Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – July 31, 2018

What’s Inside

  • Democrats Continue Call to Renew NYC School Zone Speed Camera Program
  • Governor Travels to Puerto Rico to Support Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative
  • Governor Pardons Seven Facing Deportation
  • Attorney General Joins Bi-Partisan Call for Improving Election Security
  • PSC Votes to Revoke Charter-Time Warner Merger
  • Governor Announces Plan to Eliminate Hepatitis C
  • Sexual Harassment Victims Call for Hearings in Albany
  • Former Assembly Speaker Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison
  • Political Update
    • Governor Releases New Campaign Ad
    • Nixon Pushes for Single Payer Health Care
    • Nixon Releases Criminal Justice Reform Plan
    • Maloney Releases First Campaign Ad
    • Farley Ad Says Gillibrand “Too Busy Running for President”
    • De Blasio Launches Federal PAC
    • Winners & Losers
  • Coming Up

Democrats Continue Call Renew NYC School Zone Speed Camera Program

Governor Cuomo, Senate Democratic leader Stewart-Cousins and New York City Mayor de Blasio urged the Senate to return to Albany to extend New York City’s school zone speed camera program, which expired on Thursday. The Assembly approved a bill that would extend and expand the program before the end of the legislative session in June; the Senate did not take up the bill.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“Our kids deserve to be safe walking to school. There’s indisputable evidence showing speed cameras save children’s lives. The Senate Republicans’ refusal to return to Albany and pass this legislation is a complete dereliction of that duty.”

The New York City Mayor’s Office said that the cameras will remain in use.  However, the cameras will be used only to collect data; they will not be used to issue summonses to speeding drivers.

Senate Majority Leader john Flanagan released a statement in which he said that “the Senate Republican Majority is willing to approve an extender of the existing New York City speed camera program,” but he also expressed a desire “to enact a more comprehensive safety plan.”

Governor Travels to Puerto Rico to Support Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative

Gov. Cuomo traveled to Puerto Rico last week as part of his “NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative” trip to support the island’s ongoing recovery efforts.  The Governor traveled with SUNY and CUNY Presidents and students, nonprofit partners, labor leaders and elected officials.  This was the Governor’s fifth trip to Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“Mother Nature brought Hurricane Maria to the island, but it’s Father Trump who aggravated the damage and continues the damage. I believe it was despicable that the federal government did not do a better job in their response. Despicable and insensitive. These are American citizens and there are no second class citizens in the United States of America and they deserve a first class response because they are first class American citizens and they didn’t get it. So why are New Yorkers still working in Puerto Rico? Because Puerto Rico still needs help and because the federal government is not doing its job.”

Governor Pardons Seven Facing Deportation

Last Monday, Gov. Cuomo granted pardons to seven individuals facing the threat of deportation and other immigration consequences as a result of minor criminal convictions. The Governor has used his pardon powers rarely for most of his time in office, but this is the third time he has used to prevent people from facing deportation orders.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“At a time when President Trump and the Federal government are waging a war on our immigrant communities, New York stands firm in our belief that our diversity is our greatest strength. While President Trump engages in policies that rip children out of the arms of their mothers and tries to ramp up the deportation of New Yorkers to advance his political agenda of hate and division, we will protect our immigrant communities.”

Attorney General Joins Bi-Partisan Call for Improving Election Security

Last Monday, state Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced that her office is part of a bipartisan coalition of 21 Attorneys General that is urging congressional leaders to improve American cybersecurity and protect the integrity of the upcoming 2018 midterm election and elections to come, against cyberattacks and infiltrations like the ones committed by Russia in 2016.

The group is calling on Congress to:

  • prioritize and act on election-security legislation, including the Secure Elections Act (2261);
  • increase funding for the Election Assistance Commission to support election security improvements at the state level and to protect the personal data of voters; and
  • support the development of cybersecurity standards for voting systems to prevent potential future foreign attacks.

Read the coalition’s letter here.

PSC Votes to Revoke Charter-Time Warner Merger

In special session held on Friday, the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) voted to revoke the state’s approval of Charter Communication’s $60 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TWC), saying that arguing that the company has not fulfilled the terms of the state’s merger approval.

The PSC approved the Charter/TWC transaction in 2016 on the condition that Charter significantly improve its coverage in rural areas of the state and meet other agreed-to requirements, but the PSC says that the company has failed to follow through on these commitments.

The PSC’s order gives Charter 60 days to prepare a plan to leave the state by selling off pieces of its New York operations, where the company serves some 2 million customers. The PSC also said that it is prepared to go to court to ask a judge to impose fines and other financial penalties on the company.

PSC Chair John Rhodes said:

“Charter’s repeated failures to serve New Yorkers and honor its commitments are well documented and are only getting worse. After more than a year of administrative enforcement efforts to bring Charter into compliance with the Commission’s merger order, the time has come for stronger actions to protect New Yorkers and the public interest.  Charter’s non-compliance and brazenly disrespectful behavior toward New York State and its customers necessitates the actions taken today seeking court-ordered penalties for its failures, and revoking the Charter merger approval.”

In response, Charter released a statement suggesting that the PSC’s actions are politically motivated:

“In the weeks leading up to an election, rhetoric often becomes politically charged. But the fact is that Spectrum has extended the reach of our advanced broadband network to more than 86,000 New York homes and businesses since our merger agreement with the PSC.”

Charter is expected to challenge the state’s actions in court.

