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Coverage of Albany and New York State government – January 8, 2016

What’s Inside 

• Senate, Assembly Begin 2016 Legislative Session
• Governor Offers 2016 Agenda Preview
• Senate Announces Committee Leadership Changes
• Senate IDC Releases 20165 Legislative Agenda
• Governor Announces Minimum Wage Increase for SUNY Workers
• Governor Announces New State Policy on the Homeless
• Association of Counties Releases 2016 Legislative Priorities
• State Medical Marijuana Program Launched
• Political Update
• Coming Up

 

Senate, Assembly Begin 2016 Legislative Session

On Wednesday, lawmakers returned to Albany to for the opening day of the 2016 legislative session, the state’s 239^th.   The Assembly’s Democratic leader and the Senate’s Republican leader laid out their respective agendas for the 2016 session, which will lead up to the November elections in which all 213 state legislative offices will be on the ballot.

The Governor’s State of the State Address, which has traditionally been delivered on the first day of the annual legislative session, will be combined with his budget address next Wednesday, January 13^th.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) said that the Assembly will push for a middle-class income tax cut, higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, increasing the state’s minimum wage and approving a paid family leave program. (Read Speaker Heastie’s statement here.)

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Huntington) outlined a different set of priorities for the Senate: increasing state aid to public schools, funding infrastructure improvements and expanding efforts to address the state’s opiate and heroin drug addiction crisis.

 

Governor Offers 2016 Agenda Preview

Gov. Cuomo made a number of announcements this week that preview his upcoming State of the State/Budget Address. They include:

• A phased-in minimum wage increase to $15 per hour in New York City in 2019, and in the rest of the state in 2022
• transportation infrastructure improvements on Long Island
• a $300 million allocation for the State’s Environmental Protection Fund (up from $177 million in 2015-16);
• small business tax relief ($298 million);
• funding for water infrastructure projects ($250 million over 2 years for local governments to support drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects)
• a $100 million downtown revitalization program ($10 million to 1 downtown community in each REDC region)
• a 6th round of the REDC initiative ($950 million);
• freezing Thruway tolls until 2020, eliminating tolls for all agricultural traffic, and giving frequent commercial and commuter Thruway travelers a toll tax credit;
• redeveloping Penn Station and Farley Post Office into a new train hall called the Empire Station Complex at a cost of $3 billion;
• Improving 30 subway stations in New York City; and
• a $1 billion expansion of the Javitz Convention Center.

 

Senate Announces Committee Leadership Changes

With Senator John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) assuming the position of Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Flanagan has appointed Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) to Chair the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

Other Senate committee changes include:

• Senator Betty Little (R-Queensbury) as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee;
• Senator Fred Akshar (R- Broome County) as Chair of the Senate Elections Committee;
• Senator Rich Funke (R-Fairport ) as Chair of the Senate Cultural Affairs and Tourism Committee; and
• Senator Patty Ritchie (R-St. Lawrence) as Chair of Rural Resources Commission.

 

Senate IDC Releases 20165 Legislative Agenda

The Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), which is made up of five Democrats who are a part of the Senate Majority Coalition, released its 2016 legislative agenda this week.

The IDC is an influential caucus in the closely-divided State Senate.

The proposal, called New York 2020, includes:

• zero interest loans for college students;
• creating a state prepaid tuition plan;
• instituting a paid family leave program; and
• increasing state funding for childcare programs.

Read the IDC’s full 2016 legislative agenda here.

 

Governor Announces Minimum Wage Increase for SUNY Workers

On Monday, Gov. Cuomo announced that the state will raise the minimum wage for state university workers to $15, continuing his push for higher wages for public-sector workers.

The Governor’s action, which he announced at a rally in Manhattan, came in the wake of the Governor using a state wage board to increase hourly pay to $15 for fast-food workers last summer and unveiled a similar plan for an estimated 10,000 state workers in November. The university plan will directly impact about 28,000 employees, and it will include students who use work-study jobs to pay tuition and bills while attending classes.

