The 179th New York State Legislature, consisting of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, met from January 6, 1971, to May 12, 1972, during the thirteenth and fourteenth years of

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1938, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision to follow the

One man, one vote "One man, one vote", or "one person, one vote", expresses the principle that individuals should have equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of political equality to refer to such electoral reforms as universal suffrage, ...

rule, re-apportioned in 1966 by order of the New York Court of Appeals, 57 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms. Senate and Assembly districts consisted of approximately the same number of inhabitants, the area being apportioned without restrictions regarding county boundaries. At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, the Socialist Workers Party, the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

, a "Civil Service Independent Party" and an "Independent Alliance" also nominated tickets.

Elections

The

New York state election, 1970 The 1970 New York state election was held on November 3, 1970, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general and a U.S. Senator, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New Y ...

, was held on November 3. Governor

and Lieutenant Governor Malcolm Wilson were re-elected, both Republicans. The elections to the other three statewide elective offices resulted in a Republican Attorney General with Liberal endorsement; a Democratic State Comptroller with Liberal endorsement; and a Conservative U.S. Senator with Independent Alliance endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans/C.S.I.P. 3,151,000; Democrats/Liberals 2,421,000; Conservatives 423,000; Communists 8,000; Socialist Workers 6,000; and Socialist Labor 4,000. However, Conservative James L. Buckley polled almost 2.3 million votes and was elected to the U.S. Senate. Three of the four women members of the previous legislature—Assemblywomen

Constance E. Cook Constance E. Cook (August 17, 1919 – January 20, 2009) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New York State Assembly, where she co-authored a bill signed into law that legalized abortion in New York three years be ...

(Rep.), a lawyer of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

; Rosemary R. Gunning (Cons.), a lawyer of

Ridgewood, Queens Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and East Williamsburg. Historically, the neighborhood s ...

; and

Mary Anne Krupsak Mary Anne Krupsak (born March 26, 1932) is an American lawyer and politician from New York. She was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1975 to 1978. She was the first woman to hold the office. Early life She was born on March 26, 1932, in S ...

(Dem.), a lawyer of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

—were re-elected. The New York state election, 1971, was held on November 2. No statewide elective offices were up for election. Two vacancies in the State Senate and four vacancies in the Assembly were filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 194th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1971; and adjourned ''sine die'' on June 9. Perry B. Duryea, Jr. (Rep.) was re-elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. Earl W. Brydges (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate. The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on December 14, 1971; and adjourned ''sine die'' on December 18. This session was called to enact a new apportionment of the state's legislative districts. The Legislature met for another special session at the State Capitol in Albany on December 27, 1971; and adjourned ''sine die'' on January 4, 1972. This session was called to consider measures to balance the state's finances, and ended with the enactment of tax increases. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 195th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1972; and adjourned ''sine die'' on May 12. On May 9, the Assembly passed a bill to repeal the permissive 1970 abortion law.''Assembly Votes to Repeal Liberalized Abortion Law; Measure Passes 79 to 68''
in ''The New York Times'' on May 10, 1972 (subscription required) The bill also passed the Senate, but was vetoed by Governor Rockefeller.

State Senate

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Assemblymen William J. Giordano and Emanuel R. Gold were elected to fill a vacancies in the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Secretary:

Albert J. Abrams Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

State Assembly

Assembly members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Clerk:

Donald A. Campbell Donald A. Campbell (August 2, 1922 – November 8, 1992) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born on August 2, 1922, in Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York. He graduated from Columbia University. During World War I ...

Notes

Sources

''YOUR HELP NEEDED NOW ON ABORTION LEGISLATION!''
campaign pamphlet issued by NYALR (a member of COFAR .e. the Coalition of Organizations for Abortion Rights {{NYLegislatures 179 1971 in New York (state) 1972 in New York (state) 1971 U.S. legislative sessions 1972 U.S. legislative sessions