The newest members of the Independent Democratic Conference in the Senate have been handed the gavel of committee chairmanships in Albany. (nystateofpolitics.com)
Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the powerful Brooklyn Democratic political boss who has come under scrutiny for his use of legislative pork, has beens stripped of his Housing Committee chairmanship by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver following allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct made by two Assembly employees. (nystateofpolitics.com)
State Senate lawyers argued over the weekend that the Senate's practice of paying members stipends for committee chairmanships they do not hold were legal, constitutionally defensible and proper as «a classic example of internal administrative prerogatives.» (nystateofpolitics.com)