WHY IS THE TERM MINORITY CONFERENCE OR MAJORITY CONFERENCE USED TO DESCRIBE A GROUP OF SENATORS?
The terms convey information about the number of senators in each party. The party with the greater number is called the Majority Conference and the party with the lesser is called the Minority Conference. Majority senators have a greater influence in directing the business of the Senate and they normally control committee chairmanships. Currently, Senator Smith and my colleagues compose the Majority Conference and Senator Skelos and his colleagues are the Minority Conference. 2. QUESTION: DURING THE SENATE CRISIS, WHY DID SENATE MINORITY LEADER SKELOS REFUSE TO ENTER THE CHAMBER AT THE SAME TIME AS THE MAJORITY CONFERENCE? ANSWER: After the leadership dispute, Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and our conference went to court to have the conflict resolved. The judge ruled that the leadership issue must be worked out by the Senate itself. Senator Skelos and his conference, however, refused to acknowledge that ruling and demanded recognition of Pedro Espada as Senate President pro tem. 3. Q
