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Legislative Tracking

New York Legislative Tracker

A New York bill tracker follows bills in the New York State Legislature, a 150-member Assembly and a 63-member Senate, and alerts you when a bill is referred to committee, amended, voted on, or acted on by the Governor.
Ajay Jayagopal

A New York bill tracker, also called an NY legislature bill tracker, follows bills in the New York State Legislature, a 150-member Assembly and a 63-member Senate, and alerts you when a bill is referred to committee, amended, voted on, or acted on by the Governor.

New York legislative tracking covers the whole path from introduction to the Governor's desk. The main options are the Senate's bill pages and status alerts, the Assembly's bill search and video, free public trackers, and multi-state platforms such as Billflo. People also search for this as New York Legislature bills, New York Senate bills, or New York Assembly bills. The right choice depends on how many bills you follow, how many people share the work, and whether you need analysis and reporting.

New York State Legislature at a Glance: Assembly, Senate, and Members

Readers who search for the New York State Legislature, the New York Senate, the New York State Assembly, or New York legislators are usually looking for one of three things: how it is organized, where to find a bill, or who represents them. The basics are below.

QuestionAnswer
Where does it meet?Albany, at the State Capitol
What is it called?The New York State Legislature, made up of the Senate and the Assembly. Its official sites are nysenate.gov and nyassembly.gov.
How many members?213 in all: 150 in the Assembly and 63 in the Senate
How long are the terms?Two years in both chambers
New York legislature makeupDemocrats hold the majority in the Senate, and the Senate's own wrap-up describes it as the Democratic Majority. Democrats also hold a large majority in the Assembly. I found no official seat counts, and seats changed through February 2026 special elections, so check the rosters on the Senate and Assembly sites. All 213 seats are on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
How do I find my NY state legislators?The Senate's Find My Senator tool takes a New York street address and ZIP code. The Assembly's site has member directory and search pages.
Where is the official record?The Senate's bill search, whose Open Legislation service covers both houses, and the Assembly's Bill Search and Advanced Legislative Search
Where are sessions broadcast?The Assembly's Live Coverage page, with archived session proceedings and committee hearings, and the Senate's session pages
Are these the same as New York's members of Congress?No. Members of Congress are federal officials. See the section below.

A tracker builds on this official record. The sections below explain how to follow bills closely.

New York State Legislators vs. New York's Members of Congress

Searches such as "New York congressional districts," "New York senators," and "New York representatives in Congress" often mix two different bodies. The New York Senate and Assembly meet in Albany and write state law. New York's delegation in Washington, D.C. writes federal law.

BodyWhereWho
State legislatorsNew York State Legislature, Albany63 state senators and 150 Assembly members
Members of CongressCongress, Washington, D.C.2 U.S. senators and 26 U.S. representatives, one for each of New York's 26 congressional districts

The Clerk of the House's official list for the 119th Congress names Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand as New York's U.S. senators. Use the Senate site and the House's Find Your Representative page to confirm your representative, because the 119th Congress ends in January 2027. Billflo covers state and local government, not Congress.

Why You Need a Tracker for New York Bills

New York introduces a very large number of bills across a two-year term, and the Legislature's calendar is built around a session that runs from January into June. The 2026 session convened January 7, and the session calendar lists session days through the first week of June, with Senate votes continuing on June 3 and 4. A single organization may care about only a small share of the bills introduced, and relevant bills are not always identified by their titles alone.

New York also has features that reward close attention. Bills pass both houses long before the Governor acts on them, because the Governor's clock starts only when a bill is delivered. Bills passed in the last 10 days before adjournment are treated as 30-day bills, and the Governor's inaction on those is a veto. Bills not enacted by the end of the second year of the term are not carried forward automatically. Organizations that follow New York should plan tracking that continues after the session ends, through the delivery and signing period.

New York Legislative Session: Dates, Length, and Deadlines

The New York State Legislature meets each year, with a two-year term.

QuestionAnswer
When does the session begin?The 2026 session convened Wednesday, January 7. A new Legislature convenes in January 2027, on the first Wednesday after the first Monday by count, which is January 6, 2027.
How long does it last?The Legislature publishes a calendar each year. The 2026 calendar lists session days from January into early June, and the Senate held votes on June 3 and 4. The scheduled end may not be the actual last day.
What is the term?Two years. Bills are introduced in the first year, and the Assembly's rules deem some first-year bills reintroduced in the second year.
What is the second-year introduction deadline?Under the Assembly's rules, the final day for unlimited bill introduction in the second year is the Monday of the week four weeks before the scheduled end of the session
What happens after the session?Bills are delivered to the Governor over the following months, and the Governor acts on them under the Constitution's deadlines

Deadlines. The Senate and Assembly publish a joint legislative session calendar each year, and the Assembly's rules set bill introduction and committee procedures. Check the calendar for the current dates.

