This week the Governor outlined her agenda developed in response to the domestic terrorist mass shooting in a Buffalo supermarket. The agenda includes two Executive Orders to combat the rise in domestic terrorism and violent extremism and calls for legislation to tighten gun laws.

The first Executive Order requires the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to establish a new unit, dedicated solely to the prevention of domestic terrorism, within the Division’s Office of Counter Terrorism. This new unit will focus on threat assessment management, disbursing funding to localities to create and operate their own threat assessment management teams and “utilizing social media to intervene in the radicalization process.” It will also educate law enforcement members, mental health professionals and school officials on the recent uptick in domestic and homegrown violent extremism and radicalization, as well as create best practices for identifying and intervening in the radicalization process.

The Executive Order also calls on New York State Police to establish a dedicated unit within the New York State Intelligence Center (NYSIC) to track domestic violent extremism through social media. The unit will develop investigative leads through social media analysis, with a specific focus on identifying possible threats and individuals motivated by radicalization and violent extremism. Finally, the Executive Order calls on every county to perform an exhaustive review of its current strategies, policies and procedures for confronting threats of domestic terrorism.

The second Executive Order will require State Police to file for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) under New York State’s Red Flag Law whenever they have probable cause to believe that an individual is a threat to themselves or others.

The Governor also called on the Attorney General to investigate social media companies that were used to broadcast images and video of the attack.

The Governor is also calling for a legislative package to tighten gun laws, including by proposing a program bill that would expand the definition of firearm to include any other weapon that does not meet the definition, but, could be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion. Also included in the package is a bill to require all semi-automatic pistols sold in this state, beginning in 2025, to be equipped with “microstamping” technology, which imprints a unique identifier on shell casings, as well as, a bill to require all law enforcement agencies to report the recovery of any crime gun within 24 hours of their discovery.

The Governor said:

Governor Announces Judicial Appointments

The Governor announced appointments to the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department. These appointments do not require Senate confirmation. They appointments are as follows:

Honorable Helen Voutsinas has been appointed to the Second Department, Appellate Division. Since 2019, Judge Voutsinas has served as a Nassau County Appellate Term Judge for the 9th and 10th Judicial Districts. Previously, she was a Nassau County District Court Justice, and was elected to be a Nassau County Justice in 2018. Prior to being a Judge, she was the Principal Law Clerk to Justice Steven Jaeger of the New York State Supreme Court. Judge Voutsinas was also previously President of the Long Island Hispanic Bar association.

Honorable Janice Taylor has been appointed to the Second Department, Appellate Division. Judge Taylor has served as a Supreme Court Justice in Queens County since 1998, as she was reelected in 2012. From 1995 to 1997 she was a Judge for the Civil Court of the City of New York. Judge Taylor is also the Former President & Current Chair of the Board of Directors of the Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association.

Honorable Lillian Wan has been appointed to the Second Department, Appellate Division. Judge Wan is currently a Justice of the Kings County Supreme Court, a position she has held since January 2022. Prior to her election to the Supreme Court, she was a Judge for the New York State Court of Claims from 2018 to 2021 and a New York City Family Court Judge from 2012 to 2018. Judge Wan is the Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, the Immediate Past President of the Asian American Judges Association of New York, and a Board Member of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. Judge Wan is currently an adjunct professor at Cardozo School of Law, teaching lawyering and legal writing to first year law students.

Honorable Barry Warhit has been appointed to the Second Department, Appellate Division. Judge Warhit has served as a Westchester County Supreme Court Justice since 2019. Previously, he served as a Supervising Judge and Superior Criminal Parts for the Ninth Judicial District Judge of Westchester County from 2015 to 2019. He was also a Judge for the Westchester County Court from 2010 to 2018, as well as an Acting Justice for the Village of Tarrytown from 2006 to 2010. Judge Warhit is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Justice Brandeis Law Society.

Division of Human Rights Alleges Discrimination at Amazon Worksites

The Division of Human Rights has filed a complaint against Amazon, Inc. alleging the company engages in discrimination against pregnant workers and workers with disabilities by denying them reasonable accommodations. The Division also alleges that Amazon has policies that force pregnant workers and workers with disabilities to take an unpaid leave of absence rather than allowing them to work with a reasonable accommodation. In its complaint, the Division alleges a pregnant worker requested and was approved to receive a reasonable accommodation to avoid lifting packages over 25 pounds. However, the worksite manager refused to follow the accommodation – forcing the worker to continue lifting heavy packages. The Division further alleges that under Amazon’s accommodation policy, employees with disabilities are forced to take unpaid medical leave even in situations where the Accommodation Consultant has identified a reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of their position without an undue burden.

The Division’s complaint seeks a decision requiring Amazon to cease its discriminatory conduct, adopt non-discriminatory policies and practices regarding the review of requests for reasonable accommodations, train its employees on the provisions of the Human Rights Law, and pay civil fines and penalties to the State of New York.

Governor Hochul said:

Congressional and State Senate Map Update

On Monday, special master Jonathan Cervas released draft congressional and state senate maps. The draft maps were met with harsh criticism from congressional Democrats as the special master’s lines draw numerous incumbents into the same districts, likely to result in primaries among sitting members of congress. The congressional and state senate maps, if finalized as drafted, will result in many competitive races in both chambers. Congressional members are allowed to run in any district, there is no requirement that they reside in the district they represent. State Senate candidates, however, may run in a seat in which they don’t reside, in a redistricting year, as long as at least a portion of the district they intend to run in encompasses at least part of the county in which they reside. Until the maps are finalized, it is unclear which seat each incumbents will pursue.

Among the congressional incumbents, the following members reside in the same district:

– Yvette Clark (D)/Hakeem Jeffries (D)

– Caroline Maloney (D)/Jerry Nadler (D)

– Sean Patrick Maloney (D)/Mondaire Jones (D)

– Elise Stefanik (R)/Paul Tonko (D)

– Brian Higgins (D)/Chris Jacobs (R)

Among the state senate incumbents, the following members reside in the same district:

– Mario Mattera (R)/James Gaughran (D)

– Joe Addabbo (D)/Tobi Stavisky (D)

– Brian Kavanagh (D)/Brad Hoylman (D)

– Robert Jackson (D)/Gustavo Rivera (D)

– Sue Serino (R)/Michelle Hinchey (D)

– James Skoufis (D)/Mike Martucci (R)

– Neil Breslin (D)/James Tedisco (R)

– Patrick Gallivan (R)/Tim Kennedy (D)