New York state Senate chamber New York state Senate chamber. Photo Credit: Westpoint/CC

The new chair of the judiciary committee in the New York State Senate has not yet been selected, Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said during a press conference Monday.

Stewart-Cousins, who was unanimously elected Monday to lead her party's conference in the majority in January, is tasked with choosing who will command the all-powerful committee, which reviews appointments to the bench that require Senate approval and legislation involving the state court system.

When asked during the press conference following her election whether she has made any decisions on committee chairs, Stewart-Cousins said she had not.

That includes the judiciary committee, which is currently in Republican hands, as is the entire Senate. Eight new Democrats elected earlier this month will flip the chamber to give their party a solid majority in January for the first time in nearly a decade.

Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, is the current chair of the judiciary committee. After announcing his retirement earlier this year, Bonacic saw his district go to a Democrat in November.

His eight-year tenure chairing the judiciary committee was unlike any other in recent history. The committee approved all seven judges that currently sit on the New York Court of Appeals, including Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, the state's top judge.

Each of those judges was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who Bonacic said in July that any future chair of the judiciary committee should be wary of. During an interview with the New York Law Journal, Bonacic warned that Cuomo could try to gain more control over the judiciary by changing the court system's funding levels or through his appointments to state courts.

Those are issues the next judiciary chair will work on directly with DiFiore, who Bonacic said was frequently in contact with him during state budget negotiations. DiFiore would also work with him on ways to improve the state's court system, Bonacic said.

He also approved countless other judicial appointments by Cuomo, including several to the Court of Claims. Judges from that court are frequently substituted to hear cases usually designated to State Supreme Court Justices, a practice Bonacic did not agree with.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, is currently the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee. He's also the ranking member on the investigations and government operations committee and was the top Democrat on the environmental conservation committee at one time. He said Monday that he would be happy to chair any committee assigned to him.

“We'll see what happens. Obviously the leader has to make the decision,” Hoylman said. “But any committee that the leader assigns me, I will gladly chair. That will be a great day when we can actually have hearings, pass bills in public, and make progressive change.”

There will be 14 attorneys in the Democratic conference when new members are sworn in next year. Hoylman is one of them. Eight of the other attorneys are incumbents that were already in the conference, and five will be fresh faces in the upper chamber.

There is no requirement that an attorney chair the judiciary committee, just like there is no requirement that a member with a background in health chair that committee. But there is a precedent for naming an attorney to the position.

Bonacic, who is an attorney, has chaired the committee since 2011. Former State Sen. John Sampson, a Democrat and also an attorney, chaired the committee before him. State Sen. John DeFrancisco, a Republican attorney, held the post before Sampson.

At least one of the attorneys in the Democratic conference has already been ruled out for the position. Sen. Michael Gianaris, D-Queens, was selected as the deputy majority leader of his conference on Monday as well.

Stewart-Cousins said announcements on other conference appointments, including committee chairs, will begin to roll out over the next several weeks. The legislative session is scheduled to begin in early January.

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