Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

April 4, 2025

What’s Inside

Legislative Session Recap
NYC Mayor Announces Independent Run for Re-election
Governor Signs Legislation to Strengthen New York’s Gun Safety Laws
Environmental Advocates Sue DEC Over Cap-and-Invest
New York State Private Sector Employment Figures Announced for February
In the News
Coming Up

Legislative Session Recap

The Legislature convened Tuesday-Thursday this week. The Senate has adjourned until Monday and the Assembly has adjourned at the call of the Speaker.

NYS Budget

The deadline for passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 New York State Budget has passed. Negotiations are ongoing and will continue throughout the weekend. Earlier this week, the Legislature passed another budget extender to continue state funding and payroll, which will expire on Monday, April 7. The Governor has indicated that she is not in a hurry, saying “I’m not in any rush. I’m truly not in any rush. You won’t have to wait forever but summers are nice here, too.”

Budget negotiations are stalled as the Governor continues her trend of trying to resolve major sticking points before negotiating other elements of the budget include the fiscal plan. Discovery reform is perhaps the biggest hurdle in the legislature, followed by issues such as involuntary commitment, a cell phone ban in schools, and a mask ban.

NYC Mayor Announces Independent Run for Re-election

On Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he would forego the Democratic Primary for Mayor and run as an independent candidate in the November general election this year.

This follows the recent dismissal of the corruption case against him. His full announcement can be watched here.

Governor Signs Legislation to Strengthen New York’s Gun Safety Laws

On Thursday, Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference to sign three new laws to strengthen New York’s gun violence prevention efforts and keep New Yorkers safe. The Governor also unveiled new data showing a 53 percent decline in gun violence year-to-date, when compared to pandemic-era highs.

The legislation signed includes:

S.744/A.436 will ensure there are penalties for using “pistol converters,” which are rapid-fire modification devices that can be easily attached to semi-automatic pistols to make them even deadlier by allowing rapid fire with one pull of the trigger.
S.745/A.439 will strengthen the law that the Governor signed last year that requires credit and debit card issuers to use the merchant category code (MCC) for firearms and ammunition retailers by ensuring that it captures retailers whose bulk sales come from firearms, ammunition and firearms accessories.
S.743/A.437 strengthens the law the Governor signed last year that requires firearms dealers and gunsmiths to post and distribute at the time of sale information about the availability of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and warnings about the dangers of gun ownership, including increased risk of suicide, death during domestic disputes and unintentional death of children, household members and others.

More information can be found here.

Environmental Advocates Sue DEC Over Cap-and-Invest

Four environmental groups filed a lawsuit Monday that claims the Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) is violating the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (“CLCPA”) by failing to adopt regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The lawsuit alleges the DEC is also running afoul of the state constitutional right to clean air and a healthy environment.

Last week, after some delay, the DEC released draft regulations for a “Mandatory Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Program,” which would require businesses and facilities emitting GHG to track, report, and verify their emissions. This is just the first of three regulations required to establish the Cap-and-Invest program. Additional regulations determining which entities will be obligated to purchase emissions allowances and regulations to set up auction rules and requirements have yet to be issued.

The regulations released last week would apply to a wide range of industries, including manufacturing facilities of aluminum, cement, steel, glass, and electronics production as well as electricity generators, fuel suppliers, waste management facilities, agricultural product suppliers, oil and gas companies, and other large emissions sources.

Under the program, entities exceeding specific emission thresholds would be required to track their emissions using standardized methods and submit annual reports through the “NYS GHG Reporting Tool” (NYS e-GGRT). Tracking would begin in 2026, with the first reports due in June 2027 (covering the prior year). Additionally, entities would be required to retain records for a specified period. Most emissions data would be publicly accessible, but businesses could request confidentiality for trade secrets or other information exempt from public disclosure.

To ensure compliance, the program would include verification and oversight measures. Large emitters would be required to engage accredited verifiers to confirm their reported data, and these verification bodies would need to comply with conflict-of-interest rules to ensure impartiality. DEC would have the authority to review reports, enforce penalties, and conduct site visits as needed.

The public may submit comments on the proposed regulation between April 2 and July 1. A series of public hearings are scheduled around the State in June. In the meantime, there is ongoing pressure on DEC to release the remaining regulations necessary to fully implement the Cap-and-Invest program.

New York State Private Sector Employment Figures Announced for February

According to preliminary seasonally adjusted figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor, the number of private sector jobs in New York State increased over the month by 3,700, or 0.1%, to 8,463,100 in February 2025. The number of private sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 0.1% in February 2025.

New York State’s private sector jobs (not seasonally adjusted) increased by 106,300, or 1.3%, over the year in February 2025, matching the 1.2% increase in the number of private sector jobs in the U.S.

More information can be found in a press release here.