Nassau County Legislature

The Nassau County Legislature is the lawmaking body of Nassau County, New York. Currently, it has 19 different members from 19 different districts. It was formed in 1996 to succeed the county's Board of Supervisors, which was ruled unconstitutional.

Nassau County Legislature
Type
Type
Leadership
Presiding Officer
Richard J. Nicolello, Republican
since January 2018
Alternate Presiding Officer
Howard J. Kopel, Republican
since January 2019
Alternate Deputy Presiding Officer
Denise Ford, Republican
since January 2017
Minority Caucus Leader
Kevan Abrahams, Democrat
since November 2011
Structure
Seats19
Political groups
  • Majority
  Republican (11)
  • Minority
  Democratic (8)
CommitteesSee Standing Committees
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
November 5, 2019
Next election
November 2, 2021
Meeting place
Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building, Nassau County, New York
Website

The legislature serves as a check against the county executive. The legislature monitors the performance of county agencies and makes land use decisions as well as legislating on a variety of other issues. The county legislature also has sole responsibility for approving the county budget. All members can serve for as long as they want (there is no term limit), unless expelled. Legislators are elected every two years.

The presiding officer of the county legislature is called the Presiding Officer. The current presiding officer is Richard J. Nicolello, a Republican. The presiding officer sets the agenda and presides at meetings of the legislature. The Republican Party holds an 11-8 majority over the Democratic Party.

Composition
Nassau County Legislature seal
District Member Party Residence Elected
1 Kevin Abrahams Democratic Freeport 2002
2 Siela A. Bynoe Democratic Westbury 2014
3 Carrié Solages Democratic Valley Stream 2004
4 Denise Ford Republican[lower-alpha 1] Long Beach 2017
5 Debra Mulé Democratic Freeport 2017
6 William Gaylor, III Republican Lynbrook 2015
7 Howard J. Kopel Republican Lawrence 2009
8 Vincent T. Muscarella Republican West Hempstead 1995
9 Richard J. Nicolello Republican New Hyde Park 1996
10 Ellen W. Birnbaum Democratic Great Neck 2019
11 Delia DeRiggi-Whitton Democratic Glen Cove 2012
12 James D. Kennedy Republican Massapequa 2015
13 Thomas McKevitt Republican East Meadow 2017
14 Laura Schaefer Republican Westbury 2009
15 John R. Ferretti Jr. Republican Levittown 2017
16 Arnold W. Drucker Democratic Plainview 2016
17 Rose Marie Walker Republican Hicksville 2009
18 Joshua A. Lafazan Democratic[lower-alpha 2] Syosset 2017
19 Steven D. Rhoads Republican Bellmore 2015
Council leaders
Position Name Party District
Presiding Officer Richard J. Nicolello Republican 9
Alternate Presiding Officer Howard J. Kopel Republican 7
Alternate Deputy Presiding Officer Denise Ford Republican 4
Minority Caucus Leader Kevan Abrahams Democratic 1
  1. Ford caucuses with the Republicans in the Legislature, however is a registered Democrat.[1]
  2. Lafazan ran under the Democratic line in the Legislative Election, however is a registered Independent.[2]

History

When Nassau County first seceded from New York City in 1898, the Nassau County Board of Supervisors was established. It was a six-member board, and each member was a government official from the three towns in the county (Oyster Bay, Hempstead, and North Hempstead) and two cities in the county (Glen Cove and Long Beach). The Town of Hempstead had two voting members. The Board used a weighted vote system based on the Banzhaf power index,[3] meaning the districts smaller in population had near-no representation on the Board.

In 1993, federal district court Judge Arthur D. Spatt ruled the Board of Supervisors unconstitutional, citing its clear violation of the Equal Protection Clause for its failure to adhere to the one man, one vote policy, and failure to represent the minority population.[4] Over a year later, the Board failed to provide a constitutional successor to itself, and the judge said that if they kept ending up in a deadlock and couldn't choose a new plan, he would make one himself. The Board finally chose a plan, creating the Nassau County Legislature, changing the legislative branch of the county for the first time since its establishment, and the first election for the legislature took place in November of 1995. The historic first session began on January 1, 1996, with a Republican majority.

The plan the Board of Supervisors adopted was written into the Nassau County Charter, and it called for a nineteen-district legislature, with at least two black-majority districts. This new plan has the legislature always fluctuating from a Democratic majority to a Republican majority, and vice versa, contrary to the regularly Republican Board of Supervisors.[5]

Salary

Since the legislature's existence in 1996, the salary was made $39,500 in the charter; however the charter the legislature to raise or lower it by law.[6] In December 2015, legislators voted without much debate to raise their salary to $75,000 admist a county financial crisis; however it went into effect the next session in 2017.[7]

Standing Committees and the Floor

All issues introduced to the legislature is sent to one of the legislature's committees for review and consideration. Then, it is sent to the Rules Committee for further review and consideration. Once through the Rules Committee, it is sent to the floor for all members to discuss, debate, and vote on. If passed, it is sent to the desk of the County Executive. If it is signed by the County Executive, it is now a local law and is codified in either the Nassau County Administrative Code or the Miscellaneous Laws of Nassau County. All members of the public can attend any public meeting of the legislature, and can speak at floor meetings at a designated time.

Committees
  • Budget Review (Chair: Vincent T. Muscarella)
  • Economic and Community Development and Labor (Chair: Thomas McKevitt)
  • Finance (Chair: Howard J. Kopel)
  • Government Services and Operations (Chair: James D. Kennedy)
  • Health and Social Services (Chair: Rose Marie Walker)
  • Minority Affairs (Chair: Steven D. Rhoads)
  • Planning, Development, and the Environment (Chair: Laura Schaefer)
  • Public Safety (Chair: Denise Ford)
  • Public Works (Chair: Vincent T. Muscarella)
  • Rules (Chair: Richard J. Nicolello)
  • Veterans and Senior Affairs (Chair: John R. Ferretti Jr.)
  • Towns, Villages, and Cities (Chair: William Gaylor, III)

Law
Further information: Law of New York (state)

All legislation intended to become local law is introduced as an issue on the floor.[8] If passed, it becomes local law and is codified either in the Nassau County Administrative Code or the Miscellaneous Laws of Nassau County. Ordinanes and Resolutions are also passed the same way, but are not codified.

References
  1. "Denise Ford to represent Nassau's 4th Legislative District". Newsday. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. "Lafazan shows nonpartisan roots". Newsday. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  3. "Power on the Nassau County Board of Supervisors". www.milefoot.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. "Nassau Board Is Overturned By U.S. Judge". Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  5. "History | Nassau County, NY - Official Website". www.nassaucountyny.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  6. "The Nassau County Charter". January 2, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  7. "Legislators vote to raise their pay from $39,500 to $75G". Newsday. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  8. "What We Do | Nassau County, NY - Official Website". www.nassaucountyny.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
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