The 2026 calendar shows how a session runs. Dates change every year.

2026 milestoneDate
Session convenesJanuary 7
Session days continue throughEarly June (June 1 to 4 on the calendar)
General electionNovember 3
New Legislature convenes (first Wednesday after the first Monday)January 6, 2027

How a New York Bill Becomes Law

The route below is the standard path, according to the Senate's How a bill becomes a law page and the Constitution's Article IV, Section 7.

StageWhat happensWhat a tracker should capture
1. IntroductionA member introduces a bill in the Senate or Assembly, and it is given a print numberPrint number, sponsor, and summary
2. CommitteeThe bill is referred to a committee, which can hold a hearing, amend the bill, and report itCommittee referral, hearing notice, and committee vote
3. Floor calendarA reported bill is placed on the floor calendarCalendar placement
4. Floor voteThe house debates and votes, and the bill may be amendedAmendments and roll call
5. Second houseThe other house takes up the bill, often through a companion billCompanion bill and passage in each house
6. Delivery to the GovernorA bill that has passed both houses is delivered to the Governor, often well after it passesDelivery date
7. GovernorThe Governor signs the bill, vetoes it, or lets it become lawDeadline and action taken
8. ChapterA signed bill becomes a chapter of the laws of the yearChapter number and effective date

Timing rules that affect your calendar.

  • While the Legislature is in session, the Governor has 10 days, not counting Sundays, from delivery to sign or veto a bill. A bill not acted on in that time becomes law.
  • The ten days run from delivery, not from passage, so a bill passed early in the session can wait before the clock starts.
  • Bills passed or returned during the last 10 days before the Legislature adjourns are treated as 30-day bills. The Governor has 30 calendar days after adjournment, and inaction on these bills means they do not become law.
  • A veto can be overridden by two-thirds of the members elected to each house.

New York Bill Numbers and Versions

New York identifies a bill by a print number, with an A for Assembly bills and an S for Senate bills, and the session year is part of its address.

LabelMeaningExamples seen on the Legislature's site
AAssembly billA1577, A4301, and A4723
SSenate billS2041 and S991
Session yearThe year of the bill's termBill pages are addressed by year, for example 2023 or 2017
Amended versionsA bill can be amended, producing a new version of the same billShown on each bill's page

A companion Assembly or Senate bill needs to be checked separately, because the two houses number their bills independently. The Senate's advanced legislation search filters by print number, session year, sponsor, bill status, committee, and issue. Check how resolutions appear on their own pages.

Reading a New York Bill's Status: A Glossary

The Legislature explains the process on the Senate's citizen guide. These are the terms that appear most often in tracking.

TermWhat it means
Print numberA bill's identifying number, with an A or S prefix
Companion billThe related bill in the other house
Delivered to GovernorThe step that starts the Governor's deadline
Thirty-day billA bill passed or returned in the last 10 days before adjournment, which the Governor has 30 days after adjournment to act on
Signed / chapterA bill the Governor has signed, numbered as a chapter of the laws
VetoThe Governor's rejection of a bill, which two-thirds of each house can override
Floor calendarThe list of bills ready for a floor vote
ReintroducedA first-year bill deemed introduced again for the second year under the Assembly's rules
Open LegislationThe Legislature's service that delivers bill data from both houses, with a free API

When a tracking alert contains one of these terms, it tells you whether a bill is moving, stalled, or finished.

When New York Laws Take Effect

Each New York act states when it takes effect, and many take effect on signing or on a date months later. I did not confirm a general default, so read each act's effective-date section, and note the date on your tracking record, because compliance and planning work often depends on it. The Senate's Open Legislation laws pages publish the consolidated laws.

The Governor's signing and veto actions are published by the Governor's office, and the Legislature's Legislative Resources pages point to the Legislative Library.

What to Track at Each Stage

Introduction: Review newly introduced bills against your subjects at least once each week. Search the bill text, not only the title, and record any companion bill.

Committee: Watch which committee holds each bill and when it is reported. The Assembly publishes hearing video and the Senate posts committee information.

Amendments: A bill can change substantially through amendments. Compare each version with the previous one.

Floor votes: The Senate's alerts can notify you when a bill reaches the floor, is voted on, and passes either house.

Passage in both houses: A bill is not law until both houses pass identical text. Track the companion bill.

