{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-8-4","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Senate Rules Rule 8, § 4","heading":"Hearings","body":"§  4.  Hearings.  a. Committee hearings. Chairs of standing committees\nmay call  public  hearings  to  permit  interested  persons,  groups  or\norganizations  the  opportunity  to  testify  orally  or  in  writing on\nlegislation or issues pending before such standing committee. Chairs are\nencouraged to hold public hearings on legislation  of  important  public\ninterest,  where,  outside  of  the  budget, significant public money is\nallocated, broad conduct is regulated or where the proposal has a  broad\npublic  impact. Chairs may request that the Official Stenographer make a\nstenographic record of  a  public  hearing.  Official  hearings  may  be\nconducted  in accordance with procedure established by law. No committee\nmay take testimony at a hearing unless at least two of its  members  are\npresent  at  such  hearing. Prior notice of all public hearings shall be\nfiled by the chair or his or her  designee  with  The  Legislative  Bill\nDrafting  Commission  and  the  Secretary  of the Senate and such notice\nshall contain information as to subject matter, date and place.\n  b. Public forums. Notwithstanding the  public  hearings  conducted  by\nstanding  committees, any Senator may convene a public forum on proposed\nor pending legislation within the jurisdiction of a committee upon which\nhe or she is a member, provided that any charge  incurred  attendant  to\nsuch  forum  be  borne  by  said Senator or his or her party conference.\nPrior notice of such  forum  shall  be  filed  with  the  chair  of  the\ncommittee.\n  c.  Committee  oversight function. Each standing committee is required\nto conduct oversight of the  administration  of  laws  and  programs  by\nagencies within its jurisdiction.\n  d.  Each  standing committee is required to file with the secretary of\nthe senate an annual report, detailing  its  legislative  and  oversight\nactivities. Such report shall be posted to the Senate web site.\n  e. Petition for a public hearing on a bill. By a petition of one-third\nof  the  members assigned to a committee rounded up to the nearest whole\nnumber, a public hearing shall be scheduled on a specific bill or number\nof bills within the jurisdiction of a committee, unless the majority  of\nmembers  of  the committee reject such petition. Such petitions shall be\nsubmitted on the proper form to the Senate Desk for Operations, who will\nforward it to the appropriate committee, for presentation  at  the  next\ncommittee  meeting.  Such public hearings shall be held if they meet the\nguidelines as promulgated by the Majority  Coalition  Leaders.    Public\nhearings  scheduled  by petition will be held at least 14 days following\nthe committee meeting at which the petition was considered.\n  f. Hearings of standing committees shall be video recorded and to  the\nextent  practicable  webcast live. Video of such hearing shall be posted\nto the Senate web site within 24 hours.","path":["Senate Rules","Rule 8. Standing Committees"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/CMS/R8S4","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:44Z","sha256":"a70c23573bdd2555e68dd94dffe93932a051ae44878fc703ca44c70deca43ad5","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-8-3","next":"us-ny/n.y.-senate-rules-rule-8-5"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}