Exclusive: Senate Dems Announce Committee Assignments

As the state Senate Republican majority wrangles over who will chair the chamber's legislative committees, the state Senate Democratic Conference has finalized its list Senate committee ranking members for 2015.

“The top priority for every member of the Senate Democratic Conference is to serve the residents of our great state and work to make New York better and stronger for the next generation,” state Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. “As leader of the Senate Democratic Conference, I am immensely proud of every single one of my colleagues and I commend my leadership team and all Senate Committee Ranking Members for their dedication to the residents of New York State.”

There are few changes, and the ones the conference did make were largely to fill vacancies left by lawmakers voted out of office. Notably, newly-elected state Sen. Jesse Hamilton of Brooklyn replaced former state Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk as ranking member on the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee and also replaced former state Sen. Ted O’Brien as ranking member on the Banks Committee. State Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan replaced O’Brien as ranking member of the Environmental Conservation Committee and newly-elected Marc Panepinto of Western New York replaced former state Sen. Terry Gipson as ranking member of the Local Government Committee.

Newly elected state Sen. Leroy Comrie, who chaired the powerful New York City Council Land Use Committee as a councilman from Queens, will serve as ranking member of the Senate's Consumer Protection and Elections committees.

“We are a diverse conference which truly represents the many communities that make up New York State,” Stewart-Cousins added. “We are black, Hispanic and white; we are gay and straight; we are Downstate and Upstate, suburban, rural and urban; and we are able to bring our diverse backgrounds and histories to the State Senate to ensure all New Yorkers have their voices heard and respected by their state government.”

Here’s the full list: 

Aging: Ruben Diaz, Sr.

Agriculture: Marc Panepinto

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse: Kevin Parker

Banks: Jesse Hamilton

Children & Families: Velmanette Montgomery

Cities: Daniel Squadron

Civil Service & Pension: James Sanders Jr.

Codes: Daniel Squadron

Commerce, Economic Development & Small Business: Timothy Kennedy

Consumer Protection: Leroy Comrie

Corporations, Authorities & Commissions: Bill Perkins

Crime Victims, Crime & Correction: Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Cultural Affairs: Jose Serrano

Education: George Latimer

Elections: Leroy Comrie

Energy: Kevin Parker

Environmental Conservation: Brad Hoylman

Ethics: Michael Gianaris

Finance: Liz Krueger

Health: Gustavo Rivera

Higher Education: Toby Ann Stavisky

Housing, Construction & Community Development: Adriano Espaillat

Infrastructure & Capital Investment: Timothy Kennedy

Insurance: Neil Breslin

Investigations & Government Operations: Brad Hoylman

Judiciary: Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Labor: Jose Peralta

Local Government: Marc Panepinto

Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities: Jesse Hamilton

Racing, Gaming & Wagering: Joseph Addabbo

Rules: Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Social Services: Velmanette Montgomery

Transportation: Martin Dilan

Veterans: Joseph Addabbo

New York City Education Subcommittee: Bill Perkins