Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – February 21, 2020

What’s Inside

  • Governor Releases 30-Day Budget Amendments
  • Governor Cuomo Announces He Will Visit States That Have Legalized Cannabis Program
  • Federal Grant Awarded to Strengthen Early Childhood in NYS
  • Statewide Outreach and Education Campaign Regarding Plastic Ban Ban is Launched
  • Governor Releases Statement on the Grumman Plume
  • 2020 Regional MWBE Opportunities Expo Series Announced
  • Governor Calls Special Election For April 28
  • Judge Temporarily Halts Broker Fee Rule
  • Governor Announces Second Round of Funding for Alliance for Economic Inclusion
  • Political Updates
  • Updates, Reminders, and Links
  • Coming Up

Governor Releases 30-Day Budget Amendments

Earlier today, Governor Cuomo released 30-day budget amendments to his Executive Budget proposal released on January 21, 2020. Although mostly technical, highlights of the budget amendments include:

Governor Cuomo Announces He Will Visit States That Have Legalized Cannabis Program

Earlier today, Governor Cuomo announced he will visit states that have legalized cannabis programs to learn more about their programs to help inform his efforts to pass similar legislation in the state budget this year. According to the press release, this builds on the regional cannabis regulation and vaping initiatives previously announced with Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts to establish a set of core principles on issues related to market regulation and empowerment; public health; public safety and enforcement; and vaping best practices.

Federal Grant Awarded to Strengthen Early Childhood in NYS

New York has been awarded a $40.2 million federal grant to coordinate and strengthen the State’s early childhood system. The Preschool Development Birth Through Five grant will help support and continue the progress made to enhance the early childhood workforce and expand access to high-quality early care and education programs by sharing best practices and engaging parents as leaders. Funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration of Children and Families will be administered by the New York State Council on Children and Families. 

Statewide Outreach and Education Campaign Regarding Plastic Ban Ban is Launched

Earlier this week, a statewide education and outreach campaign to ensure that New Yorkers are aware of the March 1 ban on single-use plastic bags was launched. The BYOBagNY campaign, spearheaded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, includes TV and radio advertisements, social media, Google Ads, and events hosted by Feeding New York State food banks across the state. 

Governor Releases Statement on the Grumman Plume

Earler this week, Governor Cuomo announced the following statement regarding the Grumman Plume:

“It’s outrageous that for decades the U.S. Navy and Northrup Grumman slow-walked the cleanup of the Navy-Grumman plume, even though they knew its toxic chemicals were contaminating water and potentially endangering residents. That’s why I directed DEC to develop a new, robust plan to fully contain the plume and stop it from spreading.

“Jobs and industry are obviously critically important, but we cannot sacrifice the health of our communities. This administration does not sit idly by and that’s why we initiated the full containment of the plume and we will work until the job is done. We will continue to prioritize actions across the state to hold U.S. Navy, Northrup Grumman and other polluters accountable and ensure the safe and protective cleanup of our industrial past.”

2020 Regional MWBE Opportunities Expo Series Announced

The 2020 Regional MWBE Opportunities Expo Series was announced earlier this week to connect Minority and Women-Owned Businesses and Enterprises with State agencies, expert resources and information on State projects, and tools to access State contracting opportunities. The series of four expos will kick off on Long Island on March 20, with Western New York, the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley regions also hosting informational events. 

2020 Regional MWBE Opportunities Expos Series:

  • Long Island, Friday, March 20, 2020, Farmingdale State College 
  • Southern Tier, Thursday, May 28, 2020, Binghamton University
  • Western New York, Thursday, June 18, 2020, University at Buffalo
  • Mohawk Valley, Thursday, August 6, 202, Mohawk Valley Community College

Governor Calls Special Election For April 28

The Governor issued a proclamation last week, calling for a special election to fill various vacant seats throughout the state. The special election will be held on April 28th, the same day as the upcoming presidential primary. Multiple vacancies will be addressed including the congressional seat vacated by Chris Collins, the State Senate seat vacated by Bob Antonacci upon his election as Judge, and the Assembly seats vacated by Andrew Raia, Michelle Titus, and Jamie Romeo, all having been elected or appointed to other positions. Combining the special election with the already scheduled presidential primary will save what would have been an additional cost to localities of holding a separate election. It will likely also help Democratic Party efforts in each race as turnout will be heavily skewed in their favor due to the presidential primary, though the special election will require voting on a separate ballot.   

