Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

June 6, 2025

What’s Inside

Legislative Session Recap
Governor Announces Recommended Appointments to NHCC Board
Appeals Court Upholds New York Reproductive Health Act
Governor Announces Award to Support New York’s Dairy Industry
Governor Issues Open Letter to Senator Thune on Reconciliation Bill’s Impact
In the News
Coming Up

Legislative Session Recap

The Legislature convened for its regularly scheduled session from Wednesday through Friday this week. Both chambers are set to meet again next week for a planned four-day session. However, the Senate is expected to adjourn by the end of next week, while the Assembly is planning to reconvene during the week of June 16.

The Senate passed a package of legislation to hold the Public Service Commission accountable to ratepayers. The list of legislation passed as part of the package included the following:

The Rate Hike Notice Act (S.5553-B Comrie) – Directs the Public Service Commission to mandate electric and gas utilities to provide notice of a proposed rate increase to a customer via text, email, and that customer’s monthly utility bill.

Restores Consumer Representation on the State Energy Planning Board (S.2460 Comrie) – Would authorize the Secretary of State to appoint a representative from the Consumer Protection Division’s Utility Intervention Unit to serve on the State Energy Planning Board.

Considers Non-Economic Damages When Assessing Penalties for Utilities (S.7165-A Hinchey) – would authorize the Public Service Commission to consider non-economic damages suffered by consumers when determining penalties, including penalties negotiated in settlements, for utilities. These non-economic damages may include, for example, any pain and suffering or mental anguish endured by a utility customer during an unplanned power outage.

Regulates Appointments to the Public Service Commission (S.7328-A Hinchey) – Would expand the number of Public Service Commission commissioners to eight; require the governor to appoint an additional commissioner with consumer advocacy experience; codify the Public Service Commission’s mission to ensure affordable, reliable, and safe access to utility services for New Yorkers; and prohibit any employee of a utility regulated by the Public Service Commission from serving as a commissioner for two years after their employment.

Regulates Retroactive Revenue Recovery Following Suspension Periods (S.5593 Mayer) – Would regulate provisions that allow utilities to retroactively recover revenues based on the new rates that would have otherwise been applied during the period of a rate case and extends the statutory timeframe for a rate case to 14 months from the current time frame of 11 months, in order to provide additional time for consumer advocates and the Public Service Commission to review the utilities proposed rate increases.

Return On Equity (S.7693 Mayer) – Would prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving any rate plan that allows a gas, electric, or combination gas and electric corporation to retain revenues in excess of their authorized rate of return on equity.

Implements Utility Service Outage Provider Hotlines (S.6200 Skoufis) – Would require utility companies to maintain an available 24/7 toll free number for consumers to call to report service outages.

Establishes an Energy Usage Monitor Program (S.8062 Webb) – Would establish a usage monitor program to notify customers when their energy usage exceeds a cost or usage threshold determined by them in a given billing period.

Governor Announces Recommended Appointments to NHCC Board

This week, Governor Hochul announced her final two appointments to the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC) Board of Directors, following recommendations from the New York State Senate and Assembly. The new members are Dr. Lisa Zakiya Newland, recommended by the Senate, and Rory Lancman, recommended by the Assembly.

These appointments join the previous four she made on June 1 to usher in a new era of stronger oversight, enhanced accountability and renewed focus on patient care at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), Nassau County’s only public hospital.

Governor Hochul said:

Public hospitals are essential pillars of our communities, and Nassau University Medical Center deserves a governance structure that reflects its critical mission. With these two appointments, made in coordination with the legislative leaders, the new NHCC Board is further positioned to tackle long-standing challenges and deliver better outcomes for both patients and taxpayers.

More information on the appointments can be found here.

Appeals Court Upholds New York Reproductive Health Act

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court ruling regarding the constitutionality of the Reproductive Health Act. This law permits the termination of a pregnancy after 24 weeks if the woman’s life is at risk or if the fetus is not viable. It also authorizes licensed or certified healthcare practitioners to perform abortions.

Opponents of the law argued that it infringed upon the constitutional rights of various groups, including expectant mothers, physicians, social workers, and fetuses. Their claims included alleged violations of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and the right to seek legal redress under the First Amendment.

Following the court decision, Governor Hochul issued the following statement:

Moments ago, a federal appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a case that attempted to challenge New York’s Reproductive Health Act, our state law that protects reproductive freedom. Let me be clear: This means that New York’s nation-leading abortion protections under the Reproductive Health Act remain in effect.

From the halls of Congress to state capitals across this country, extreme politicians are trying to strip away reproductive freedoms. In New York, we’re standing up for women’s health and defending abortion rights.

So to anyone who tries to strip away these fundamental freedoms from my constituents, I have a clear message: Not here, not now, not ever.

Governor Announces Award to Support New York’s Dairy Industry

Governor Hochul announced over $21 million in Dairy Modernization Grants for 103 farms statewide. The funding will help New York dairy farmers and cooperatives upgrade equipment, expand storage, and strengthen operations, especially in response to extreme weather. The announcement coincides with the start of Dairy Month in June.

The awards were announced by New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball, who was joined by partners from the Farm and Food Growth Fund (FFGF), who administer this grant program on behalf of the Department, in addition to other North Country dairy farm awardees, Lowville Producers Dairy Cooperative Inc., New York Farm Bureau, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Lewis County Soil and Water Conservation District, and elected officials to celebrate these awardees.

