Senate Republicans will not rule out filing litigation after their Democratic colleagues passed legislation this week they say will undermine the state's judicial nominating process.

Legislation passed the Senate on Thursday to make it easier for the governor to elevate an incumbent justice seated on the Court of Appeals to serve as the state's most powerful judge, and then select an associate judge from the Commission of Judicial Nomination's list of candidates to fill the additional vacancy.

Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) said Republicans in the conference are exploring potential legal options if the legislation is signed into law, arguing it will change will allow the governor to choose two people from one of the commission’s lists.

"It’s certainly something that we’re looking at,” Ortt said of legal action. "This process should be done a certain way. It should be handled a certain way in the process of integrity that is very important."

The Senate voted to reject justice Hector LaSalle, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first chief judge nominee, earlier this year after Democratic lawmakers took issue with a handful of his past rulings related to labor and others.

Sen. Anthony Palumbo, a member of the approving Judiciary Committee, filed litigation in February in attempts to force LaSalle's nomination to a full floor vote after the committee voted to reject him.

“Are they interested in enforcing the law or interpret the law as written?" Ortt said. "… Sometimes, our colleagues play politics when it suits then and when it doesn’t, it goes out the window."

The Commission on Judicial Nomination released its second list of candidates for chief judge of the state’s highest court last week.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Thursday she has not discussed the list of candidates with Gov. Hochul.

Good-government groups, including Citizens Union, the League of Women Voters of New York State, and the Committee for Modern Courts, are against the "program bill" of the governors senators voted to advance Thursday to alter the judicial appointment process. The legislation, they added, would make changes that are unconstitutional.

“The proposed program bill to change the appointing method for the New York State Court of Appeals is flawed and should not pass," according to a joint statement from the groups Thursday. "We believe it would heavily politicize a sensitive nomination process that centers appropriate qualifications for each court position, and conflicts with the plain language of the state Constitution."

The state's chief judge and associate judge on the Court of Appeals require differing qualifications, which also makes the legislation inappropriate, advocates said.

"The chief judge oversees the entire state’s court system, which employs over 16,000 people and has a budget of more than $2 billion," the good-government groups continued in their statement. "It would be perfectly appropriate for the commission to decide certain individuals are extremely qualified to serve as associate judge, but do not have the administrative experience to serve as chief judge."