Governor Announces Plan to Eliminate Hepatitis C

On Friday, Gov. Cuomo announced “the nation’s first strategy to eliminate hepatitis C,” which includes the creation of the Hepatitis C Elimination Task Force. Hepatitis C, or HCV, is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus affecting more than 200,000 New Yorkers. The effort aims to “stop the spread of the virus by increasing access to medications that can cure hepatitis C and expanding programs to connect New Yorkers with prevention, screening and treatment services.”

Gov. Cuomo said:

“This holistic, first-in-the-nation approach to eradicating hepatitis C is modeled on our ongoing efforts to end the AIDS epidemic, and will improve the health of many of the most vulnerable among us including people battling drug addiction. We are going to end hepatitis C in New York State.”

Sexual Harassment Victims Call for Hearings in Albany

Last Monday, the Sexual Harassment Working Group, which is made up of seven women who were harassed or abused while working in the state Legislature, called on state lawmakers to hold a public hearing to develop stronger anti-sexual harassment laws.

The women were joined by Attorney General candidate Zephyr Teachout, who said that if elected she will seek the power of criminal and civil referrals from the governor to investigate and prosecute cases of sexual misconduct in state government.

Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon also expressed her support.  She said:

“It’s unfathomable that when the Governor convened a meeting to develop new sexual harassment policy this year that he included a state senator accused of sexual misconduct, but not one single female legislator. We’ve got to do better. The Governor has again and again turned a blind eye to sexual harassment committed under his watch.”

Former Assembly Speaker Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison

On Friday, a federal judge sentenced former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to seven years in prison.  In May, he was convicted guilty of seven counts of improperly receiving millions of dollars in referral fees in return for directing state actions that benefited a cancer doctor and two real estate developers.

Silver was originally convicted in 2015, but that conviction was overturned after the U.S. Supreme Court re-interpreted the application of the federal public corruption laws.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:

“When he assumed his powerful position at the top of New York State government, Sheldon Silver took an oath to do the work of the people.  Instead, he leveraged his tremendous influence to pad his bank account and line his pockets.  Sheldon Silver has been given a lengthy sentence of seven years in federal prison.  We hope today’s fittingly stiff sentence sends a clear message: brokering official favors for your personal benefit is illegal and will result in prison time.”

Political Update

Governor Releases New Campaign Ad

Gov. Cuomo released a new campaign ad last week highlighting his opposition to the policies of the Trump Administration. The ad touts the Governor’s accomplishments and “proven leadership,” including gun control, a college tuition program and the passage of same-sex marriage.

Nixon Pushes for Single Payer Health Care

Democratic candidate for Governor Cynthia Nixon released a web video last week in which she calls for a system of single-payer health care in New York State.  She said that she supports A.4738, a bill that the Assembly has approved in each of the past four years, but that the Senate has not acted on. Supporters of the bill say that it would reduce overall health care spending in the state by 15 percent annually, about $45 billion, and that most households’ health care costs would go down.

Nixon said:

“Health care should be a human right, not a privilege for those who can afford it….Every single New Yorker can have good health care, with no copays and no deductibles. But first we have to start sending Democrats to Albany who stand with people, not corporations.”

Gov. Cuomo has also expressed general support for a single-payer system, though he said that it could make more sense to do on the federal level.

GOP candidate for Governor Marc Molinaro said that he would veto such a bill if he is elected Governor, saying that the program would require $90 billion in new state taxes.

Nixon Releases Criminal Justice Reform Plan

Last Thursday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon released her criminal justice reform plan, which includes abolishing cash bail; legalizing recreational marijuana; prohibiting the use of solitary confinement; ending arrests for ticketable offenses; require an investigation of all police use of deadly force by the Attorney General; and closing Riker’s Island.

Nixon said:

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community and to be treated equally under the law. But right now we have a justice system designed to target and criminalize communities of color and the poor. We need a new system.”

Read the highlights, and the full proposal.

Maloney Releases First Campaign Ad

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney’s released his first ad in his race for state Attorney General. The biographical ad tells the story of Maloney’s personal life, highlighting his time in the Clinton White House and as the first and only openly gay member of Congress from the State of New York.

Farley Ad Says Gillibrand “Too Busy Running for President”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chele Farley released her first ad last week, which criticizes her Democratic opponent Kirsten Gillibrand for her reported presidential ambitions. The ad blames for New Yorkers paying $48 billion more in federal taxes than the state receives from Washington.

While Gillibrand has said she is not running for president, she has increased national profile and some political observers see her as a potential 2020 candidate.

De Blasio Launches Federal PAC

New York City Mayor de Blasio has created a federal leadership political action committee, Fairness PAC, that will raise funds and offer direct financial support to progressive candidates nationwide. It will also pay for his and First Lady Chirlane McCray’s travel expenses.

According to the PAC’s web site, “[i]n 2018, Fairness PAC is focused on turning the New York State Senate and the U.S. Congress blue.”

De Blasio’s first political non-profit, the Campaign for One New York, was closed down in 2017 amid a federal probe over his fundraising practices.

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

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) holds its next meeting on July 31.

The state Board of Elections holds its next meeting on August 8.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) holds its next meeting on August 9.

On August 13th, the Senate Labor Committee and Economic Development Committee are holding a public hearing in Binghamton “to examine the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises program, and consider potential legislative solutions to create a more effective and efficient program to enhance New York’s business climate.”

New York’s primary elections will be held on Thursday, Sept. 13.