Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – March 28, 2018

  • State Budget Talks Continue
  • Governor Supports Extending Background Check Waiting Period to Purchase a Firearm
  • Governor Directs Attorney General to Review Handling of Weinstein Case
  • Senate Approves Community Heroes Protection Act to Protect First Responders
  • Comptroller Will Push for Women on Corporate Boards
  • Siena Poll: Governor Leads Potential Rivals
  • Political Update
  • Coming Up

State Budget Talks Continue

Discussions on the state’s 2018-19 spending are continuing, though they are taking place largely behind closed doors.

Last week, both houses approved the state Debt Service bill, one of the 10 required budget bills.  And the budget conference committees held their second round of meetings on Thursday afternoon after the legislative leaders agreed on specific “table targets” for each issue area — the amounts that lawmakers have agreed to add to the governor’s budget. About $400 million will be distributed to various parts of the budget, including $70 million more for education and $70 million more for health care.

But there is much work that remains to be done if lawmakers are going to approve the state budget by tomorrow, per their schedule.

Some of the high profile issues that the Governor and the legislative leaders are discussing include the Governor’s proposal to increase taxes by about $1 billion in order to close the state’s projected deficit; bolstering mass transit in New York City; criminal justice reform; the Child Victims Act, which would eliminate the criminal and civil statutes of limitations in child sexual abuse cases; creating a uniform sexual policy for all state employees; and mitigating the partial loss of state and local tax deductions in the recent federal tax law changes.

Governor Supports Extending Background Check Waiting Period to Purchase a Firearm

Gov. Cuomo has announced his support for legislation that would extend the background check waiting period to purchase a firearm from three days to 10 days. The bill has passed the Assembly, but it has not moved in the Senate.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“It is time for politicians to stand up and create real action and policy change.  This change starts with doing everything in our power to keep guns out of the hands of people too dangerous to have them. Therefore, I am seeking to make the SAFE Act, which is already the strongest gun safety law in the country, even stronger. This year I have proposed a number of reforms, including preventing individuals with a history of domestic violence from purchasing or owning guns. Today I am proposing that New York extend the background check waiting period to up to 10 days, in order to keep our schools and our communities safe.”

Governor Directs Attorney General to Review Handling of Weinstein Case

Last Monday, Gov. Cuomo directed Attorney General Schneiderman to review the Manhattan District Attorney’s handling of the sexual assault allegations made against former movie industry executive Harvey Weinstein in 2015. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. decided not to prosecute Mr. Weinstein, citing insufficient evidence.

The Governor’s announcement came shortly after Time’s Up, a legal defense fund supported by a number of high-profile figures in Hollywood, wrote a letter to the Governor calling on him to open an investigation into Mr. Vance’s decision.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“The recent revelations about sexual assault and harassment pervasive in our society are most disturbing. We are leading the way forward with the nation’s most comprehensive reform package. This behavior must end.”

Governor Announces Life Science Advisory Board

Last Thursday, Gov. Cuomo announced the creation of a Life Science Advisory Board that will be charged with furthering the life science industry in New York State. The Board will be made up of 15 experts from academia, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and venture capital, and will advise the state’s on its Life Science Initiative.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“New York’s life science industry is expanding like never before – creating jobs, spurring new advancements and research, and growing our economy. The Life Science Advisory Board will provide invaluable input as New York State continues to build a world-leading hub for this emerging sector.”

Senate Approves Bills to Protect First Responders

Last Tuesday, the State Senate approved a series of bills that increase protections for the state’s law enforcement community, firefighters, and other emergency service workers.

The package includes S.1114-A, which would make certain crimes explicitly committed against law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders punishable as hate crimes; S.5337, which would expand the use of TSA body image scanner devices in correctional facilities across the state; and S.6898-B, which would expand line of duty sick leave to include every public officer or employee who, on the job, engaged in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup activities.

Comptroller Will Push for Women on Corporate Boards

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced last week that the New York State Common Retirement Fund will take a stand against corporate boards that lack women members.

He said that the Fund will vote against all board directors standing for re-election at companies that have no women on their boards. In situations where a company has just one woman on its board, the Fund will vote against members of the board’s governance committee standing for re-election.  The Fund holds shares in more than 400 public companies that have no women on their boards and more than 700 companies that have just one woman on their board.

Comptroller DiNapoli said:

“It is unconscionable that hundreds of publicly-held U.S. companies have no women directors.  We’re putting all-male boardrooms on notice – diversify your boards to improve your performance. There is ample research that board diversity benefits companies. We will continue to urge our portfolio companies to adopt inclusive policies to diversify their boards, but we’re also going to be speaking loudly with our board votes. We commend those companies that have agreed to improve their policies in an effort to diversify their boards.”

Siena Poll: Governor Leads Potential Rivals

A Siena College Research Institute poll released last week shows Gov. Cuomo with a commanding lead over his potential Democratic primary opponent as well as his potential Republican opponents in the general election.

The poll shows Gov. Cuomo leading actor/activist Cynthia Nixon 66-19 percent. It also shows him leading two potential Republican opponents – Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro (57-29 percent) and State Senator John DeFrancisco (57-28 percent).

The poll also shows that the SAFE ACT – the state’s gun control laws enacted in early 2013 in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT — remains popular with voters, with support at 61-28 percent. The poll found 61 percent of New York voters strongly to overwhelmingly support a number of bills that would address guns and school safety, including a ten-day waiting period for gun sale background checks; a ban on gun sales to people convicted of domestic violence offenses; requiring two annual “active shooter drills” in schools; banning the sale of bump stocks; and state funding for armed school resource officers.

Read the poll crosstabs here.

Political Update

Cynthia Nixon Launches Bid for Run for Governor

Last Monday, actor and progressive advocate Cynthia Nixon announced that she is running for New York Governor, challenging two-term incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. [Watch her campaign launch video here.]

Ms. Nixon has never run for public office before.  She is challenging Gov. Cuomo from the political left, characterizing him as a “centrist and Albany insider.” Her website highlights income inequality, increasing funding for public schools, improving the MTA and political corruption.

After Ms. Nixon’s announcement, former State Senator Terry Gipson announced that he is ending his long-shot campaign for governor.

Winners & Losers

Each week, City & State New York publishes a list of the week’s political “winners” and “losers.”  Read last week’s list here.

Coming Up

Lawmakers are scheduled to be in Albany through Thursday this week, and are scheduled to complete their work on the 2018-19 state budget by Thursday.

The state’s 2018-19 State Fiscal year begins on Sunday, April 1.

The state Board of Elections holds its next meeting on April 5.

The state Board of Regents holds its next meeting on April 9 and 10.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) holds its next meeting on April 19.

May 5 is ‘I Love My Park Day.’