Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – December 4, 2018

What’s Inside

  • Stewart-Cousins Elected Senate Majority Leader
  • Governor Meets With President Trump to Press for Gateway Tunnel Funding
  • Governor Urges New York’s House Democrats to Eliminate SALT Cap, Fund Gateway Tunnel
  • Comptroller: Better Coordination Needed to Address Opioid Abuse
  • Attorney General Reports on Professional Fundraisers
  • Coalition Calls for Campaign Finance and Voting Reforms to be ‘First Order of Business’ in 2019
  • Coalition to Push for Congestion Pricing in Manhattan
  • State Senator Dies at Age 47
  • Kolb Re-Elected Assembly Minority Leader
  • Lawsuit Challenges JCOPE’s New Lobbying Regulations
  • Profiles of Newly-Elected State Legislators
  • Political Update
  • Coming Up

Stewart-Cousins Elected Senate Majority Leader

Last Monday, the incoming Senate Democratic Majority met in Albany and elected Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) as Senate Majority Leader for the 2019-20 legislative session.  She will be the first woman to lead a majority conference in Albany as Democrats take control of the State Senate for the first time since 2010.

The Senate Democrats needed a net gain of just one seat in the November 6 elections to take control of the State Senate in 2019.  They won three open seats and defeated five incumbent Republicans, giving them at least a 39-24 majority. [Senator Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who has conferenced with the Senate Republican majority since he was first elected in 2012, has not yet indicated whether he will seek to conference with the Democrats.]

She was elected at the Senate Democrats’ organizational meeting.  She will officially become Senate Majority Leader when the State Senate convenes on January 9, 2019.

In addition, she announced the appointments of Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens as
Deputy Majority Leader and Senator José Serrano of the Bronx as Majority Conference Chair.

Governor Meets With President Trump to Press for Gateway Tunnel Funding

On Wednesday, Gov. Cuomo travelled to Washington D.C., where he met with President Trump to advocate for federal funding to build a new rail tunnel across the Hudson River.

The Governor said that said he and the President discussed the decrepit conditions inside the current, 108-year-old Hudson River tunnel that connects New York City with New Jersey, which was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Amtrak has estimated that a new tunnel will cost $13 billion, but the Governor questioned its cost estimate and said that he wants to seek bids from private contractors. He supports restructuring the Gateway Development Corp., which currently oversees the program, to remove Amtrak for some other entity.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“The Federal Government poses many challenges for the State of New York but one of the top priorities is to replace the Gateway tunnels. These tunnels are Federally owned by the Amtrak Corporation and must be replaced. If only one of the two 100 year old tunnels becomes unusable it would pose a serious economic hardship for New York City and the entire Northeast corridor. We have had numerous conversations with Federal officials about these tunnels and had a framework agreement with the Obama administration which was stopped by the Trump administration. I recently sent a video of the tunnels that fully explains the situation to President Trump. The video shows the decay inside the tunnel. I spoke to the President after he received the video and we have a tentative meeting scheduled for tomorrow with the President to continue to discuss the tunnel project. This is not a partisan issue but a practical government necessity.”

Governor Urges New York’s House Democrats to Eliminate SALT Cap, Fund Gateway Tunnel

Last Monday, Gov. Cuomo released a letter to the New York House Democratic Delegation congratulating them on their victory and urging them to push for eliminating the $10,000 cap on the federal tax deductibility of state and local taxes  and funding for the Gateway Tunnel.

On the SALT deduction, he wrote “The current cost of the SALT bill to New York is $14.3 billion growing to $15.9 billion annually.  It would make this state, and other Democratic states, considerably less economically competitive.”

On the Gateway Tunnel, he wrote:

“The existing Hudson River train tunnels carry trains between New York and New Jersey and serve the entire Northeast Corridor.  The tunnel is a federal government asset owned by Amtrak and the federal government has a priority interest in ensuring the new Gateway Tunnel is built.  This should not be viewed as a project for New York and New Jersey – the economic and commercial vitality of the entire nation is at stake given that the northeast region served by the Gateway Tunnel contributes twenty percent of the national Gross Domestic Product.  The existing tunnels are seriously deteriorated and the damage was exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy.  It is only a matter of time before one or both will be unusable.”

Comptroller: Better Coordination Needed to Address Opioid Abuse

Last Monday, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released an audit which finds that some individuals on Medicaid receiving treatment for opioid abuse may have received unnecessary or dangerous opioid prescriptions outside of their treatment programs.  The audit is part of audit is part of a broader initiative by the Comptroller’s office to look at opioid use across New York state.

