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Constitutional framework
New York’s constitution prescribes the distribution of powers among the branches of state government as well as the system of local government throughout the state. However, the document is extremely detailed and includes provisions that most constitutional scholars consider more appropriately treated in legislative statutes than in a constitution. Because of the detail, articles tend to become quickly outdated, necessitating frequent conventions for revision. Since the first convention in 1777, others have been held at roughly 20- to 25-year intervals. The constitution requires that the question of holding a convention be placed before the voters of the state every 20 years.
The first constitution established a bicameral legislature and provided for the first popularly elected governor in the United States. The current constitution (1894) has been amended more than 200 times. Its provisions include a merit civil-service system, limitations on disposal of the state’s forest preserve, a commitment to public education, and the first constitutional definition of state-local relations.
The state government is led by a strong governor who has power over appointments and budget. The governor is restricted, however, by a number of independently appointed or elected officials. The Board of Regents, for example, which presides over education, is appointed by the legislature. An independently elected comptroller acts as auditor for both state and local governments.
The bicameral legislature comprises a Senate of 62 members and an Assembly of 150. Members of both houses are elected for two-year terms. Each house has standing committees concerned with issues of public policy. The state also has numerous nonlegislative commissions—appointed by the governor, by the legislature, or by both—on various governmental and public-policy problems.
New York is divided into 12 judicial districts. Each district has several elected judges, and together they form the Supreme Court. Four judicial departments act as appeal divisions from the supreme and inferior courts. The highest court is the Court of Appeals. The governor appoints the judges to the appellate departments from those elected to the Supreme Court, and the seven justices serving on the Court of Appeals are appointed by the governor with the approval of the Senate for 14-year terms. The Court of Claims hears cases against the state. Local courts include county courts, family and surrogate courts, and the court system of New York City.
Much legislative debate revolves around the allocation of state aid to local jurisdictions. The constitution has contained a provision for home rule by local governments since 1896, but court interpretations of the provision, which gives the state the power to act in any matter in which there is a state concern, have tended to weaken the home-rule concept. Moreover, the increasing interdependence of the state and its parts caused by urbanization and industrialization inevitably has reduced the autonomy of local jurisdictions.
The state has 62 counties, which are divided into about 1,500 towns and villages. Urban areas may be incorporated as either cities or villages. Villages remain a part of the town in which they are located, and their residents pay town as well as village taxes.
Unlike those states in which either town or county government is weak, New York has strong local governments of both types. This situation often leads to overlap in providing governmental services outside the cities. Special districts include port and bridge, health, and fire districts, as well as regional market authorities. The Port Authority is one of the largest special districts, operating bridges, harbours, and related facilities throughout the New York City metropolitan area, including those in northern New Jersey.
Cities and villages generally are governed by a mayor and a council; only a few cities use the city manager plan. Some of the larger cities have a second legislative body, often called the Board of Estimate. In New York City the mayor, the president of the city council, the comptroller, and the five borough presidents serve on this body. In other cities membership usually includes the mayor, the president of the city council, and one or more high-ranking fiscal officers.
The state-local governing system of New York places heavy responsibilities on local governments, and more than half of the state budget consists of aid to local government. Most of the aid is for public schools; other allocations go to welfare, health, highways, and housing and urban renewal, among other projects.
Political process
New York state politics has generally been defined by strong Democratic Party control in New York City and dominance by the Republican Party upstate and on Long Island. Since 1920 both Democratic and Republican governors have held power and the legislature has tended to be Republican-dominated, although since the mid-1970s the Assembly has tended to be controlled by the Democrats. Both the Democrats and the Republicans have strong statewide party organizations, but New York is one of the few states in which third and fourth parties have thrived and often played important roles in elections.
Health and welfare
New York state has some of the finest hospital and medical education facilities in the United States. Major medical centres in the New York City metropolitan area include Beth Israel and Mount Sinai hospitals, the hospitals and medical schools of Columbia University and New York University, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Among the notable facilities upstate are those associated with the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and Cornell University in Ithaca. The great majority of New Yorkers are covered by hospital and surgical insurance. Medicaid and its associated programs provide health care for an estimated one in five New Yorkers. Social welfare is a major enterprise in New York state. State benefits range from aid to families with dependent children to the support of nursing homes. Many state residents also participate in the federal food stamp program.