The New York State Legislature officially gaveled in to session on January 7, 2015. In the Assembly, the first order of business was to overwhelming re-elect Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) as the chamber’s speaker. Assemblyman Brian Kolb (R-Canandaigua) was reappointed as Minority Leader.

Meanwhile in the Senate, the Republicans, with a narrow 32-seat majority, established new rules that stripped away the co-leadership status of the Independent Democratic Conference along with other procedural changes. There were no surprises in that chamber either, with Senators Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Center) being reconfirmed as majority leader and president pro temp, Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) as minority leader, and Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) as leader of the Independent Democrat Conference.