Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – July 3, 2018

What’s Inside

Governor Announces Open FOIL NY
Congressional Primary Results
State Drops Plan for Tunnel Connecting Westchester and Long Island
State to Investigate Pregnancy Discrimination, Launches Education and Outreach Campaign
Governor Responds to Janus Decision
Governor Signs LaGuardia Rail Link Bill
Governor, Attorney General Announce Multistate Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Family Separation Policy
Governor Announces Health Care Protections for Transgender New Yorkers
State Requires Credit Reporting Agencies to Comply with Cybersecurity Requirements
Political Update
Coming Up

Governor Announces Open FOIL NY

Last week, Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo announced the launch of Open FOIL NY, “a new website that provides easy and unparalleled access to public records.” The new site “is a convenient and centralized online location to file Freedom of Information Law requests with 59 New York State agencies and public authorities.”

Gov. Cuomo said:

“Open FOIL NY is a giant leap forward, bringing the Freedom of Information Law into the 21st century. This initiative will build on the success of Open NY—expanding our award-winning platform to further enhance interaction between State government and the public.”

Congressional Primary Results

New York State held its federal primaries last Tuesday. The biggest surprise was the defeat of 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley who is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House and the chair of the Queens Democratic Party.

11^th Congressional District (Staten Island/Brooklyn)

Incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Donovan was able to fight off a tough challenge from his predecessor, Michael Grimm. Grimm had resigned his Staten Island seat in 2014 and pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion, serving seven months in prison.

Donovan will be favored in the November election.

14^th Congressional District (Queens/Bronx)

In an historic upset, first-time candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez easily defeated 10-term incumbent Joseph Crowley in the Democratic primary. Ocasio-Cortez, an activist and former organizer for Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, was outspent by more than 10 to 1.

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ocasio-Cortez gathered endorsements from liberal groups like MoveOn, Democracy for America, People for Bernie and gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon.

Crowley’s loss has left Democrats in Washington D.C. stunned, and the left wing of the Democratic Party emboldened in terms of taking “the party establishment.”

She will face Republican Anthony Pappas in the November general election, and is strongly favored to win in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.

19^th Congressional District (Hudson Valley/Catskills)

Attorney and first-time candidate Antonio Delgado won the race to challenge first-term Republican Rep. John Faso in this seat, where voters supported Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016. Delgado defeated six other candidates, gaining 22 percent of the vote.

This race is expected to be one of the most competitive in the nation. The district includes 141,000 registered Democrats, 138,000 Republicans and 115,000 independents.

21^st Congressional District (North Country)

Business management consultant Tedra Cobb won the Democratic primary; she will challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik in November.

The 21st CD includes 12 counties in northern New York, from Lake Ontario in the west to Lake Champlain in the east. Stefanick is strongly favored to win re-election.

24^th Congressional District (Central New York)

Dana Balter, a professor at Syracuse University, won the Democratic primary over Juanita Perez Williams in a race that turned into a battle of local Democrats and the national party. She will face two-term incumbent John Katko in November.

While Hillary Clinton won this district in 2016, as of this writing Katko is favored to win re-election.

25^th Congressional District (Rochester Area)

Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle won a four-way Democratic primary race. With 45 percent of the vote. This seat was held by late Congresswoman Louise Slaughter for more than three decades before she passed away in March.

Morelle will face Dr. Jim Maxwell in the November general election. The seat is considered a solid Democratic one.

State Drops Plan for Long Island Sound Tunnel

On Thursday, the Cuomo Administration abruptly dropped its plan to build a tunnel connecting Long Island with either Westchester County or Connecticut. A state study found that the tunnel would have cost between $31 billion and $55 billion to construct, and there appeared to be substantial local opposition to the proposal.

The state did not provide any reasons for abandoning the plan. In a statement, Paul Karas, the state’s acting transportation commissioner, said “After a careful review of a variety of considerations pertaining to the project, NYSDOT has decided not to move forward with it at this time.”

State to Investigate Pregnancy Discrimination, Launches Education and Outreach Campaign

On Wednesday, Gov. Cuomo announced that he has directed the state Division of Human Rights (DHR) to investigate allegations of pregnancy-related discrimination by several large companies following reports of widespread instances of pregnant women being passed over for promotions, demoted, denied reasonable accommodations, or fired in the workplace.

