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The Suffolk County Legislature is the legislative body of Suffolk County government. It was formed in January of 1970 after the Suffolk County Board of Supervisors was ruled unconstitutional in Bianchi v. Griffing. It consists of 18 different legislatures each representing one single member district.

The legislature serves as a check against the Suffolk County Executive.

Composition
As of early 2024, the Suffolk County Legislature is composed of 11 Republicans, 1 Conservative, and 6 Democrats. 

History
Prior to the creation of the Suffolk County Legislature, the legislative body of the county was the Board of Supervisors, a board composed of all 10 town supervisors in Suffolk County. Over time, the towns of Western Suffolk saw dramatic increase in population relative to the towns of the East End. As a result, town supervisors on the East End came to hold disproportionately weighted votes on the board. This led Bill Bianchi Jr. and Fred Block, residents of Bellport, to recruit former Republican Huntington Town Councilman Quentin Sammis in order to file a federal lawsuit against the board, citing a violation of one man, one vote.

A key part of the board that was maintained was the public comment portion, which allowed Suffolk residents to directly address the legislature on issues.

1970s
In January of 1970, the Suffolk County Legislature was formed.

Following the 1975 elections, Democrats took the majority in the chamber.

2020s
The 2020s saw the Legislature almost immediately confronted with handling the local aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID Response

In the 2021 elections, Republicans retook the majority of the chamber. Minority Leader Kevin McCaffrey was elected Presiding Officer of the legislature.

Migrant Crisis
In 2023, the New York City migrant crisis began to spill over into neighboring counties, as Governor Kathy Hochul sought options to provide asylum throughout the state to alleviate pressure on the Adams administration. One such county was Suffolk, where the governor began looking to house migrants in student housing on the Stony Brook University campus. This prompted a strong reaction among county residents, which was reflected by the ensuing debate within the Legislature as to how this should be addressed. The Republican Caucus held a press conference on May 30th alongside both Republican legislators other New York elected officials, namely Congressman Nick LaLota, announcing that the legislature would seek legal counsel to explore what options they had to handle the crisis. The Democratic Caucus, alongside many members of the community, spoke out against this move, culminating in a heated debate during the legislature's special meeting on the issue. Ultimately, the legislature voted 11-6 in support of the measure, with one Republican and one Democrat crossing the aisle.

Water Quality

The 2023 elections saw the Republican caucus gain a supermajority of 12 seats in the chamber, picking up 2 seats and losing one.

Committees

 * Budget and Finance
 * Environment, Parks, and Agriculture
 * Veterans
 * Ways and Means
 * Economic Development
 * Health

Clerk of the Legislature
The Clerk of the Legislature is responsible for recording the proceedings of the legislature during meetings.

Counsel of the Legislature
The Counsel of the Legislature assists legislators with all legal matters relating to the creation of legislation and how it interacts with other local, state, and federal laws.