Delivery: A bill that has passed both houses is not yet before the Governor. Watch for the delivery date, which starts the clock.

The Governor's desk: Record the delivery date, the 10-day or 30-day deadline, and the action taken. Watch for vetoes after adjournment.

Second-year reintroduction: Check whether a first-year bill was reintroduced for the second year.

Enacted laws: Record the chapter and the effective date.

Two Years, One Term: New York Legislative Tracking Across the Session

A New York legislative term lasts two years, and the Legislature meets each year from January into June. The current term's 2026 session convened January 7. After the November 3, 2026 election, a new term begins in January 2027, and bills not enacted in the current term are not carried forward automatically. Because the Governor acts on bills after delivery, which can come well after the session ends, tracking should continue after the last session day.

Three habits help:

  • Check the term and year: Make sure the bill you are following is in the term you expect. Print numbers restart with each two-year term.
  • Follow committees, not only bills: A committee's referral and hearings show which bills are moving.
  • Follow named legislators: Alerts tied to a sponsor or a committee chair can show interest in a subject before a bill is filed. After an election, confirm who now serves each district.

New York Bill Tracker Options Compared

A New York bill tracker, an NY legislature bill tracker, and New York legislature bill tracking are different names for the same need: a dependable way to follow bills in Albany. There is no single correct tool. The table describes the main categories using publicly stated information. Features and prices change, so confirm current details with each provider.

ToolWhat it isTypical strengthTypical limitation
Senate bill search and Open LegislationThe Senate's search and data service for both houses, with free API accessAdvanced filters by print number, session year, sponsor, status, committee, and issueA lookup tool, with no team workflow
Bill Status AlertsA free email alert on each bill page of the Senate's site, plus a follow feature for logged-in usersEmails when a bill reaches a floor, is voted on, passes either house, is delivered to the Governor, or is signed or vetoedBuilt around the bills you select. Confirm whether it meets your needs for topic alerts, shared team records, and reporting.
Assembly bill search and videoThe Assembly's Bill Search, Advanced Legislative Search, and video pagesThe Assembly's own record, plus live coverage and archived proceedings and hearingsA separate site from the Senate's. I found no official Assembly email alert, so confirm what it offers.
Free public bill trackersVendor tools that let individuals follow bills at no costTopic selection and email digestsFree plans commonly limit alerts, team features, or reporting
Multi-state legislative tracking platformsPlatforms that cover many states in one product, including BillfloOne workspace for New York and other jurisdictions, with analysis, collaboration, and reportingCompare New York-specific coverage and depth on a trial before purchase
SpreadsheetA manual list of billsNo cost and flexibleAccurate only as of the last update

For a broader comparison, see the best legislative tracking software.

What a Dedicated New York Legislative Tracker Adds

The Legislature's tools tell you where a bill stands. Dedicated legislative tracking software adds the layer needed to act on that information:

  • Alerts across topics: Notice when a new or amended bill matches a keyword, committee, or sponsor, including bills not already on your list.
  • One record across both houses: A watchlist that keeps an Assembly bill and its Senate companion together.
  • One record for the team: Shared bill lists, notes, and assignments that stay with the bill when responsibility changes.
  • Version comparison: A view of what changed between versions of a bill.
  • Summaries and analysis: Condensed explanations of long bills and answers to questions about their content.
  • Hearing coverage: Transcripts or summaries of committee hearings, not only calendar listings.
  • Reports: Current summaries for supervisors, boards, clients, or members.
  • Access control: Role-based permissions and audit records, which public agencies often require.

Beyond the Legislature: State Agency and Local Meetings

Decisions that affect your organization are not made only in Albany. New York's counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, and state agencies each hold public meetings, adopt local laws and regulations, and vote on matters that may parallel or follow state legislation. A state bill on a topic such as housing, education, or utilities often produces local action once it becomes law. The Department of State's local government handbook describes the structure of state government, and the State Board of Elections publishes election calendars.

Organizations that follow New York should decide early how far down the chain their tracking needs to reach.

  • State legislation only: Suitable when your interest is in shaping or preparing for statutes.
  • State plus local: Suitable when local ordinances and council votes affect your programs, budgets, or members.

When evaluating a platform, ask which local bodies it covers, how agendas and ordinances are collected, and how local items are alerted. Coverage of local bodies differs widely between vendors. Billflo covers state and local government.

How to Use a New York Bill Tracker: A 12-Step New York Legislative Tracking Workflow

A reliable tracking routine does not depend on one person's memory. It uses the official record as the source, alerts to catch changes, and a fixed schedule for review. The twelve steps below can be followed with the Legislature's own tools, or with a dedicated platform such as Billflo.