Comptroller DiNapoli said:

“New York and the rest of the country are facing an opioid addiction epidemic, and people’s lives are at stake. Programs designed to get individuals off highly addictive opioids can only be effective with proper vigilance. The state Department of Health should take steps to help treatment programs and health care providers work together to prevent overdoses that could lead to hospitalizations or death.”

Attorney General Reports on Professional Fundraisers

Last Monday, Attorney General Underwood announced the release of her office’s annual report on fundraising by professional fundraisers in New York State, Pennies for Charity. According to the report, “nearly one-third of charitable donations ended up in the pockets of professional fundraisers.” Of the more than $1.18 billion raised through campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers, charities netted over $812 million, or 69% of the proceeds, while professional fundraisers’ fees and expenses totaled $372 million, or 31%.

Attorney General Underwood said:

“New Yorkers are generous in their charitable giving – and they should know how their dollars are being spent.  Too often, a large percentage of charitable dollars are pocketed by outside fundraisers rather than going to the cause itself. I urge all New Yorkers to be careful, and to report suspicious entities to my office.”

The Attorney General’s report also includes tips for donors, including specific guidance for responding to phone, direct mail, or online solicitations.

Coalition Calls for Campaign Finance and Voting Reforms to be ‘First Order of Business’ in 2019

The Fair Elections for NY Campaign, a coalition of groups pushing for campaign finance reform in New York State, called for campaign finance and voting reforms to be “the first order of business in the 2019 New York State Legislative Session.”

The group wrote to Gov. Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Heastie and incoming Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins urging them to enact a statewide public financing system for political campaigns similar to the one in place in New York City; reducing contribution limits; and closing the so-called “LLC Loophole” under which limited liability companies are treated as individual contributors, rather than as corporations. The groups also want lawmakers to enact a voting rights package to authorize automatic and same-day voter registration; early voting; the pre-voter registration of 16- and 17-year-olds; and to codify the Executive Order that Gov. Cuomo issued earlier this year that allows parolees to vote.

Coalition to Push for Congestion Pricing in Manhattan

On Wednesday, a coalition of labor, environmental and business groups called Fix Our Transit announced that it will push lawmakers to enact a system of congestion pricing in Manhattan in the 2019 legislative session. (See the list of coalition members here.)

Coalition spokesperson Alex Matthiessen said:

“After years of neglect, commuter confidence in New York’s public transit system is at an all-time low. Few New Yorkers have faith that Albany will rise to the occasion to secure the funding needed to fix, upgrade and modernize the system once and for all. The time has come for the Legislature to join Governor Cuomo in getting behind congestion pricing.”

Congestion pricing in Manhattan is expected to one of the topics before Albany lawmakers in 2019. Gov. Cuomo and some lawmakers have expressed support for the idea, but key details – including who will pay, how much, where the toll zone will be located, and what the revenue will be used for, among many others – would have to be resolved.

Critics of the idea argue that congestion pricing will hurt lower-income commuters who rely on their cars to get to work or daycare while raising the cost of living in a part of the country that is already extremely expensive.

State Senator Dies at Age 47

State Senator José Peralta, the first Dominican-American elected to the New York State Senate, has died at the age of 47. According to his family, the cause of death was sudden septic shock.

A Democrat, Peralta lost in September’s Democratic primary.  He was first elected to the State Senate in a 2010 special election; he previously served in the Assembly from 2003 through 2010.

Read his obituary in the New York Times here.

Kolb Re-Elected Assembly Minority Leader

Last Tuesday, the Assembly Republican Conference re-elected Assemblyman Brian Kolb (R-Canandaigua) as its leader.  He will continue serving as Assembly Minority Leader when the Legislature convenes in January for the 2019 legislative session.  Kolb has led the Assembly GOP conference since 2009.

Assemblyman Kolb said:

“With a changing dynamic in the Legislature, our voice and our role has never been more critical. I am enormously proud of the work the Assembly Minority Conference has done to: increase accountability and transparency in government; make the cost of living more affordable for everyday New Yorkers; address serious human issues like domestic violence and the opioid epidemic; relieve the financial and regulatory burden of small businesses; and devise solutions to the looming infrastructure and transportation crises that affects every region of the state.”

