Plugged In @ Hinman Straub
June 20, 2022
What’s Inside
- Governor Signs Legislative Abortion Package
- Law School Deans Announce Vetting Process for New Ethics Commissioners
- “New” New York Panelists Appointed
- The Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Rochester and City Officials with Misleading Investors
- League of Women Voters Lawsuit to Consolidate Primaries Rejected by Court of Appeals
- Jordan Drops Out of State Senate Race Against Tedisco
- Political Updates
- Coming Up
Governor Signs Legislative Abortion Package
The Governor signed a legislative package aimed at protecting the rights of patients and reproductive healthcare providers in anticipation of a final decision by the Supreme Court on Dobbs v. Jackson. The package of bills signed by the Governor include the following:
S.9039A/A.10094A establishes a cause of action for unlawful interference with protected rights. This will allow individuals to bring a claim against someone who has sued them or brought charges against them for facilitating, aiding, or obtaining reproductive health or endocrine care services in accordance with New York State Law.
S.9077A/A.10372A aims to provide certain legal protections for abortion service providers, those who assist someone else in obtaining an abortion, or individuals who self-manage an abortion. This bill provides those protections by creating a statutory exception for the extradition of abortion-related offenses, prohibiting courts from cooperating with out-of-state civil and criminal cases that stem from abortions that took place legally within their borders, and providing judicial protections by prohibiting law enforcement from cooperating with anti-abortion states’ investigations regarding abortions that look place legally.
S.9079B/A.9687B prohibits professional misconduct charges against healthcare practitioners on the basis that such healthcare practitioner, acting within their scope of practice, performed, recommended or provided reproductive healthcare services for a patient who resides in a state where such services are illegal.
S.9080B/A.9718B prohibits medical malpractice insurance companies from taking any adverse action against an abortion or reproductive healthcare provider who performs an abortion or provides reproductive healthcare that is legal in the state of New York on someone who is from out of state.
S.9384A/A.9818A allows reproductive healthcare services providers, employees, volunteers, patients, or immediate family members of reproductive healthcare services providers to enroll in the State’s address confidentiality program to protect themselves from threats.
S.470/A.5499 directs the New York State Department of Health commissioner to conduct a study and issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing pregnant people in New York and the impact of limited service pregnancy centers.
Governor Hochul said:
Law School Deans Announce Vetting Process for New Ethics Commissioners
Deans of the state’s accredited law schools announced a new process for selection of candidates for the successor agency to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. The potential commissioners for the new Commission will undergo a state police background check, which will include fingerprinting, detailed questionnaires and financial disclosures as well as reviews of tax and credit reports. The nominees will be required to sign releases enabling the nominating committee to review those documents.
The nominating process will also include a seven-day public comment period for the elected officials’ proposed nominees. The official nominating the person will review the background information gathered about their candidate’s qualifications, suitability and fitness for the job before deciding whether to formally nominate the person for review by the Independent Review Committee. The Independent Review Committee, comprised of law school deans from the 15 accredited law schools in the state, will be able to reject a nominee not found to have “undisputed honesty, integrity and character.”
The Governor will have three nominations to the commission, the Speaker of the Assembly and Temporary President of the Senate will have two nominees each, the minority leaders of the Assembly and Senate will each have one nomination, along with one nominee each from the Attorney General and State Comptroller respectively.
Anthony W. Crowell, dean of New York Law School and chair of the Independent Review Committee, said in a statement:
“New” New York Panelists Appointed
The Governor announced that Richard Berkley has been appointed by the New York State Department of Public Service as the state’s Consumer Advocate. Berkley most recently served as the Director of the Public Utility Law Project – a leading utility consumer watchdog group in New York. In this role, Mr. Berkley will lead the Department’s Office of Consumer Services, and will advise the CEO of the Department on matters pertaining to consumer protection, customer complaints, consumer trends that require investigation, and affordability policy.
The Governor said:
Governor Announces Launch of 43North’s Eighth Startup Competition
The Governor and New York City Mayor appointed 54 leaders from across New York City’s business, labor, academic, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to join the “New” New York blue-ribbon panel, which will examine the future of New York City and the region’s economy. Announced in May and co-chaired by Robin Hood CEO Richard Buery and former Sidewalk Labs CEO Daniel Doctoroff, the 56-member panel will develop actionable strategies for the recovery and resilience of the city’s commercial districts, challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, and longstanding and systemic challenges facing New York City and the region.
