUDGET AND LOWER TAXES by Kevin Sack, in The New York Times on January 5, 1995
2. Mayor Loses Political Fray In Legislature by Kevin Sack, in The New York Times on July 1, 1995
3. PATAKI'S MESSAGE: Pataki Says Backing Spending Cuts Will Help State Thrive by Clifford J. Levy, in The New York Times on January 4, 1996
4. For Pataki, Success Hinges on an Evolving Agenda by James Dao, in The New York Times on July 15, 1996
5. Stick to Basics in Albany in The New York Times on December 17, 1996
6. Albany Fails to Extend Tax for New York City Police by Richard Perez-Pena, in The New York Times on December 18, 1996
7. ALBANY IN SCHOOLS ACCORD TO GIVE CHANCELLOR POWER AND WEAKEN LOCAL BOARDS by James Dao, in The New York Times on December 18, 1996
8. Ex-Majority Chief Resigns From State Senate in The New York Times on February 9, 1995
9. ^ Effort to Preserve a Political Dynasty in East Harlem Fails by a Wide Margin by David Firestone, in The New York Times on March 15, 1995
10. ^ 3 Democrats Win Contests by Jonathan P. Hicks, in The New York Times on February 16, 1996
11. ^ Democrats Win Race Seen as a State Forecast by Raymond Hernandez, in The New York Times on February 16, 1996
12. Conservative Party Leader Picked to Run Port Authority; ...Pataki also announced the appointment of...Senator John B. Daly...as Transportation Commissioner... by Kevin Sack, in The New York Times on January 10, 1995
13. Elected Public Officials of the Bronx since 1898 Archived 2014-03-11 at the Wayback Machine (page 27)
14. James Preston King in the Albany Times–Union on June 14–15, 2010
15. Butler gets Conservatives' backing in The Daily Gazette, of Schenectady, on September 25, 1995
16. ^ REYNOLDS HEADS ASSEMBLY MINORITY in The Buffalo News on June 30, 1995; at HighBeam Research
17. NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets; Former Commissioners
18. In East Harlem, 2 Candidates Try to End a Dynasty as a 3d Tries to Uphold It; ...Elizabeth C. Hoffman, who resigned her seat in the Assembly to run..., by Jonathan P. Hicks, in The New York Times on March 13, 1995

Sources

• Senate and Assembly members (Vote on the Budget Bill, on March 9, 1995)

v t e New York State Legislatures by year convened
1 (1777) 2 (1778) 3 (1779) 4 (1780) 5 (1781) 6 (1782) 7 (1783) 8 (1784) 9 (1785) 10 (1786) 11 (1787) 12 (1788) 13 (1789) 14 (1790) 15 (1791) 16 (1792) 17 (1793) 18 (1794) 19 (1795) 20 (1796) 21 (1797) 22 (1798) 23 (1799) 24 (1800) 25 (1801) 26 (1802) 27 (1803) 28 (1804) 29 (1805) 30 (1806) 31 (1807) 32 (1808) 33 (1809) 34 (1810) 35 (1811) 36 (1812) 37 (1813) 38 (1814) 39 (1815) 40 (1816) 41 (1817) 42 (1818) 43 (1819) 44 (1820) 45 (1821) 46 (1823) 47 (1824) 48 (1825) 49 (1826) 50 (1827) 51 (1828) 52 (1829) 53 (1830) 54 (1831) 55 (1832) 56 (1833) 57 (1834) 58 (1835) 59 (1836) 60 (1837) 61 (1838) 62 (1839) 63 (1840) 64 (1841) 65 (1842) 66 (1843) 67 (1844) 68 (1845) 69 (1846) 70 (1847) 71 (1848) 72 (1849) 73 (1850) 74 (1851) 75 (1852) 76 (1853) 77 (1854) 78 (1855) 79 (1856) 80 (1857) 81 (1858) 82 (1859) 83 (1860) 84 (1861) 85 (1862) 86 (1863) 87 (1864) 88 (1865) 89 (1866) 90 (1867) 91 (1868) 92 (1869) 93 (1870) 94 (1871) 95 (1872) 96 (1873) 97 (1874) 98 (1875) 99 (1876) 100 (1877) 101 (1878) 102 (1879) 103 (1880) 104 (1881) 105 (1882) 106 (1883) 107 (1884) 108 (1885) 109 (1886) 110 (1887) 111 (1888) 112 (1889) 113 (1890) 114 (1891) 115 (1892) 116 (1893) 117 (1894) 118 (1895) 119 (1896) 120 (1897) 121 (1898) 122 (1899) 123 (1900) 124 (1901) 125 (1902) 126 (1903) 127 (1904) 128 (1905) 129 (1906) 130 (1907) 131 (1908) 132 (1909) 133 (1910) 134 (1911) 135 (1912) 136 (1913) 137 (1914) 138 (1915) 139 (1916) 140 (1917) 141 (1918) 142 (1919) 143 (1920) 144 (1921) 145 (1922) 146 (1923) 147 (1924) 148 (1925) 149 (1926) 150 (1927) 151 (1928) 152 (1929) 153 (1930) 154 (1931) 155 (1932) 156 (1933) 157 (1934) 158 (1935) 159 (1936) 160 (1937) 161 (1938) 162 (1939) 163 (1941) 164 (1943) 165 (1945) 166 (1947) 167 (1949) 168 (1951) 169 (1953) 170 (1955) 171 (1957) 172 (1959) 173 (1961) 174 (1963) 175 (1965) 176 (1966) 177 (1967) 178 (1969) 179 (1971) 180 (1973) 181 (1975) 182 (1977) 183 (1979) 184 (1981) 185 (1983) 186 (1985) 187 (1987) 188 (1989) 189 (1991) 190 (1993) 191 (1995) 192 (1997) 193 (1999) 194 (2001) 195 (2003) 196 (2005) 197 (2007) 198 (2009) 199 (2011) 200 (2013) 201 (2015) 202 (2017) 203 (2019) 204 (2021) 205 (2023)
Senate Assembly List

• New York (state) legislative sessions
• 1995 establishments in New York (state)
• 1996 disestablishments in New York (state)
• 1995 politics in New York (state)
• 1996 politics in New York (state)
• 1995 U.S. legislative sessions
• 1996 U.S. legislative sessions