  1. Define scope: List your subjects, relevant committees, and sponsors. Write the scope down so that the team applies it the same way.
  2. Build your starting bill list from the official record: Use the Senate's bill search and the Assembly's bill search for the term, and record each print number and its companion in the other house.
  3. Set alert rules: Use keywords with variants, because the same subject may be described with different wording. In Billflo alerts, rules can follow bills, committees, speakers, and keywords, so that new bills that are not yet on your list still reach you.
  4. Review new bills weekly: and daily once committees begin to meet. Check committee notices, because hearings are added throughout the session.
  5. Assign an owner: One named person should review alerts, with a defined backup. Shared inboxes without a responsible person are the most common reason alerts are missed.
  6. Record your position and reasoning on each followed bill, with a note on who owns follow-up. Keeping notes, documents, and fiscal figures with the bill means that a new team member can understand its history. In Billflo, a legislative tracking project groups the bills, notes, and documents for one issue.
  7. Watch for new versions: Compare versions after every amendment. Billflo's bill comparison shows what changed between versions, and its answers cite the bill behind them.
  8. Mark the session days: Take the dates from the joint session calendar, and note which of your bills have passed each house.
  9. Follow what is said at hearings: The record shows what happened, and the hearing shows why. Billflo's live session intelligence provides live transcripts, session summaries with key topics, speaker identification, and video timestamps that jump to where a bill was taken up.
  10. Report on a schedule: Send an update weekly during session and at session end. Collaboration and reporting in Billflo produces PDF or DOCX reports that stay current as the bills change.
  11. Check against the official site: periodically to confirm that the record is accurate. When a status looks wrong, the Legislature's bill page is the authority.
  12. Follow the delivery period: After the session, track which bills are delivered to the Governor, the 10-day and 30-day deadlines, vetoes, and each effective date.

A Sample Tracking Day During Session

The schedule below is an illustration of how one analyst might work through a busy committee day. It is not tied to any specific product or date.

TimeTask
Early morningReview overnight alerts: newly introduced bills, new versions, and posted committee notices. Discard matches that are not relevant.
Before the first hearingRead the hearing notice and the bill text, and note the sponsor's amendments.
During hearingsFollow the live stream or the recording on the bills you track. Note which witnesses support and oppose, and what amendments are discussed.
After hearingsUpdate each bill record with the outcome, the vote, and next steps.
End of daySend a short update to supervisors, clients, or members with what moved and what requires action.

Common Mistakes in Tracking New York Bills

Tracking only one house's bill: The Assembly and Senate number their bills independently, and a bill becomes law only when both houses pass identical text. Track both.

Reading only the title: A bill's title may describe an earlier version. Read the current version.

Stopping at passage: A bill that has passed both houses is not yet law. The Governor's clock starts only at delivery, which can come months later.

Missing the 30-day bills: Bills passed in the last 10 days before adjournment get 30 days after adjournment, and inaction on them means they do not become law.

Assuming the scheduled end is the last day: The Senate voted on June 3 and 4, 2026, past the days listed on the calendar. Watch for the adjournment.

Assuming a bill carries over: A bill not enacted by the end of the term is not carried forward automatically, and some first-year bills are deemed reintroduced only under the Assembly's rules.

Assuming a veto is final: A veto can be overridden by two-thirds of the members elected to each house.

Treating signature as the end: A signed bill still has a chapter number and an effective date, and it may direct an agency to take further action. Record both.

Starter Alert Keywords for a New York Legislative Tracker

Alert rules work best when they include the terms legislators actually use. The lists below are starting points for a first set of New York alerts. Adjust them for your organization, and review them at the start of each term.

SubjectExample terms
Educationschool, student, teacher, charter, higher education, tuition
Healthhealth care, Medicaid, behavioral health, hospital, pharmacy, insurance
Artificial intelligenceartificial intelligence, automated decision, algorithm, generative, deepfake
Privacy and dataprivacy, personal information, data broker, biometric, consumer data
Labor and employmentemployer, wages, workplace, worker, independent contractor
Finance and businessfinancial services, banking, insurance, corporation, small business
Energy and environmentenergy, utility, emissions, climate, renewable
Housing and land usehousing, rent, landlord, tenant, zoning
Transportationtransportation, MTA, transit, motor vehicle, congestion
Taxes and budgettax, revenue, appropriation, budget, fiscal
Public safetylaw enforcement, firearm, corrections, sentencing, bail
Electionselection, ballot, voter, redistricting, campaign finance

Test each rule against a week of alerts. If a term returns too many unrelated bills, add a committee or a sponsor to narrow it. If it returns too few, add variants of the same idea.