Judge Temporarily Halts Broker Fee Rule

A Judge last week issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the state from enforcing a ban on the collection of broker fees from prospective tenants. Last week, guidance on 2019 rent laws issued by the Department of State disallowed real estate brokers from collecting a fee from a tenant for locating an apartment, if the broker was under contract from a landlord to rent an available unit. The broker can instead collect a fee from a landlord, if landlords continue to utilize brokers for such listings. The guidance clarified that broker fees are included in the prohibition on charging a prospective tenant more than $20 in fees when applying for an apartment. The lawsuit brought by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and other interested parties argued that the guidance issued by the Department of State was improper rulemaking,  devoid of logic, arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion. The TRO will halt implementation of the guidance until a decision on the merits is made.

Real Estate Board of New York President, James Whelan and New York State Association of Realtors President, Jennifer Stevenson said in a joint statement:

“The entry today by the Court in Albany of an order temporarily halting the implementation of New York State Department of State’s (DOS) interpretation of the Statewide Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act means that thousands of hardworking, honest real estate agents across New York State can do business in the same way they did prior to last week’s DOS memo without fear of discipline by the DOS. We look forward to ultimately resolving this matter in Court in the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, we appreciate all of our members’ support and vigilance during this period of upheaval and confusion.”

Governor Announces Second Round of Funding for Alliance for Economic Inclusion

Governor Cuomo announced that 39 projects will be funded through Round 2 of the $30 million Alliance for Economic Inclusion anti-poverty initiative in Central New York. Founded in 2017, the AEI is comprised of a group of 24 community leaders from the five counties of Central New York and work to address economic opportunities and challenges identified by the community. A complete list of the 39 chosen projects can be found here.

Governor Cuomo said:

“This administration has taken poverty head on and continues to make strategic investments across New York that are empowering our communities and creating economic opportunity. These projects will help remove barriers to success experienced by many of the most vulnerable New Yorkers and enable meaningful change, while continuing to build on the positive momentum that has Central New York rising.”

Political Updates

Senator Ortt officially drops out of congressional race.

Challenger to Assemblyman Stirpe announces run.

Town Supervisor running to replace Kolb.

Democrats select candidate to run in special election to replace Raia.

Republicans select candidate to run for Antonacci’s vacant seat.

Seven Republicans running to replace Assemblyman Finch, so far.

Senator Tedisco challenger announces candidacy.

22 year old announces run for Senator Carlucci’s seat.

Endorsements

The Conservative Party endorsed Lee Zeldin for re-election.

Updates, Reminders, and Links

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

City & State NY’s 2020 Philanthropy Power 50 here.

City & State NY’s 2020 Education Power 100 here.

Coming Up

The Senate will hold a public hearing on the idea of establishing a “civil service pipeline” statewide in which graduating students are trained for and recruited directly into public sector jobs on February 21.

**RESCHEDULED** The Legislative Commission on Rural Resources public hearing to examine the effectiveness of current flooding emergency and mitigation efforts, and to discuss the need for future assistance due to the increase in extreme weather events on February 25.

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on February 25th.

The Senate will hold a public hearing on issues related to homelessness, housing insecurity and affordable housing, and identify potential legislative remedies on February 28.

The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on March 2nd and 3rd.The Senate will hold a public hearing to solicit views of interested parties in the New York Voting Rights Act on March 3.

The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on March 19.