Prime Minister Question Time is a centuries old tradition in the United Kingdom.

The modern iterations consist of the prime minister appearing before Parliament weekly to talk about issues at hand.

Other countries, including Australia, Canada, and Finland have a similar process. Some New York lawmakers are asking, "Why not here?"

"It's fascinating how you get a healthy back and forth going and I thought, ‘That's a really excellent idea,’" state Senator Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, said.

Krueger is sponsoring a bill that would require the governor to come to the legislative chambers once a month — the Assembly on odd months and the Senate on even months — and answer questions. Democrat Danny O'Donnell introduced the Assembly version this week.

"I just thought it would be a good approach to increase transparency and more opportunity for individual legislators to go back and forth with the executive," Krueger said.

The United Kingdom question time is famous for often getting pretty disorderly. However, Krueger said she doesn't envision that in New York where lawmakers follow Robert's Rule of Order.

"I am very familiar with going back and forth with my colleagues from the other party in a very civilized model where questions are asked and answered and I don't see any reason why that wouldn't be the story if the governor was our guest," she said.

Krueger has introduced the bill every year since 2015 but it hasn't gained much traction. She said it still is a good idea but "good government" bills rarely get priority unless the public mandates it.

"I think the only reason this could pass is if the public woke up and said, ‘We love this and really want to push this,’" she said.



Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office said he and top staff meet with legislators all the time and couldn't get anything done without doing so. Senior Advisor Rich Azzopardi continued to say the office would review the bill "before ordering our black robes and powdered wigs."