Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

July 16, 2021

What’s Inside

  • Governor to be Interviewed by Attorney General’s Office
  • Federal COVID Death Count for New York Higher than State Reported
  • Governor Announces Applications for Public Health Corps Fellowship Program Now Open
  • Senate Ethics Hearing Postponed
  • Lawsuit Filed Against New York for Nonprofit Donor Disclosure Requirements
  • Assembly Minority Calls for Special Session
  • Local Property Taxes to be Capped at Two Percent Next Year
  • Political Updates
  • Reminders and Links
  • Coming Up

Governor to be Interviewed by Attorney General’s Office

According to reports from the New York Times, Governor Cuomo is expected to be interviewed this weekend by special counsels assigned by the Attorney General to investigate various accusations against the Governor. The news is significant as it likely signals that the investigation is coming to a close, with the Governor likely to be the last interview necessary to complete the investigation. It is still unclear when the final report will be completed and released. The Governor has maintained that he is willing to cooperate with the investigation.

Senior Advisor to the Governor, Rich Azzopardi said:

“We have said repeatedly that the governor doesn’t want to comment on this review until he has cooperated, but the continued leaks are more evidence of the transparent political motivation of the attorney general’s review.”

Federal COVID Death Count for New York Higher than State Reported

Reports from the Associated Press this week highlighted that the federal government’s count of the COVID-19 death toll in New York has 11,000 more victims than the tally publicized by the Governor’s administration. New York State’s death count, which is posted publicly and distributed widely each day during the Governor’s press briefings, stood at roughly 43,000 this week, while numbers provided by the state to the federal government weighed in at around 54,000 total deaths attributable to COVID, an increase of 11,000. The Governor defended the discrepancy by saying that New York has always published only lab-tested and confirmed COVID deaths and that the reason New York provided the federal government with a higher death toll was due to the CDC asking for additional information regarding suspected cases of the virus. A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the tracker provides accurate data on deaths reported daily by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities for quick monitoring and response planning. The AP found that other states, including California, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, report death numbers that mirror the CDC numbers, and count all cases where COVID-19 is either the cause of death or a contributing factor.

Governor Announces Applications for Public Health Corps Fellowship Program Now Open

The Governor announced that applications are now open for the New York State Public Health Corps Fellowship Program. The program will provide up to 1,000 full-time, paid positions with placements at the New York State Department of Health, local health departments except for New York City, or other public health partners throughout the state. Fellows will complete online coursework and receive a Public Health Essentials Certificate from Cornell University.

Fellows selected for the program will include recent graduates and students advanced in their graduate public health studies; individuals from nursing, medical, dentistry, pharmaceutical and allied health programs; retired medical professionals; emergency preparedness and other New Yorkers who will receive the public health training curriculum developed by Cornell University. Once selected for the New York State Public Health Corps Fellowship Program, fellows will complete Cornell University’s Public Health Essentials Certificate Program, offered by the Master of Public Health Program.

Applications can be found here.

Governor Cuomo said:

“The COVID pandemic ambushed New York and upended our lives, and one of the greatest lessons we’ve learned is that we need to act now and be prepared for the next public health crisis.  We are teaming up with Cornell University to train and educate the next generation of public health professionals, who will be ready to hit the ground running and help their communities if and when another public health emergency hits. I encourage everyone who is interested to apply for this first-in-the-nation program and become a part New York’s emergency public health and preparedness efforts.”

Senate Ethics Hearing Postponed

The Senate Ethics Committee convened briefly this week to begin a public hearing on ethics oversight and enforcement, but, was forced to postpone due to ethics concerns. The issue stemmed from whether or not it was a violation of the Open Meetings Law to hold a hearing where participants were remote and not in person. According to the law, the public is required to be allowed to attend at any location from which a member is participating.  In this case, theoretically, the public would be allowed to attend the meeting in a member’s home. Senator Biaggi, Chair of the Ethics committee said that it is unclear if this hearing would have been a violation of the law, but, that the meeting would be postponed until a later date out of an abundance of caution.

Senator Biaggi said:

‘We are going to postpone it until we have clarity around that. Once we do, then we will move forward because this hearing is happening. It’s very important that it happens. The issue of JCOPE and how they operate is obviously one of central importance to the people of New York.”

Lawsuit Filed Against New York for Nonprofit Donor Disclosure Requirements

The Liberty Justice Center, a public interest law firm that argues for constitutional rights and free speech, has sued the Attorneys General of New York and New Jersey over the states’ policy requiring nonprofits to disclose information about their donors. On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned California’s donor disclosure requirements in Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta. The Liberty Justice Center is demanding New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal immediately abandon their states’ disclosure requirements and align their requirements with the decision in Bonta, which shut down a nearly identical policy in California.

Assembly Minority Calls for Special Session

Republicans in the Assembly Minority are calling for a special legislative session to align New York’s eviction moratorium with the federal eviction moratorium. The federal moratorium will expire on July 31st, while New York’s moratorium will last through the month of August. Despite the lifting of the state of emergency, the moratorium will remain in place due its expiration being set by statute.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said:

“In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily halting evictions made sense, but with the state of emergency in New York now lifted, the state’s current moratorium on evictions is outdated and completely unnecessary. Small landlords across the state have been struggling for more than a year to make mortgage payments, pay taxes and invest in upgrades themselves, and can ill-afford for the eviction moratorium to continue for another six weeks. To do right by them, the Legislature must reconvene for a special session to bring New York state’s guidance in line with the federal government.”

Local Property Taxes to be Capped at Two Percent Next Year

The State Comptroller announced this week that the property tax cap increase will be limited to the 2% maximum for next year. This will be the third time the cap has be set at 2%, being limited to 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. The cap affects all counties, towns and fire districts in the state, as well as 44 cities and 13 villages that operate their budgets on a calendar-based fiscal year. Local government boards must pass a local law or resolution by at least a 60 percent vote to override the cap. Voters in school districts can override the cap with a 60% vote.

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said:

“As the economy recovers from the pandemic, local governments have seen some revenues rebound and have benefited from one-time federal financial assistance. At the same time, the risk of inflationary cost increases and the need for investments that will stimulate economic growth and fund essential services may lead to challenging budget decisions ahead.”

Political Updates

Cuomo inquiry leaves New York politics in limbo.

NY Post: Taxpayers fork over $800K to lawyers repping Cuomo, top aides in nursing home probe — so far here.

NYS lawmaker who called for Cuomo to quit fumes when asked about joint appearance.

Former Congressman Brindisi announces run for Supreme Court Justice.

Charting the Mayoral Maze—Part III: A Postscript.

Cuomo outraised by Zeldin, but, still flush with cash.

New York Senate Democrats raise $1.7 million in 6 months.

New York Sen. James Skoufis raises $400K for re-election.

Rep. Katko has nearly $1 million for re-election bid.

Former Mayor Giuliani fundraises for NYC mayor hopeful Sliwa.

Van De Water announces second Congress bid.

Reminders and Links

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

City & State NY’s 2021 40 Under 40 here.

Erie County DA says new discovery laws causing problems.

Coming Up

**POSTPONED** The Senate will hold a public hearing on New York State’s system of ethics oversight and enforcement on July 12.

The Assembly will hold a public hearing on ranked-choice voting in New York City on July 19.

**CANCELLED** The Senate will hold a public hearing on nursing home and assisted living workforce on July 20.

The Senate will hold a public hearing on homecare workforce challenges and solutions on July 27.

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on July 27.

The Senate will hold a public hearing to solicit testimony from voters regarding their experience and issue voting in New York City on July 27.

The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on August 12.

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