Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

September 3, 2021

What’s Inside

  • Legislature Returns for Special Session, Extends Eviction Moratorium
  • Governor Announces New DFS Superintendent
  • Senate Confirms Cannabis Control Board Nominations
  • Speaker Announces Leadership Positions
  • Governor Announces Senior Administration Appointments
  • Federal Expanded Unemployment Benefits To Expire
  • Political Updates
  • Coming Up

Legislature Returns for Special Session, Extends Eviction Moratorium

The legislature convened, at the call of the Governor, in Extraordinary Session to extend the state’s eviction moratorium which was set to expire on August 31st. The moratorium was extended until January 15, 2022 and was amended to address the Supreme Court ruling on self-certified financial hardship declarations. Landlords are now able to challenge in court a tenant’s declaration of hardship. Landlords are also able to begin eviction proceedings against a tenant if they intentionally cause damage to the property or create a nuisance, regardless of a tenant’s financial circumstances. The bill expands eligibility for funds under the ERAP program and allows tenants and landlord who reside in municipalities that opted to distribute their own federal relief funds to apply to the statewide program once the municipality exhausts their federal funding. The legislature also passed a new appropriation which will add $150 million to the existing state funds that will be set aside for rental assistance.

The bill also contained a provision, originally implemented during the pandemic by Executive Order, which allows Public Bodies to avoid in-person attendance at public meetings by allowing for virtual or telephonic attendance. Meetings can be held either over a video service or by phone. There is no change to the requirement that Public Bodies must provide notice to constituents that a meeting is taking place, and they are required to inform constituents how to access the public meeting virtually. Meetings must also be recorded and transcribed. This provision will also expire on January 15, 2022 and was the cause of some criticism from good government groups and news organizations.

Other notable provisions of the bill include:

Legal Services for Tenants Facing Eviction – The bill creates a $25 million fund to provide legal services to tenants facing eviction proceedings in areas of the state where access to free legal assistance for such services is not available (outside of New York City).

Supplemental Emergency Rental Assistance Program – The bill adds $150 million to the already appropriated $100 million in state supplemental funds. $125 million will be made available to provide assistance to households with income that exceeds 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), and up to 120% of AMI. Additionally, $125 million will be made available for assistance to landlords whose tenants refuse to participate or have vacated the residence with arrears.

Residential Foreclosure Moratorium – The bill places a moratorium on residential foreclosure proceedings for homeowners and small landlords who own 10 or fewer residential dwellings who can file hardship declarations with their mortgage lender, other foreclosing party, or a court that would prevent a foreclosure.

Commercial Foreclosure and Eviction Moratorium – The bill places a moratorium on commercial evictions and commercial foreclosure proceedings that applies to small businesses with 100 or fewer employees that demonstrate a financial hardship. Tenants must submit a hardship declaration, or a document explaining the source of the hardship, to prevent evictions.

Governor Hochul said:

The pandemic has created unimaginable anxiety for families and business owners who have lost income and are struggling to pay the rent every month. To help remedy the Supreme Court’s heartless decisions striking down the New York and the Biden administration’s moratoriums on evictions, we are enacting a new moratorium on residential and commercial evictions and extending the protections of New York’s Safe Harbor Act to January 15. These steps will alleviate the crisis facing vulnerable New Yorkers who are suffering through no fault of their own.

Governor Announces New DFS Superintendent

The Governor announced that Adrienne Harris has been nominated to lead the Department of Financial Services as its next Superintendent. If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Harris will become the state’s top financial regulator tasked with overseeing the banking and insurance industries and their compliance with state laws. Ms. Harris previously served in the Obama administration as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

Ms. Harris said:

I am honored and humbled by the privilege to work with Governor Hochul to serve the people of New York. Under her leadership, we will work together to ensure we have a robust and fair financial system, and an equitable economy. New Yorkers deserve no less. I look forward to getting to work.

Senate Confirms Cannabis Control Board Nominations

The State Senate confirmed the nominations of Tremaine Wright as Chair of New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and Christopher Alexander as Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) during this week’s Extraordinary Session of the Legislature. The Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management will create and implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for New York’s cannabis industry, including the production, licensing, packaging, marketing and sale of cannabis products.

  • Tremaine Wright, Chair of Cannabis Control Board – Ms. Wright is a former Assemblymember from Brooklyn and currently serves as the first Director of the DFS Statewide Office of Financial Inclusion and Empowerment.
  • Christopher Alexander, Executive Director of Office of Cannabis Management – Mr. Alexander previously worked for the New York State Democratic Party, as a Legislative aide to Congress, as a Policy Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, and as Counsel to the New York State Senate. He currently works as the Government Relations and Policy Manager for Village, a multi-state cannabis company.

