independently to introduce bills and propose changes or support for the governor's executive budget. During the legislative session for both houses (Senate and Assembly): Bills are introduced and voted on to become law or not Resolutions/Proclamations are adopted Changes to the governor's Executive Budget are proclaimed Judiciary The New York State Unified Court System interprets and applies the law of New York, ensures equal justice under law, and provides a mechanism for dispute resolution. The court system in New York tends to produce mild confusion for outsiders. In general, the judicial system is composed of the trial courts, consisting of the superior courts and the local courts, and the appellate courts. The appellate courts are the: Court of Appeals Appellate Division of the Supreme Court appellate terms of the Supreme Court appellate sessions of the County Court The superior courts are the: Supreme Court County Court Family Court Surrogate's Court Court of Claims And the inferior courts are the local courts: NYC Criminal Court and NYC Civil Court District Court outside New York City City courts outside New York City justice courts (town and village courts) The highest court of appeal is the Court of Appeals (instead of the "Supreme Court") whereas the primary felony trial court is the County Court (or the Supreme Court in New York City). The Supreme Court also acts as the intermediate appellate court for many cases, and the local courts handle a variety of other matters and are the starting point for all criminal cases. The New York City courts make up the largest local court system. The system is administered by the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, also known as the chief judge of New York, the chief administrative judge, the Office of Court Administration and other agencies. Local government The state is divided into counties, cities, towns, and villages, which are all municipal corporations with their own government that provide most local government services. Whether a municipality is defined as a city, town, or village is not dependent on population or land area, but rather by the form of government selected by the residents and approved by the New York State Legislature. Each such government is granted varying home rule powers as provided by the New York Constitution, and a local law has a status equivalent with a law enacted by the Legislature (subject to certain exceptions and restrictions). New