<P> There was a lengthy dispute over the leadership of the Senate during June and July 2009 . On June 8 , 2009 , Democrats Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada , Jr. , joined the 30 Republican members of the State Senate to attempt to issue a motion to replace current Majority Leader Malcolm Smith with Minority Leader Dean Skelos . Following the precedent of 1913 , the temporary presidency and the majority leadership would have been separated again under this scenario . Since the office of Lieutenant Governor fell vacant after Lt. Gov. David Paterson succeeded to the governorship upon Gov. Eliot Spitzer 's resignation , the majority leaders ( Bruno , Skelos and Smith ) have acted as lieutenant governors . The motions put forward on June 8 also sought to select Pedro Espada as Temporary President of the State Senate , which would have installed him as acting lieutenant governor . The Democrats have disputed the legitimacy of the motions put forward on June 8 . The New York State Senate has been providing a running update of the legal proceedings since June 11 , 2009 . The dispute ended July 9 , 2009 , when Senator Espada announced he would return to the Democratic caucus and take on the position of majority leader , while it was also announced that former majority leader Malcolm Smith had assumed the title of president pro tempore , and John Sampson would serve as Democratic conference leader with the understanding he would assume the presidency at an undetermined future date . Following the 2010 election and the Republican victory in the Senate , Senator Dean Skelos from Long Island served as both Temporary President and Majority Leader , but resigned in May 2015 in the midst of corruption charges . The current majority leader , or president , is John J. Flanagan . </P>
who is the new york state senate majority leader
John J. Flanagan