On Wednesday, January 6, the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly issued their committee assignments for the 2021 legislative session. Beyond the usual changes in some chairmanships and memberships that occur with a number of incumbent legislators not being re-elected, there were notable developments in the committees themselves—with several committees being created or modified.
Specifically, the Assembly established two new committees: People with Disabilities and Science and Technology. The Senate created two new committees, Procurement and Libraries (formerly a subcommittee), and split two others: The Cities Committee has been split into Cities 1 (New York City) and Cities 2 (Other NYS Cities), and the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee has been split, into the Mental Health Committee and the Developmental Disabilities Committee. The Senate also eliminated the Domestic Animal Welfare Committee.
There were several key changes in committee chairmanships, including:
- Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz (D-Bronx) to Chair of the Codes Committee
- Assemblymember Charles Lavine (D-Nassau) to Chair of the Judiciary Committee
- Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) to Chair of the Children and Families Committee
- Assemblymember Latoya Joyner (D-Bronx) to Chair of the Labor Committee
- Assemblymember Nily Rozic (D-Queens) to Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee
- Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D-Monroe) to Chair of the Economic Development Committee
- Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D-New York) to Chair of the Social Services Committee
- Assemblymember Ron Kim (D-Queens) to Chair of the Aging Committee
- Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Nassau) to Chair of the Libraries and Education Technology Committee
- Assemblymember Latrice Walker (D-Kings) to Chair of the Elections Committee
- Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-Ulster) to Chair of the Agriculture Committee
- Senator Jabari Brisport (D-Kings) to Chair of the Children and Families Committee
- Senator Robert Jackson (D-New York) to Chair of the Cities 1 (New York City) Committee
- Senator Jeremy Cooney (D-Monroe) to Chair of the Cities 2 (Other NYS Cities) Committee
- Senator John Mannion (D-Onondaga) to Chair of the Developmental Disabilities Committee
- Senator Sean Ryan (D-Erie) to Chair of the Libraries Committee
- Senator Samra Brouk (D-Monroe) to Chair of the Mental Health Committee
- Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D-Rockland) to Chair of the Procurement Committee
The full list of Assembly committee chair assignments can be found at https://nyassembly.gov/Press/?sec=story&story=94862.
The full list of Senate committee chair assignments can be found at https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/andrea-stewart-cousins/senate-majority-leader-andrea-stewart-cousins-5.