The Governor announced that she will hold her Executive Budget Presentation next Wednesday, February 1 at 12:00 p.m. The event will be held in the Red Room. Details of the Executive Budget, including bill text to follow.

Senate Passes Reproductive Health Package

The State Senate passed a package of bills to protect and expand access to reproductive health care.

S.108-A Krueger – Equal Rights Amendment

Adds new anti-discrimination protections to the New York State Constitution. The State Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause already prohibits discrimination because of race, color, creed, and religion. This constitutional amendment adds new protected classes to that list: ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, which includes sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. This is the second passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, which will now be placed on the 2024 General Election ballot for ratification by voters.

S.348 Cleare – Establishes the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program

Establishes a grant program within the Department of Health to build reproductive healthcare provider capacity within the state, fund uncompensated care, and provide financial support to organizations providing practical support to individuals within and traveling to the State.

S.1043 Stavisky – Facilitates Access of Self-Administered Birth Control

Authorizes pharmacists to dispense self-administered hormonal contraception from a non-patient specific order written by a licensed physician or certified nurse practitioner.

S.1066 Mayer – Protections for Health Care Providers

Adds a new definition of “legally protected health activity” to encompass “reproductive health services,” which explicitly includes telehealth and telehealth services. It amends civil and criminal procedure laws concerning extradition, arrests, and coordination with any out-of-state investigations or evidentiary requests-to operate as a shield to New York health care practitioners who perform any legally protected health activity against other states who try to impose disciplinary actions upon them. It also amends the education law to prevent New York health care practitioners from professional disciplinary action for legally protected health activity. Lastly, it amends the insurance law to prevent medical malpractice insurers from taking adverse action against health care practitioners for legally protected health activity and prevents insurance companies from imposing any annual deductibles or coinsurance for legally protected health activity.

S.1003-A Hinchey – Healthcare Facility Transparency Act

Requires hospitals to submit a list of its policy-based exclusions to the Department of Health on an annual basis. It also requires health plans to disclose to all prospective members an explanation of those exclusions, along with a link to the Department’s website where the exclusions will be posted.

Senator Stewart-Cousins said:

Coalition Including New York Attorney General Sues Google for Digital Advertising Monopoly

The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by 8 states Attorneys General, filed a law suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Google for monopolizing the digital advertising industry. The suit alleges that Google has engaged in a 15-year, organized campaign so it could obtain outsized influence at all levels of the ad tech industry and has used its power to reduce competition and innovation, harming website publishers, advertisers, and consumers.

The ads at issue are called “display ads,” the banners and sidebars that appear at the top and margins of websites. The coalition contends that Google built itself monopolies in three ad tech markets and as a result is able to control nearly every aspect of these sales, extracting higher-than competitive fees at multiple stages of the transaction.

Attorney General James said:

Siena College Research Institute Releases New Poll

Siena College Research Institute released a new poll this week showing strong support for most of the Governor’s State of the State proposals along with growing support for her job approval. The Governor’s job approval rating grew to 56-36%, up from 49-44% last month, and is her highest recorded job approval in any Siena poll to date. Her favorability rating is 48-42%, up a little from 45-43% last month, and the 48% tops her previous high favorability rating by a point.