Call it the Golden age.
State Sen. Marty Golden (R—Bay Ridge) may have lost his fight against gay marriage, but he’s still enjoying his veteran status in the GOP-controlled Senate — passing more bills than any other Brooklyn lawmaker in this year’s legislative session, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group.
According to the group’s analysis, Golden sponsored 30 bills that eventually became law — a number surpassed only by state Sen. Kemp Hannon (R—Long Island), who pushed through 31 laws.
Golden’s spokesman said the four-term legislator’s standing in the Senate has helped him become a “strong advocate for his district.”
“This recent ranking only further confirms that senator Golden is one of the hardest working legislators in the state,” spokesman John Quaglione said.
But the veteran lawmaker also benefitted from the Republican tide that swept through the senate in the last election. According to the study, Republicans passed 1,081 bills in the senate this year. Democrats put through 103. The GOP also passed an average of 34 bills per senator, compared with just four among Democrats.
“[Golden’s] part of a loyal crew of Republicans that back [Senate Majority Leader Dean] Skelos,” said Bill Mahoney, the NYPIRG analyst who prepared the report. “That gives him a lot of weight in conference.”
It also didn’t hurt that Golden almost always voted with his leadership: he led the pack in terms of party allegiance, backing Skelos (R—Nassau) more than 99 percent of the time.
But in the senate, everyone follows their individual party line: Sen. Tom Duane (D—Manhattan), considered the Democrats biggest dissenter, still voted with his party more than 88 percent of the time.