This increase for SUNY employees follow the same phased-in schedule for fast food workers and state employees – reaching $15 per hour at the end of 2018 in New York City, and on July 1, 2021 in the rest of the state.

The Governor also indicated that he plans to push for a $15 per hour minimum wage statewide for all employees in the 2016 legislative session. He said:

“This state thrives when every New Yorker has the opportunity and the ability to succeed. Yet the truth is that today’s minimum wage still leaves far too many people behind – unacceptably condemning them to a life of poverty even while they work full-time. This year, we are going to change that. We are going to raise the minimum wage to bring economic opportunity back to millions of hardworking New Yorkers and lead the nation in the fight for fair pay.”

 

Governor Announces New State Policy on the Homeless

On Sunday, Gov. Cuomo issued an Executive Order that requires the state to move all homeless people living on the street into shelters during inclement weather or when the temperatures fall below freezing. The Governor also ordered all homeless shelters to extend their hours so that their residents may remain indoors during bad weather.

The Governor’s move appears to be another in his feud with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, which became public in July when de Blasio accused the governor of being “vindictive” and “vengeful.”

 

Association of Counties Releases 2016 Legislative Priorities

On Monday, the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) released its 2016 legislative program.

The group’s priorities include providing mandate relief, using the $2.4 billion in unappropriated bank settlement funds to rebuilding upstate transportation infrastructure, and restoring state-local cost sharing arrangements under the Safety Net program.

 

State Medical Marijuana Program Launched

On Thursday, the state Department of Health (DOH) launched the medical marijuana program.

In order to obtain medical marijuana, a patient must receive a DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification from a registered physician. The patient must then access DOH’s online Patient Registration System to apply for a registry identification card. Additional information regarding registration can be found here.

To apply for a registry card, certified patients will need a valid DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification form issued and signed by a registered practitioner; photo identification; documentation of temporary or permanent state residency; and (if applicable) designated caregiver information. Patients with valid registry identification cards are then eligible to purchase medical marijuana from one of the dispensing locations across the state.

 

Political Update

Long Island Congressman Will Not Run for Re-Election

Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) announced this week that he will not run for re-election in November. Israel was first elected to Congress in 2000.

The 3^rd Congressional District includes most of the North Shore of Long Island, including northwestern Suffolk County, northern Nassau County, and far northeastern Queens.

GOP Assemblyman Will Not Run for Re-Election

On Tuesday, Assemblyman Steve Katz (R-Yorktown) said that that he will not run for re-election this fall. Katz was first elected to represent the 99^th Assembly District in 2010. The district includes parts of Westchester and Putnam counties.

Suzi McDonough, a Republican member of the Carmel Town Board, announced that she plans to run for seat.

Nassau County Assembly Member Will Not Run for Re-Election

On Thursday, Nassau County Assembly Member Michele Schimel (D-Great Neck) announced that she will not run for re-election this fall for a sixth term. She has been a vocal advocate for gun-control laws and environmental protection.

She represents the 16^th Assembly District, which includes the Nassau County communities of Great Neck, Manhasset, Mineola, New Hyde Park, Port Washington, and Roslyn, among others.

Nassau County Democrats Pick Assemblyman to Run for Senate in Special Election

The Nassau County Democratic Party has chosen Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach), a former federal prosecutor, as the party’s candidate in an expected special election for the State Senate seat left vacant by the conviction of former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

Gov. Cuomo has not formally set a date for a special election, though he has indicated that he may call the special election for April 19, which would coincide with the state’s Presidential primary election.

Winners & Losers

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 Legislative is in session next Monday and Tuesday, January 11 and 12.

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.

On Wednesday, January 20, the Assembly committees on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions and Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry will hold a public hearing “to examine the telecommunications marketplace and the ability of consumers to obtain affordable and high quality cable, broadband, and telephone service.

Also on January 20, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing to consider Gov. Cuomo’s nomination of Janet DiFiore, the Westchester County district attorney, as the state’s next chief judge.

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.