Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

August 27, 2021

What’s Inside

  • Hochul Sworn in as Governor, Outlines Priorities
  • Governor Hochul Announces Staff
  • Governor Announces New Lieutenant Governor Selection
  • State Corrects COVID Death Toll Numbers
  • HERO Act Employee Notification Deadline
  • Supreme Court Overturns Federal Eviction Moratorium
  • Political Updates
  • Coming Up

Hochul Sworn in as Governor, Outlines Priorities

Kathy Hochul was officially sworn in at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday morning, though held a separate public ceremony the next morning. Hochul is the 57th Governor of the state of New York and is the first woman to hold the position. At a separate address held later in the afternoon on her first day as Governor, Hochul outlined her initial priorities. Priorities identified by the Governor include the following:

Fight the Delta variant

Governor Hochul said she would take proactive steps to fight COVID and its variants, specifically highlighting the need to get children back to school safely. Universal masking in schools will be mandated by the Department of Health. The Governor also announced a vaccination requirement for all school district teachers and staff, with an option for weekly testing in lieu of vaccination, for now.

Increase vaccination rates

The Governor suggested that new vaccination requirements could soon be forthcoming, but, did not elaborated further.

Booster dose availability

The Governor announced that her administration will be prepared to do whatever necessary to get booster shots for eight months after initial vaccination.

Rental Assistance

The Governor committed to fixing the lagging ERAP program designed to offer rental assistance by getting “money out the door now, no excuses or delays.” The Governor confirmed she has met with the legislative leaders and they are united on this issue. The Governor mentioned the state will be launching a targeted campaign and providing more staff and resources to process applications.

Excluded workers fund

The Governor mentioned the excluded workers fund, established in the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget, will also receive the same commitment as the ERAP program.

Change the culture of Albany

Finally, the Governor reiterated that there will be a no tolerance policy for harassment in her administration. The Governor plans to overhaul policies on ethics and sexual harassment. All training will be required to be by in person attendance and not virtual. Each state agency will be required to review all transparency laws to ensure agency compliance. FOIL disclosures will be posted online and publicly with expedited review for each.

Governor Hochul Announces Staff

Governor Hochul this week announced two senior staff members for her administration.

Karen Persichilli Keogh, Secretary to the Governor

Keogh worked on Hillary Clinton’s senior senate staff when she was a U.S. Senator for New York. She then worked on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s transition team and served as an advisor on Michael Bloomberg’s 2009 campaign. Most recently, she was Head of Global Philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase. She’s from Long Island and lives in Brooklyn, with degrees from Stony Brook University and Columbia.

Elizabeth Fine, Counsel to the Governor

Fine is the Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of Empire State Development. Her public service career includes eight years as General Counsel of the New York City Council, and seven years as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno in the U.S. Justice Department. She was also Special Counsel to President Clinton in 1993 and worked on the Clinton-Gore campaign. She has degrees from Brown, NYU School of Law, and Georgetown Law School.

Other members of her administration have been rumored, including that Robert Mujica will remain in his role as Budget Director for the immediate future. Governor Hochul has announced that she will be giving herself a 45 day period to build out her staff and interview current and prospective employees.

Governor Announces New Lieutenant Governor Selection

The Governor announced the selection of State Senator Brian Benjamin for Lieutenant Governor this week. Senator Benjamin previously served as the New York State Senator for District 30 – which encompasses Harlem, East Harlem, and the Upper West Side – Chairman of the Senate Committee on Revenue and Budget and Senior Assistant Majority Leader, where he focused efforts on criminal justice reform and affordable housing.

Governor Hochul said:

I believe that governing is about working together. Teamwork is the essence of effective leadership, and it is more important than ever as we confront the urgent problems facing the state. My administration is going to attract the best and the brightest — people who share my values of working hard for the people of this state and who will get the job done – and that includes the newest member Senator Brian Benjamin who has agreed to serve as my Lieutenant Governor. There is so much work to do, and I am grateful to have him by my side as we implement our vision for a safer, healthier and fairer New York.

Senator Benjamin said:

I want to thank Governor Hochul for trusting me with the incredible honor of serving alongside her as Lieutenant Governor. Governor Hochul is a collaborator who makes sure everyone has a seat at the table, and, like me, is laser focused on listening to the needs of New Yorkers and empowering local leaders. We have a strong history of collaboration that will help us to hit the ground running immediately as we help guide New York through this challenging moment in history.