Members of the panel include the following:
Richard Buery, Jr. (co-chair), CEO, Robin Hood
Daniel L. Doctoroff (co-chair), former CEO, Sidewalk Labs
Priscilla Almodovar, president and CEO, Enterprise Community Partners
Khin Mai Aung, executive director, New York, Generation Citizen
Murad Awawdeh, executive director, New York Immigration Coalition
Donnell Baird, founder, BlocPower
Sian Beilock, president, Barnard College at Columbia University
Kyle Bragg, president, 32BJ
Hon. Sharon Bowen, chair, New York Stock Exchange
Victor Calise, director of global culture, equity, and inclusion, centers of excellence, Walmart
Rafael E. Cestero, CEO, Community Preservation Corporation
Alfred C. Cerullo, III, president and CEO, Grand Central Partnership
Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder and creative director, Practice for Architecture and Urbanism
Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis, president, Hostos Community College
Matt Cohen, president and CEO, Long Island Association
John R. Durso, president, Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW; and president, Long Island Federation of Labor
Cara Eckholm, head of growth, Nabr
Wallace Ford II, associate professor, Medgar Evers College of The City University of New York
William S. Floyd, senior director, U.S. state and local government affairs and public policy, Google
Dr. Marsha Gordon, president and CEO, Business Council of Westchester
Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO, YMCA of Greater New York
Danny Harris, executive director, Transportation Alternatives
Wayne Ho, president and CEO, Chinese-American Planning Council
Marc Holliday, chairman and CEO, SL Green Realty Corp
Angie Kamath, dean, New York University (NYU) School of Professional Studies
Jessica Lappin, president, Alliance for Downtown New York
Richard Maroko, president, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Raymond J. McGuire, former vice chairman, Citigroup
Melva M. Miller, CEO, Association for a Better New York
Mitchell L. Moss, professor of urban policy and planning, NYU Wagner School
Regina Myer, president, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Ana Oliveira, president and CEO, New York Women’s Foundation
Dr. Philip Ozuah, president and CEO, Montefiore Medicine
Charles Phillips, managing director and co-founder, Recognize
Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO, Brooklyn Community Foundation
Taryn Sacramone, executive director, Queens Theatre
Janette Sadik-Khan, principal, Bloomberg Associates
Al Samuels, president and CEO, Rockland Business Association
Julie Samuels, founder, Tech:NYC; and partner, Hangar
Stephen Scherr, CEO, Hertz Corporation
Amy Schulman, managing partner, Polaris Partners
David Solomon, chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs
Rob Speyer, CEO, Tishman Speyer
Jose Tavarez, president, Bank of America New York City; and vice chair, Bank of America Private Bank
William Thompson, Jr., board chairperson, City University of New York; and partner and chief administrative officer, Siebert Williams Shank
Mary Ann Tighe, CEO, New York tri-state region, CBRE
Dr. Merryl H. Tisch, chair, State University of New York
Jessica Walker, president and CEO, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Carl Weisbrod, senior advisor, HR&A
James Whelan, president, Real Estate Board of New York
Fred Wilson, partner, Union Square Ventures
Tom Wright, president and CEO, Regional Plan Association
Clara Wu Tsai, founder, Clara and Joe Tsai Foundation; and governor, New York Liberty
Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for New York City
Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, co-founder and chief scientific officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Lourdes Zapata, president and CEO, South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
The Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Rochester and City Officials with Misleading Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the City of Rochester and a number of former finance officials for allegedly misleading investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, the city, former finance director Rosiland Brooks-Harris, and former Rochester City School District (RCSD) CFO Everton Sewell allegedly misled investors in a $119 million bond offering in 2019 by using outdated financial documents. Those documents did not show that the RCSD was, at the time, overspending on teacher salaries. Rochester’s municipal advisor, Capital Markets Advisors, LLC, along with its principal Richard Ganci and co-principal Richard Tortora, were also charged with failing to disclose conflicts to municipal clients.
The SEC’s complaint against the city, Brooks-Harris, CMA and Ganci, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws. The complaint also charges CMA, Ganci and Tortora with violating the municipal advisor fiduciary duty, deceptive practices, and fair dealing provisions of the federal securities laws. The Commission is seeking injunctive relief and financial remedies against all parties.
League of Women Voters Lawsuit to Consolidate Primaries Rejected by Court of Appeals
The New York State Court of Appeals denied the appeal of a lower court ruling that rejected the consolidation of statewide and Assembly primaries with congressional and state senate primaries. This likely exhausts the legal options for the League of Women Voters who argued that bifurcated primaries were confusing and more expensive than a single primary day. As a result, primaries for statewide elected officials and the state Assembly will continue on their original date, June 28, while primaries for congress and state Senate will take place on August 23rd, as ordered by the court.
In a separate case, petitioners who prevailed in getting state Assembly district maps thrown out last week are currently considering an appeal to either consolidate the primaries or to push for a new election next year for Assembly to avoid New Yorkers being represented under unconstitutional lines. The Appellate court that unanimously agreed the Assembly districts are also unconstitutional, denied the petitioners request to consolidate the primaries claiming it is too late in the process to make such a change.
Jordan Drops Out of State Senate Race Against Tedisco
State Senator Daphne Jordan is dropping out of a race that would force her to run in a primary against fellow Republican incumbent Jim Tedisco. Tedisco, who lives in the neighboring district but has represented large portions of the new district in the past, opted to run in the newly drawn 44th Senate District. The 44th Senate District contains the City of Schenectady and Saratoga County. Tedisco was able to secure the endorsement of Saratoga Republicans. Jordan’s name will still appear on the ballot despite her decision to no longer pursue the seat.
Political Updates
City & State NY’s Weekly Winners and Losers here.
Mayor Adams endorses Hochul in Gubernatorial primary.
Delgado endorsed by SEIU 32BJ and the Hotel Trades Council ahead of debate.
CIR/SEIU endorses Archila for Lieutenant Governor.
Lee Zeldin, Harry Wilson bash each other over past praise for Andrew Cuomo.
Two Assemblymembers running for reelection to Assembly and open State Senate seats.
Zeldin facing uphill fight in race for Governor.
Lawmakers fear confusion, move to cut ‘independence‘ from NY ballots.
Elizabeth Warren endorses Nadler over Maloney in NY-12.
103rd Assembly District Democratic primary: Here’s where Cahill, Shrestha stand on top issues.
NY Post endorses Lee Zeldin in the GOP primary for Governor.
NY Post endorses Tom Suozzi in the Democratic primary for Governor.
Sitting Senator and former city council member face off in new Brooklyn state Senate district.
City & State NY: Here are some of the New York candidates hoping to launch a political comeback in 2022.
Coming Up
The Senate will hold a public hearing to receive an update on the Penn Station Revitalization Plan on June 24.
JCOPE will hold its next meeting on June 28.
The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on July 11 and 12.
The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on July 14.
The Assembly will hold a public hearing to discuss the “Build Public Renewables Act” on July 28.