A regional breakdown of the awards made across the State is listed below. A complete list of projects awarded for a total of $21.57 million can be found here.

Capital Region: nine farms were awarded a total of nearly $1.8 million.
Central New York: 18 farms were awarded a total of more than $3.9 million.
Finger Lakes: 20 farms were awarded a total of more than $4.3 million.
Mid-Hudson: One farm was awarded more than $147,000.
Mohawk Valley: 11 farms were awarded a total of more than $2.1 million.
North Country: 15 farms were awarded a total of more than $3.3 million.
Southern Tier: 13 farms were awarded a total of nearly $2.6 million.
Western New York: 13 farms were awarded a total of more than $2.7 million.

Governor Hochul said:

New York’s dairy industry is the backbone of our agricultural economy, supporting thousands of jobs across our rural communities. With this $26 million investment through the Dairy Modernization Grant Program, we’re giving hardworking dairy farmers and cooperatives the tools they need to grow, innovate and lead in a changing market. This is how we honor our agricultural legacy — by making sure it has a strong and sustainable future.

Governor Issues Open Letter to Senator Thune on Reconciliation Bill’s Impact

The Governor issued an open letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune outlining the potential impact that the House’s proposed budget would have on New Yorkers.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Majority Leader Thune and Minority Leader Schumer:

As Governor of New York, I am writing to you ahead of the Senate’s consideration of the House reconciliation legislative package to underscore the detrimental impact this bill would have on my state. If enacted, the proposed bill would gut New York’s healthcare system, strip families of crucial nutrition benefits, trigger billions in economic losses through the removal of clean energy tax credits, stagnate growth in education and critical technology sectors, and continue to unfairly tax hard-working New Yorkers by failing to fully repeal the SALT cap. Passage of this legislation would worsen the affordability crisis and inject further instability into an already fragile economy.

Restricting Access to Healthcare: The House bill slashes $13.5 billion in funding for our healthcare economy through cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. Make no mistake: if the Senate passes this legislation and it is signed into law, nearly 1.5 million people in New York will lose their health insurance. Over $3 billion will be lost to our hospitals, with safety net hospitals in rural and low-income areas at significant risk of shuttering their doors permanently. These closures will harm all New Yorkers, regardless of their insurance coverage.

Reducing Food Security: The bill also significantly shrinks federal support for SNAP nutrition and food benefits, making it more difficult for the nearly three million New Yorkers who rely on SNAP to put food on the table for their families. The bill places significant administrative burdens on our state and counties and will create headaches for eligible families in receiving their benefits. States have always played a key role in SNAP; this bill decimates the longstanding federal-state partnership by penalizing states with recurring annual costs. We expect the House-passed bill to cost New York State alone over $2.1 billion annually.

Undermining Energy Modernization and Resilience: The House reconciliation package would put the safety and reliability of our power grid at risk by repealing tax credits that support major renewable and energy storage projects. The financial impact to New York from the loss of the investment tax credit alone would be $25 billion to the state’s current portfolio of large-scale clean energy investments and would further make new projects more expensive for businesses and threaten good-paying union jobs. Added fees on electric vehicles, canceled IRA transportation funding, and the rollback of EV and home energy credits would also drive-up costs statewide. The bill would also curtail efforts to reduce housing energy costs and improve resilience by eliminating the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), an important resource to retrofit our nation’s affordable housing stock.

Education Undermined, Disparities Widened: The House bill threatens to dismantle essential supports for low-income and nontraditional students by imposing restrictive eligibility changes for working, part-time learners; establishing harsh institutional penalties; and eliminating key federal loan programs. In New York, where nearly half of community college students attend part-time and rely heavily on Pell Grants, these changes could force thousands to drop out or incur deeper debt. Additionally, the bill eliminates some subsidized student loans and forces loan risk onto education institutions. Taken together, these provisions represent a regressive shift that threatens to widen educational disparities, destabilize community colleges and minority-serving institutions and undermine national efforts to promote affordable higher education.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Moratorium: The House legislation also includes a highly-problematic and broad prohibition on state AI regulation for a decade. States like New York have passed laws to both invest in the incredible potential of AI and thoughtfully address potential AI harms in the face of federal inaction. Under my leadership, New York has enacted several first-in-the-nation AI safety measures, including the Safe for Kids Act to curb the addictive nature of social media for kids, and safeguards for AI Companion chatbots to reduce harmful interactions. If this federal prohibition remains in reconciliation, the impact is not merely a bureaucratic moratorium; it undermines the states’ fundamental right and responsibility to protect the safety, health, privacy, and economic vitality of its citizens.

Unfair Tax Burdens: Not only does this bill guarantee higher costs, it also fails to deliver on a key promise made by New Yorkers in your caucus to their constituents: a full repeal of the SALT cap. House Republicans’ decision to impose a new, permanent SALT cap upholds a double-tax on New York taxpayers and unfairly burdens households. The bill also levies outrageous taxes on nonprofits including universities, and eliminates the popular direct-file program that simplifies the tax filing process – all in an effort to cut taxes for the richest Americans.

These are just some of the more egregious harms this bill would inflict on my constituents. If New York Republicans in the House refuse to advocate for the best interests of their state, I will. As Governor, I must stand up for middle-class New Yorkers who cannot afford the consequences of this budget. I urge you to reject the House proposal and instead work with Leader Schumer on a bipartisan reconciliation package that delivers for working families, invests in the future, and reflects the real needs of the people we serve.

Sincerely,

Governor Kathy Hochul