Lawsuit Challenges JCOPE’s New Lobbying Regulations

A lawsuit filed in State Supreme Cort in Albany this week argues that the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) lacks the authority to adopt its comprehensive lobbying regulations, which are set to go into effect on January 1, 2019.

Read more on this at Hinman Straub’s Lobbying, Ethics and Elections Compliance blog.

Profiles of Newly-Elected State Legislators

Senate

In Nassau County’s 7th Senate District, Democrat Anna Kaplan defeated first-term incumbent Elaine Phillips. Kaplan has served on the Town of North Hempstead Council since 2012.  Her legislative priorities include strengthen the state’s gun laws; protecting women’s reproductive health; hold the line on property taxes; protecting Long Island’s aquifers; and passing the Child Victim’s Act.

Democrat Zellnor Myrie will represent the 20th Senate District in central Brooklyn.  He defeated Senator Jesse Hamilton, a member of the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) in the September primary election. Myrie’s legislative priorities include increasing the stock of affordable housing; ensuring full and fair education funding; criminal justice reform; and environmental justice.

Democrat Peter Harckham defeated two-term incumbent Republican Terrence Murphy in the 40th Senate District, which includes parts of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties.  Harckham previously served in the Westchester County Legislature and in the Cuomo Administration.  His legislative priorities include increasing state education aid as a way to control local property taxes; enacting the Child Victims Act; campaign finance and voting reforms; and permitting the recreational use of marijuana.

Assembly

Democrat Taylor Raynor, an Industrial Organizational Psychologist, was elected to represent the 18th Assembly District in Nassau County. She defeated fellow Democrat Earlene Hooper, who held the seat for 30 years, in the Democratic primary. Raynor’s legislative priorities include improving education and training; improving the quality of life; and improving health.

Democrat Simcha Eichenstein will replace fellow Democrat Dov Hikind, who did not run for re-election to represent Brooklyn’s 48th Assembly District. Eichenstein previously worked in the New York City Mayor’s Office and as a senior advisor to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. His legislative priorities include housing, social services and health.

Republican Mark Walczyk defeated incumbent Democrat Addie Jenne; he will represent the 116th Assembly District, which includes parts of Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties.  Walczyk is a Watertown councilman who worked for Senator Patricia Ritchie and serves in the Army Reserves. His legislative priorities include job creation; environmental protection; an increasing support for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP); and addressing the opioid epidemic.

Democrat Marianne Buttenschon won the race to replace fellow Democrat Anthony Brindisi, who successfully ran for a seat in Congress. Buttenschon works at Mohawk Valley Community College and runs a Christmas tree farm with her husband. She will represent the 119th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Utica and Rome in central New York. Her legislative priorities include public safety; cybersecurity; economic development; and training and education.

In Central New York’s 121st Assembly District, Republican John Salka defeated incumbent Democrat Bill Magee in his third attempt.  Salka currently serves as Supervisor of the Town of Brookfield.  His legislative priorities include ethics reform; ensuring adequate education funding; supporting agriculture; and improving the state’s business climate.

Political Update

Governor Cuomo Again Rules Out 2020 Run

In an interview with WNYC last Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo again said he will not run for president in 2020.  He said “I am ruling it out…I ran for governor, I have a full plate, I have many projects—I’m going to be here doing the job of governor.”

Listen to the full interview here.

Attorney General-Elect James Name Transition Committee

Attorney General-Elect Tish James has named 36 people, including former federal and state prosecutors, lawmakers, academics and litigators from across the state to her transition team.

See the full list of her transition team members here.

Winners & Losers

Each week, City & State New York publishes a list of the week’s political “winners” and “losers.”  Read last week’s list here.

Coming Up

On December 5, the Assembly Higher Education Committee is holding a public hearing in Albany “to examine the current maintenance of effort provisions for SUNY and CUNY and the potential expansion of such maintenance of effort provisions.”

The state Board of Regents holds its next meeting on December 10 and 11.

On December 12, the Assembly’s Veteran’s Affairs Committee is holding a public hearing in Albany on veterans’ employment programs.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) holds its next meeting on December 13.

On December 14, the State Board of Elections meets.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) holds its next meeting on December 18.

On December 18, the annual award ceremony for the state’s Regional Economic Development Councils will be held in Albany.

New York State’s 2019 legislative session begins on Wednesday, January 9.

On January 23, the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee is holding a public hearing “to examine recycling-related issues.”