Official and Independent Sources

A tracker is only as reliable as its sources. These are the primary references for New York legislation.

A platform should be able to point back to these sources. When a figure or status looks wrong, check it against the official record.

How to Choose a New York Bill Tracker

The New York State Legislature rewards steady attention. It introduces a very large number of bills over a two-year term, two houses number their bills separately, bills can wait months for delivery to the Governor, and inaction on late bills means they do not become law. The practical question is not whether to track New York bills, but how much structure your work requires.

Match the Tool to the Workload

Your situationA reasonable approach
A few bills, one personThe Senate's bill pages and Bill Status Alerts, the Assembly's bill search, and a spreadsheet
Many bills, or several people sharing themA dedicated legislative tracking platform with shared records, cross-topic alerts, and reports
New York together with other states or local bodiesA multi-state platform, so that one record covers every jurisdiction

Whichever approach you choose, three habits matter more than the tool. Read each new version, track the companion bill in the other house, and give one named person responsibility for reviewing alerts.

Where Billflo Fits

Billflo is an AI-native legislative intelligence platform covering all 50 states and local government, which includes the New York State Legislature. It addresses the problems this guide has described:

  • Versions and companions: Legislative tracking projects keep version history, and bill comparison shows what changed between versions.
  • Hearings and a long calendar: Alerts follow bills, committees, speakers, and keywords by text message, push notification, or email. Live session intelligence provides live transcripts, session summaries with key topics, speaker identification, and video timestamps that jump to where a bill was taken up.
  • Verification: In AI analysis, every answer cites the bill behind it, so a reader can confirm the statement against the official record.
  • Teams and reporting: Collaboration and reporting provides shared projects and PDF or DOCX reports that stay current. Role-based access, audit trails, and secure data handling support public agency requirements.

Billflo offers a free plan, and other plans are priced by agency size. It is a legislative intelligence platform and does not include grassroots advocacy, PAC management, or stakeholder relationship management tools.

For the wider workflow, read the guide to state legislative tracking, the guide to legislative tracking software, and the companion guides to California, Washington, Arizona, Massachusetts, Alabama, Arkansas, Maryland, Utah, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania legislative tracking.

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Frequently asked questions

1. What are the two houses of the New York State Legislature?

The New York State Legislature has two houses: the Assembly, with 150 members, and the Senate, with 63 members. Members of both houses serve two-year terms. The Legislature meets in Albany, and the Senate and Assembly websites list the members and offer address lookups.

2. What is the best way to track New York bills, and is there an official or free tracker?

It depends on your needs. The Senate's website lets you search any bill, and each bill page has a free Bill Status Alert form that emails you when a bill reaches a floor, passes either house, is delivered to the Governor, or is signed or vetoed. The Assembly runs its own bill search and video pages. Billflo also offers a free plan. Organizations that follow many bills, share the work among several people, or need reports usually add a dedicated legislative tracking platform. Compare New York-specific coverage on a trial before choosing.

3. When is the New York legislative session?

The Legislature meets each year from January into June. The 2026 session convened January 7, and the calendar lists session days through the first week of June, with Senate votes on June 3 and 4. A new term begins in January 2027, which by count is January 6. The Legislature publishes a session calendar each year.

4. How does a New York bill become law?

A bill is introduced in the Senate or Assembly, referred to a committee, and reported to the floor, where the house votes. The other house takes up the bill, often through a companion bill. After both houses pass it, the bill is delivered to the Governor, who has 10 days, not counting Sundays, to sign or veto while the Legislature is in session. Bills passed in the last 10 days before adjournment get 30 days after adjournment, and inaction on those means they do not become law. A veto can be overridden by two-thirds of each house.

5. What is the makeup of the New York State Legislature?

Democrats hold the majority in the Senate and a large majority in the Assembly. I found no official seat counts, and seats changed through February 2026 special elections, so check the rosters. All 213 seats are on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

6. How do I find my New York legislators and districts?

The Senate's Find My Senator tool takes a New York street address and ZIP code. The Assembly's website has member directory and search pages. Each member's page lists their district and contact information.

7. Are New York state legislators the same as congressmen or U.S. senators?

No. New York state senators and Assembly members serve in the Legislature in Albany and write state law. New York's two U.S. senators and 26 U.S. representatives serve in Washington, D.C. and are federal officials. Use the Senate site and the House's Find Your Representative page to confirm your members. Billflo covers state and local government, not Congress.

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