Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

Coverage of Albany and New York State government – December 24, 2015

What’s Inside 

  • Governor Announces Administration Appointments
  • Governor Announces Plan to Pardon Former Youthful Offenders
  • Gaming Commission Awards Three Casino Licenses
  • Judicial Nominating Commission Releases Court of Appeals Recommendations
  • Governor Issues Executive Order to Remove Juveniles from Adult Prisons
  • DOH Launches Medical Marijuana Patient Certification and Registration System
  • Political Update
  • Coming Up

 

Governor Announces Administration Appointments

On Monday, Gov. Cuomo announced more than two dozen Executive Chamber and state agency appointments. Among these appointments are the following:

  • Melissa DeRosa as his Chief of Staff;
  • Rob Mujica as Budget Director;
  • Jill DesRosiers as Deputy Secretary for Executive Operations;
  • James Allen as Communications Director;
  • Daniel Fuller as Education Policy Advisor;
  • Kate Dineen, Assistant Secretary for the Environment
  • Barbara Williams, Dep. Policy Director
  • Josh Rousseau, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs
  • Jamie Frank, Assistant Secretary for Education

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan announced that Michael Paoli replace Robert Mujica as Secretary to the Senate Finance Committee.

 

Governor Announces Plan to Pardon Former Youthful Offenders

On Monday, Gov. Cuomo announced that he will use his pardon power to alleviate the barrier of a criminal conviction for people convicted of non-violent crimes committed when they were minors, and who have since lived crime-free for 10 or more years.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“We spent all of these years believing that if we punished every offender enough without any relief in the future, every crime would disappear. What we ultimately did was give a life sentence of stigmatization to kids who made a mistake and drive more people towards crime, because society told them for the rest of their lives that that’s what they were – criminals. This initiative is about validating the personal commitment of people who turned their lives around and rejected crime in exchange for being a contributing member of society.”

The Governor’s move is expected to impact about 10,000 people. Anyone seeking to apply for a pardon can do so through this website.

 

Gaming Commission Awards Three Casino Licenses

On Monday, the state Gaming Commission voted to award commercial casino licenses for the Montreign Resort in Sullivan County, the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady and the Lago Resort and Casino in Tyre, Seneca County.

The Commission’s decision comes more than a year after the state Gaming Facility Location Board, which was tasked with reviewing casino proposals, chose the three projects. The Gaming Facility Location Board approved a fourth casino license for Tioga Down in October, but the Commission has not completed its review and so its application was not voted upon.

The Oneida Indian Nation said that it plans to file a legal challenge to the Lago project. In a statement, the Oneidas said:

“This decision was marred by conflicts of interest, contradictory standards and total disregard for public interest. The outcome hurts Central New York, which violates Governor Cuomo’s stated purposes of the gaming law. For months, countless community and business leaders, elected officials and individual New Yorkers have spotlighted these problems to the gaming commission. Unfortunately, the decision was forced through by public officials who were blindly committed to this project and abandoned the public trust. We are left with no choice but to turn to the courts. Litigation is necessary when public officials abandon their public responsibilities.”

 

Judicial Nominating Commission Releases Court of Appeals Recommendations

On Tuesday, the state’s Commission on Judicial Nomination released a list of seven nominees from which the Governor will choose to fill the Court of Appeals vacancy that was created by the retirement of Associate Judge Susan Read in August.

The nominees for the state’s highest court are:

  • Michael Garcia, attorney in private practice (Kirkland & Ellis LLP);
  • Hon. Judith Gische, Associate Justice, Appellate Division, First Department;
  • Caitlin Halligan, attorney in private practice (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP);
  • Hon. Erin Peradotto, Associate Justice, Appellate Division, Fourth Department;
  • Benjamin Rosenberg, General Counsel, New York County District Attorney’s Office;
  • Rowan Wilson, attorney in private practice (Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP);
  • Stephen Younger, attorney in private practice (Patterson Belknapp Webb & Tyler LLP).

 

Governor Issues Executive Order to Remove Juveniles from Adult Prisons

On Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo announced that he has issued an Executive Order that directs the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), in collaboration with the Office of Children and Family Services, to implement a plan to remove minors from the state’s adult prisons.

The Executive Order is part of Gov. Cuomo’s ‘Raise the Age’ initiative, which would increase the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18, and enable 17 and 17 years to be treated as juveniles. The Assembly approved the measure, but the Senate did not.

Under the plan, all female youth prisons and all medium and minimum security classified male youths sentenced to state prison will be moved the from adult facilities where they are currently housed to a juvenile facility which will provide specialized programs of treatment geared for younger offenders while also ensuring the safety of staff, inmates and the surrounding community.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“By housing 16 and 17 year-olds in an age-appropriate correctional facility, we can offer them a better chance at turning their lives around and becoming productive members of society. This action will help reduce the recidivism rate, increase public safety, and save taxpayer dollars over the long run.”

 

DOH Launches Medical Marijuana Patient Certification and Registration System

On Wednesday, the state Department of Health (DOH) announced the launch of its online Medical Marijuana Patient Certification and Registration System, which will enable qualified patients to enroll in the state’s Medical Marijuana Program and be able to purchase medical marijuana when it becomes available next month.

In order to qualify, patients must receive a DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification from a registered physician, and then access DOH’s online Patient Certification and Registration system to apply for a registry identification card. The online application system requires patients to have a DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification form issued and signed by a registered practitioner, photographic identification, and document their residency in the state.

More information on the patient registration process is available here.

 

Political Update

Central New York Congressman Will Not Run for Re-Election

On Monday, Congressman Richard Hanna (R- Barneveld) announced that he will not run for re-election in 2016. He has represented the 22nd Congressional District in Central New York since 2011. The district, which stretches from part of Oswego County bordering Lake Ontario to the north to the Pennsylvania state line on the south, includes Binghamton, Utica and Cortland.

Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R- New Hartford) has already announced that she plans to run for the seat in 2016. Other potential candidates include State Senator Joe Griffo (R- Rome) and Republican Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr.

Winners & Losers

New York Post columnist Fred Dicker shared his list of the biggest winners and losers in state politics in 2015.

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

 

Coming Up

The 2016 Legislative session will commence on Wednesday, January 6, 2016.

The Board of Regents holds its next meeting on January 11 and 12.

Gov. Cuomo will hold his State of the State/Budget Address at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, January 13 at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) holds its next meeting on January 21.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) holds its next meeting on January 26.