Speaker Announces Leadership Positions

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced new appointments to Assembly leadership positions this week. Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright will serve as Chair of the Majority Steering Committee, a leadership post. Assemblymember Patricia Fahy will take over as Chair of the Banks Committee, vacated in August by the resignation of Assemblymember Pichardo. Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn will become the Chair of the Task Force on Women’s Issues.

Speaker Heastie said:

I am proud to lead one of the most diverse and progressive legislative bodies in the country. Our members demonstrate day in and day out their commitment to meeting the needs of their constituents and serving all of New York. I am thrilled to have these assemblymembers join our leadership team to help move our state forward as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Announces Senior Administration Appointments

This week, the Governor continued to fill senior administration positions by announcing the additions of Kathryn Garcia as Director of State Operations and Neysa Alsina as Special Advisor on Pandemic Relief.

Governor Hochul said:

When I was officially sworn in last week, I outlined my top priorities to combat the Delta variant, get aid out the door to New Yorkers as quickly as possible, and to change the culture in Albany. Kathryn Garcia and Neysa Alsina are tremendously accomplished and dedicated public servants. They know how to run effective and professional operations, and they will be instrumental in making our State government work better for New Yorkers and restoring trust in government.
  • Kathryn Garcia, Director of State Operations – Ms. Garcia has served in various roles in New York City government, most recently as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation. Ms. Garcia recently ran a close second in the Democratic mayoral primary race. In her role as Director of State Operations Ms. Garcia will oversee all state agencies and operations.
  • Neysa Alsina, Special Advisor on Pandemic Relief – Ms. Alsina previously served as chief counsel to the New York City Comptroller, overseeing the Office’s legal affairs and representing its interests in safeguarding the fiscal health of the City and the assets of the City’s five public pension systems.

Federal Expanded Unemployment Benefits to Expire

On September 5, several federally funded programs that had expanded unemployment benefits during the pandemic will expire. Benefits set to expire include:

  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – A federal program that was included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The program provides support for Americans who are unable to work due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but do not qualify for traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI), such as gig workers or independent contractors.
  • Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – Another federal program created by the CARES act provided an additional 53 weeks of unemployment for those that qualified and utilized all 26 weeks of regular UI benefits.
  • Extended Benefits (EB) – EB provides additional weeks of unemployment benefits (up to 20 weeks depending on New York’s unemployment rate). The program is available to all individuals that qualify for and have exhausted traditional UI and PEUC benefits.
  • $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – Additional payment of $300 to supplement UI benefits provided by the American Rescue Plan.
  • $100 Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) – An additional federal benefit of $100 per week for those collecting regular unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), or extended benefits (EB) and earning $5,000 or more a year in net earnings from self-employment.

Governor Hochul is under pressure by labor groups including the Hotel Trades Council and AFL-CIO, as well as lawmakers, to extend the benefits by using federal stimulus money provided to the state. The Governor has not committed to extending these benefits, but, suggested it is an issue she is exploring. This week’s Extraordinary Session, however, concluded without such extension. As of last month, New York’s unemployment rate ranked second highest among all states, driven by New York City’s rate of 10.5%, nearly double the national average.

Political Updates

City & State NY’s Weekly Winners and Losers here.

City & State NY’s Top 50 Lobbyists 2021 here.

Francis Conole running again, aims to defeat Rep. John Katko for Congress.

Byron Brown files lawsuit against Board of Elections in bid to get on ballot.

Lee Zeldin Op-Ed: 10 steps Gov. Kathy Hochul should take to get New York moving in the right direction here.

Hochul urged to embrace ethics and reform platform.

Governor Hochul sidesteps endorsing India Walton in Buffalo mayoral race.

City & State NY: The race to replace Brian Benjamin is on here.

Mayor de Blasio considering gubernatorial run.

Coming Up

The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on September 9.

The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on September 13 and 14.

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on September 14.

The Senate will hold a public hearing to evaluate the current workforce challenges of the I/DD service delivery system on September 14.

The Assembly will hold a public hearing on neonicotinoid pesticides on September 20.

The Senate will hold a public hearing to solicit testimony on proposed reforms to the voting process and operations of county boards of elections on September 21.

The Assembly will hold a public hearing on intercity passenger rail transportation on September 22.

The Senate will hold a public hearing to review the finances and projections of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the aftermath of COVID-19 and receipt of federal aid, to review the implementation of the Transformation Plan, and to seek updates on major capital projects on September 29.

The Senate will hold a public hearing to review how school districts are spending Foundation Aid increases and ARP funds on September 30.

The Senate will hold a second public hearing to review how school districts are spending Foundation Aid increases and ARP funds on October 5.

The Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction and Overdose will hold a public meeting to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on the overdose crisis on October 20.