Nassau County Legislature

Nassau County Legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	1996
Preceded by	Nassau County Board of Supervisors
Leadership
Presiding officer	Howard J. Kopel, Republican since January 2024
Deputy presiding officer	Thomas McKevitt, Republican since January 2024
Alternate Deputy presiding officer	John R. Ferretti Jr., Republican since January 2024
Minority caucus leader	Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Democrat since November 2023
Structure
Seats	19
Political groups	Majority   Republican (12) Minority   Democratic (7)
Committees	See Standing committees
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	November 7, 2023
Next election	November 4, 2025
Meeting place
Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building, Nassau County, New York
Website
[1]

The Nassau County Legislature is the lawmaking body of Nassau County, New York. The county is divided into 19 legislative districts, each represented by an elected legislator. It was formed in 1996 to succeed the Nassau County Board of Supervisors, which had been ruled unconstitutional.

The legislature serves as a check against the county executive. The legislature monitors the performance of county agencies and makes land use decisions as well as legislating on a variety of other issues. The county legislature also has sole responsibility for approving the county budget. All members can serve for as long as they want (there is no term limit), unless expelled. Legislators are elected every two years.

The presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature is called the presiding officer. The current presiding officer as of January 2024 is Howard J. Kopel, a Republican.^[1] The presiding officer sets the agenda and presides at meetings of the legislature. The Republican Party holds a 12-to-7 majority over the Democratic Party.