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184th New York State Legislature
← 183rd 185th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York,United States
Term	January 1, 1981 – December 31, 1982
Senate
Members	60
President	Lt. Gov.Mario Cuomo (D)
Temporary President	Warren M. Anderson (R)
Party control	Republican (35–25)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Stanley Fink (D)
Party control	Democratic 1981: (86–64) 1982: (88–62)
Sessions
1st January 7 – July 10, 1981 2nd September 16, 1981 – 3rd October 26 – 30, 1981 4th December 3, 1981 – 5th January 6 – July 3, 1982 6th December 13 – 22, 1982

The184th New York State Legislature, consisting of theNew York State Senate and theNew York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years ofHugh Carey'sgovernorship, inAlbany.

Under the provisions of theNew York Constitution of 1938 and the U.S. Supreme Court decision to follow theOne man, one vote rule, re-apportioned in 1971, and amended in 1974, by the legislature, 60 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 contiguously without restrictions regarding county boundaries.

At this time there were two major political parties: theRepublican Party and theDemocratic Party. TheLiberal Party, theConservative Party, theRight to Life Party, theLibertarian Party, theCommunist Party, theWorkers World Party and theSocialist Workers Party also nominated tickets.

The1980 New York state election was held on November 4. The only statewide elective office up for election was aU.S. Senator from New York. RepublicanAl D'Amato was elected with Conservative and Right to Life endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for U.S. Senator, was: Republicans 2,272,000; Democrats 2,619,000; Liberals 665,000;^[1] Conservatives 275,000; Right to Life 152,000; Libertarians 21,500; Communists 4,000; Workers World 3,500; and Socialist Workers 3,000.

Twelve of the thirteen women members of the previous legislature—State SenatorsCarol Berman (Dem.), ofLawrence;Mary B. Goodhue (Rep.), a lawyer ofMount Kisco;Olga A. Méndez (Dem.), ofEast Harlem, andLinda Winikow (Dem.), ofSpring Valley; and AssemblywomenElizabeth Connelly (Dem.), ofStaten Island;Pinny Cooke (Rep.), ofRochester;Joan B. Hague (Rep.), ofGlens Falls;Rhoda S. Jacobs (Dem.), ofBrooklyn; andGerdi E. Lipschutz (Dem.), ofQueens;May W. Newburger (Dem.), ofGreat Neck;Toni Rettaliata (Rep.), ofHuntington; andFlorence M. Sullivan (Rep.), a lawyer ofBrooklyn—were re-elected.Geraldine L. Daniels (Dem.), ofthe Bronx;Gloria Davis (Dem.), ofthe Bronx;Eileen C. Dugan (Dem.), ofBrooklyn;Gail S. Shaffer (Dem.), ofNorth Blenheim;Carol A. Siwek (Rep.), ofBuffalo; andHelene Weinstein (Dem.), a lawyer ofBrooklyn; were also elected to the Assembly.

The 1981 New York state election was held on November 3. No statewide elective offices were up for election. One vacancy each in the State Senate and the Assembly were filled.

On April 20, 1982,Aurelia Greene (Dem.), ofthe Bronx, was elected to fill a vacancy in the Assembly. Thus the 184th Legislature finished having 19 women members, surpassing the previous record of 13 in the183rd New York State Legislature (1979–1980).

The legislature met for the first regular session (the 204th) at the State Capitol inAlbany on January 7, 1981;^[2] and recessed indefinitely on July 10.^[3]

Stanley Fink (Dem.) was re-electedSpeaker.

Warren M. Anderson (Rep.) was re-elected temporary president of the state Senate.

The legislature met again on September 16, 1981, to enact amendments to the election laws, concerning the primary elections inNew York City.^[4]

The legislature met again from October 26^[5] to 30, 1981, to consider welfare and tax matters.^[6]

The legislature met again on December 3, 1981, to override Governor Carey's veto of a new property tax bill.^[7]

The legislature met for the second regular session (the 205th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1982;^[8] and recessed indefinitely on July 3.^[9]

On March 26, 1982, a special panel of federal judges, consisting ofLawrence W. Pierce,Robert J. Ward andVincent L. Broderick, ordered the legislature to re-apportion the legislative districts by April 16.^[10]

On April 19, the federal judges noted that the legislature had not agreed upon a re-apportionment, and announced that they would appoint somebody to elaborate a proposal.^[11]

On May 8, Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats announced that they had agreed upon a new apportionment. The number of seats in the State Senate was increased from 60 to 61.^[12] The new district lines weregerrymandered by the Republican Senate majority to increase Republican strength, and by the Democratic Assembly majority to increase Democratic strength.^[13]

On June 23, the feral judges ordered Special Master Robert P. Patterson Jr. to revise the new apportionment proposed by the legislature.^[14]

On July 3, the revised re-apportionment was approved by theU.S. Department of Justice.^[15]

The legislature met for a special session from December 13^[16] to 22, 1982, to consider again measures to balance the budget and to keep the mass transit fare in New York City down.^[17]

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. L. Paul Kehoe changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

• Secretary:Roger C. Thompson (1981)
  • Stephen F. Sloan (1982)

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)..."

• Clerk:Catherine A. Carey

• List of state legislators inThe Public Sector (Vol. 3, No. 32; issue of May 12, 1981;

ISSN 0164-9949; pg. 4)

• New faces appear on Albany scene in theFinger Lake Times, ofGeneva, on January 6, 1982
• DEMOCRATS WIN 3 RACES IN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS by Frank Lynn, inThe New York Times on April 21, 1982

• New York (state) legislative sessions
• 1981 in New York (state)
• 1982 in New York (state)
• 1981 U.S. legislative sessions
• 1982 U.S. legislative sessions

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