Bill Mahoney is reporting for Politico New York as Democrats formally take control of the state Senate this week, the first order of business will be an overhaul of the Senate's Ethics Committee. Under new rules, that committee will be empowered to act like a true legislative committee, and have the power to investigate, and start approving bills touching on topics like ethics enforcement and sexual harassment. In addition, the committee traditionally has been the only one to be evenly balanced by party, but Democrats are now arguing that an exact partisan balance does not make sense for a committee that will now address legislation. The concern is that balance might give Republicans the power to hold hostage a Democratic bill on sexual harassment. So, the committee will be made up of four Democrats and three Republicans. The new committee rules are also expected to include language that permits reporters, for the first time, to take photographs from the Senate floor and to use cell phones in the lobby. Read the full story at Politico New York.