The state has also launched an education and outreach campaign for employees to know their rights and for employers to know their responsibilities to prevent unlawful pregnancy discrimination. The campaign includes subway ads and a website with information on state law, and the rights of employees and responsibilities of employers.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“New York leads the nation in advancing equal rights, and these actions will build on our proud record to help ensure women have equal opportunities to succeed in the workplace. Discrimination against those who are pregnant is illegal, and we will hold employers who violate the law fully accountable. As we continue to champion women’s rights and break down barriers to equality, this investigation and outreach campaign will help make New York a safer, stronger state for all.”

Governor Responds to Janus Decision

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Janus v. AFSCME, ruling that government workers who choose not to join unions may not be required to help pay for collective bargaining through “agency fees.”

Gov. Cuomo – emphasizing that New York “is a union state — responded to the decision in a newspaper editorial.

The Governor also issued an executive order that is intended to protect union members from harassment and intimidation. The executive order prohibits state entities from disclosing personal contact information for state employees in order to protect them from individuals or organizations harassing union members or prospective union members. The Governor also said that he will advance legislation to prohibit the disclosure of personal information for all public sector employees, including state and municipal employees.

Gov. Cuomo – emphasizing that New York “is a union state — responded to the decision in a newspaper editorial.

Governor Signs LaGuardia Rail Link Bill

Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced that he has signed a bill that will start the process of building a train to LaGuardia Airport by allowing the state to take public land for the rail project. The bill, which passed in the state legislature last week, creates a corridor north of the Grand Central Parkway that would allow the Port Authority to use eminent domain to take land over Flushing Bay Promenade or over the bay itself.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“The new LaGuardia Airport will provide an improved customer experience with better access to airlines and public transportation for all passengers – essential to the airport’s transformation. AirTrain LGA will set an example of comprehensive transit infrastructure for the rest of the nation, and will pay dividends for decades by connecting riders to transit hubs across the Metropolitan area, boosting passenger growth across all airlines, and providing a more efficient means of travel for generations to come.”

Governor, Attorney General Announce Multistate Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Family Separation Policy

Last Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo and Attorney General Underwood announced that a multistate lawsuit has been filed by a coalition of 18 Attorneys General challenging the Trump Administration’s policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“The federal government’s horrendous treatment of immigrant families arriving at our border is unconstitutional and in direct opposition to everything this state and this nation stand for. In New York, we will challenge this policy every step of the way. It’s time for this country to look in the mirror and remember who we are and what we are about. We must protect immigrant children and defend our principles, our rights, and our basic humanity.”

State Requires Credit Reporting Agencies to Comply with Cybersecurity Requirements

Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced that the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued a final regulation “to protect New Yorkers from the threat of data breaches at credit reporting agencies.”

The new regulation requires credit reporting agencies with significant operations in New York to register with DFS and to comply with New York’s first-in-the-nation cybersecurity standard. The new rule also authorizes DFS to deny, suspend or revoke a consumer credit reporting agency’s authorization to do business with New York’s regulated financial institutions and consumers if the agency is found to be out of compliance with certain prohibited practices, including engaging in unfair, deceptive or predatory practices.

Gov. Cuomo said:

“As the federal government weakens consumer protections, New York is strengthening them with these new standards. Oversight of credit reporting agencies ensures that the personal private information of New Yorkers is less vulnerable to the threat of cyber-attacks, providing them with peace of mind about their financial future.”

Political Update

Miner Chooses Village of Pelham Mayor as Running Mate

Former Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner, who is running for governor on a newly-created ballot line, has chosen a Republican mayor from Westchester County as her running mate.

Miner announced that Village of Pelham mayor Michael Volpe will join her nonpartisan ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor with Serve America Movement, a new political party.

Volpe, a labor lawyer, has been mayor of Pelham since 2015. He is a partner at the firm Venable, where he heads the nationwide labor and employment practice group.

CSEA Endorses Cuomo for Re-Election

Last week, the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) announced that it has endorsed Gov. Cuomo for a third term. The group did not endorse the Governor in 2010 or 2014, and the group’s leader had harsh words for the Governor in 2014.

The Governor’s relationship with the state’s public employee unions have significantly improved since 2014 as the Governor has adopted more union-friendly positions on a host of issues.

Winners & Losers

The Daily News picks the winners and losers from the 2018 legislative session.

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

With the 2018 legislative session complete, lawmakers are not scheduled to return to Albany until next January.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) holds its next meeting on June 26.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) holds its next meeting on July 12.

The state Board of Regents holds its next meeting on July 16 and 17.

The state Board of Elections holds its next meeting on August 8.