SEN KLEIN ELECTED PRESIDENT PRO TEM OF NY STATE SENATE AND LEADER OF IDC

 

As President Pro Tempore and Leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, Klein Will Exercise Joint Authority Over the Flow of All Legislation and Senate Business

ALBANY – On the floor of the New York State Senate Wednesday, senators overwhelmingly elected Senator Jeffrey D. Klein (34^th – Bronx/Westchester) as Senate President Pro Tempore, the legislative chamber’s top post. Under a new bipartisan power sharing agreement enacted by the chamber, Senator Klein will share the title with Senator Dean Skelos of Long Island (R). During the chamber’s Wednesday session, Senator Klein was also elected Leader of the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). Under the bipartisan agreement enacted by the Senate yesterday, Senator Klein, as IDC Leader, will exercise joint and equal control over the chamber with his Republican counterpart, Republican Conference Leader Skelos.  

"I’m deeply humbled that my Senate colleagues have entrusted me with these tremendously important duties during this critical time for our state. We face challenges that require immediate action, such as rebuilding New York in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, raising the minimum wage, reforming stop-and-frisk, and enacting a comprehensive DREAM Act that will, for the first time, provide the same tuition assistance opportunities to all New York students, regardless of their immigration status.  

“For the first time in this chamber, a Democrat and a Republican will be equal partners in governing the Senate - a dynamic that will foster the bipartisanship, compromise and pragmatism that our country’s political process sorely needs. I look forward to working with Senators from both sides of the aisle to pass meaningful and necessary legislation in the weeks and months ahead."