New York State Assembly

Section 1. Powers and Duties. The Speaker shall:

1. take the chair each day at the hour to which the House adjourned;
2. call the House to order, lead the Members of the Assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and, except in the absence of a quorum, proceed to business in the manner prescribed in these Rules; and
3. possess the powers and perform the duties herein prescribed. The Speaker:
1. shall preserve order and decorum, name the member entitled to the floor when more than one member seeks to be recognized and, in debate, prevent personal reflections and confine members to the question under discussion;
2. shall decide all questions of order subject to appeal to the House and on every appeal shall have the right, from the Chair, to assign the reason for such decision; in case of such appeal no member shall speak more than once, nor for more than 15 minutes;
3. shall appoint the chairpersons and members of all committees thereof, except where the House shall otherwise order;
4. shall create such sub-committees of each standing committee, jointly with the chairperson of the standing committee, as may be deemed necessary;
5. shall appoint the chairpersons and members of all sub-committees thereof, except where the House shall otherwise order;
6. may designate by an appointment in writing duly entered upon the Journal of the House, any member to perform the duties of the Chair for a period not exceeding five consecutive legislative days, but for no longer period, except by special consent of the House and the member so designated shall be, during the time designated, vested with all the powers and duties conferred by these rules and section 40 of the legislative law;
7. shall not be required to vote in ordinary legislative proceedings, except where such vote would be decisive;
8. shall be a member and Chairperson of the Committee on Rules;
9. shall appoint a Majority Leader, who shall be a member of the Committee on Rules, and who, together with the Minority Leader, shall be a member ex-officio of all other standing committees of the House, and entitled to the same rights and privileges as other members of said com- mittees except the right to vote;
10. shall appoint such other officers as he or she deems necessary to the conduct of the affairs of the Assembly;
11. may direct a standing committee to conduct any investigation which the Assembly or a committee thereof is authorized to conduct, provided, however, that the Speaker may not so direct the Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation unless requested in writing by a majority of the membership of such Committee;
12. shall execute the judgment of the House, without debate, in cases of adjudged breach of its privileges; and
13. may create such task forces of the Assembly as he or she may deem necessary or advisable and shall appoint the chairperson and members of each such task force.
14. shall adopt rules and regulations, and take such other measures as may be necessary to provide for the establishment and maintenance of a system of internal controls and a program of internal control review for the Assembly in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Rule VII hereof.

§ 2. Vacancy. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of the Speaker, the Majority Leader shall be the Acting Speaker until the Assembly shall re-assemble.

§ 3. Assembly Chamber, lobbies, rooms and property.

1. The use of the Assembly Chamber, lobbies, rooms and property shall be controlled by the Speaker. He or she shall direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to perform such acts as may be necessary to preserve order.
2. The following persons shall be entitled to admission to the floor of the House during the session thereof:
1. the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor;
2. the members and former members of the Assembly and the Senate;
3. the elected State officers and their deputies;
4. persons in the exercise of an official duty directly connected to the business of the House; and
5. the representatives of the news media designated by the Speaker.
3. No other person shall be admitted to the floor during the session, except upon the permission of the Speaker or by vote of the House; and persons so admitted shall be allowed to occupy places only in the seats in the rear of the Assembly Chamber. Such permission may be revoked by the Speaker, at pleasure, or upon order of the House.
4. No person shall be admitted to the floor of the Assembly Chamber who is interested in pending or contemplated legislation, or who is employed by or receives compensation from any public or private source for influencing legislation.
5. No person other than a member shall occupy the chair of a member during the session of the House.
6. No person shall have access to or be permitted within or by the Clerk's desk during the session of the House, except officers of the House in the discharge of their official duties.
7. The Speaker may, at pleasure, recognize a member for the purpose of introducing guests in the chamber. The Speaker further may limit recognition to one member to introduce an individual guest or group and such member shall speak for no more than two minutes for the purpose of such introduction.

§ 4. Sergeant-at-Arms. Subject to the direction of the Speaker, the Sergeant-at-Arms shall enforce the Rules of the House, enforce order in the Assembly Chamber, lobbies and rooms, exclude all persons from the floor except such as are entitled to the privileges of the same and perform such other duties as the Speaker may direct.

§ 5. Sexual harassment policy. The Speaker shall promulgate a policy prohibiting sexual harassment, which shall, at a minimum, be applicable to members of the Assembly and Assembly staff, define the conduct which is prohibited, establish a process for the resolution of complaints of such conduct, and provide for appropriate training for all members of the Assembly and Assembly staff. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to require the repromulgation of a sexual harassment policy statement which is already in effect and which meets the requirements of this rule. Copies of the sexual harassment policy promulgated hereunder shall be distributed to all members of the Assembly and Assembly staff and shall be available to the public.

§ 6. Affirmative action policy. The Speaker shall promulgate a policy with respect to affirmative action, which shall, at a minimum:

1. prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status or military status;
2. appoint an affirmative action officer who shall report annually to the Speaker;
3. create an affirmative action advisory committee to assist the affirmative action officer in the implementation of such policy;
4. require that the human resources office of the Assembly undertake recruitment of minority and protected-class individuals;
5. establish a process for the resolution of complaints of discrimination; and,
6. create a system by which such policy is disseminated and enforced.

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to require the repromulgation of an affirmative action policy which is already in effect and which meets the requirements of this rule. Copies of the affirmative action policy promulgated hereunder shall be distributed to all members of the Assembly and Assembly staff and shall be available to the public.

§ 7. Non-fraternization policy. The Speaker shall promulgate a policy prohibiting fraternization with student interns, which shall at a minimum, be applicable to members of the Assembly and Assembly staff, define the conduct which is prohibited, and establish a procedure for investigation of alleged violations of the policy. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to require promulgation of a non-fraternization policy which is already in effect and which meets the requirement of this rule. Copies of the non-fraternization policy promulgated hereunder shall be distributed to all members of the Assembly and Assembly staff and shall be available to the public.

§ 8. Budget adoption schedule. Within ten days of submission of the budget by the Governor, the Speaker shall promulgate a schedule of dates for consideration and passage of the budget appropriation and related bills. Such dates shall include dates for public hearings on such bills, dates for the issuance of forecasts and dates for the passage of such appropriation bills. Such schedule, to the extent practicable, shall be promulgated jointly with the Temporary President of the Senate. Provided, however, upon the adoption of a budget adoption schedule pursuant to Joint Rule II, the provisions of such Joint Rule shall supercede the provisions of this section.