State Corrects COVID Death Toll Numbers

On Governor Hochul’s first day in office the state updated its COVID death numbers to reflect death certificate data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The previous administration only admitted to 43,400 death caused by COVID and withheld the additional 12,000 deaths that were only presumed and not confirmed deaths related to COVID. Governor Hochul has committed to more transparency in government and while the actual total has been widely known for some time, the prior administration had labored to utilize the lower death total when referring to New York’s total. In an interview with National Public Radio, Governor Hochul said, “the public deserves a clear, honest picture of what’s happening. And that’s whether it’s good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that’s how we restore confidence.”

HERO Act Employee Notification Deadline

The HERO Act, which required businesses to adopt an airborne infectious disease prevention plan by August 5 of this year, approaches yet another deadline. The law requires that within 30 days of adopting a plan, each business must communicate the plan to their employees making the deadline for employee notification September 4. The employee notification must include a verbal review of the plan as well as posting the plan at all worksites. The statute also requires that employee handbooks reference the plan.

Business groups have urged Governor Hochul not to trigger implementation of the plans by declaring another state of emergency or through designation by the Commissioner of Health. The business groups pointed to the cost burden associated with implementation of the plans and its impact on small business across the state.

A coalition of business groups across the state urged, in a letter to the Governor:

Triggering the Hero Act through an emergency declaration at this time would pose yet another burden on New York’s struggling small businesses. It’s likely that New York’s small businesses are completely unaware of this new law and its requirements as new laws are poorly and inadequately communicated by state agencies. Small businesses do not have human resource personnel or labor law attorneys to help them navigate complex rules and requirements or inform them of new regulations. Implementing these enforceable standards that just went into effect would put a target on the backs of small businesses for predatory lawsuits.

Supreme Court Overturns Federal Eviction Moratorium

In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the federal eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC). A lower court previously ruled that the CDC had exceeded its authority in imposing the moratorium but had issued a stay on judgment pending appeal. This decision by the Supreme Court vacates that stay rendering the judgment enforceable. The majority argues “[i]t would be one thing if Congress had specifically authorized the action that the CDC has taken. But that has not happened. Instead, the CDC has imposed a nationwide moratorium on evictions in reliance on a decades-old statute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination. It strains credulity to believe that this statute grants the CDC the sweeping authority that it asserts.”

The decision by the court will increase attention to eviction moratoria across the country. The Governor said she is in discussions with the legislative leaders on how to best respond and is considering calling a special session to address the issue. The Governor and legislature will discuss options through the weekend. The Supreme Court has previously struck down a provision of New York’s eviction moratorium that allows tenants to self-attest to COVID-related financial hardship.

Governor Hochul said in response to the ruling:

I am very disappointed in the Supreme Court’s appalling and insensitive ruling that eliminates a key line of defense for tenants facing housing insecurity during the ongoing pandemic, and we are exploring all options to further protect New Yorkers from eviction, including with the legislative leaders.

It is critical that New Yorkers know that anyone who applies to the rent relief program will automatically be protected from eviction while their application is pending. More than $800 million has already been already disbursed or is now ready for landlords to accept on behalf of their tenants. More than $1 billion remains available for relief and resources are available through community organizations to help New Yorkers apply, receive eviction protection, and pay their rent. New Yorkers should complete and submit their applications immediately. This is urgent.

Political Updates

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

JCOPE votes to ask Attorney General to conduct criminal probe of alleged leak to Cuomo.

Times Union: Cuomo and the State Police: meddling, anger and sexual harassment here.

WSJ: Andrew Cuomo Keeps Low Profile in Final Days as New York Governor here.

NY Post: Cuomo leaves Hochul with staff crisis at Health Department amid COVID here.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano exploring a run for governor.

Significant Republican support for Mayor Byron Brown’s ‘Buffalo Party’.

Cuomo stripped of Emmy Award.

Longtime Cuomo advisor resigns from top economic development job.

Senator Gianaris on Andrew Cuomo’s downfall and what’s next.

Coming Up

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

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

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.