Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – July 3, 2019

What’s Inside

  • Governor Signs Westchester Sales Tax Increase
  • Governor Signs Gays and Trans Panic Defense Bill
  • Public Campaign Financing Commission Announced
  • Felder Officially Joins Senate Democratic Conference
  • Governor Calls on DFS to Investigate Facebook
  • Updates, Reminders, and Links
  • Coming Up

Governor Signs Westchester Sales Tax Increase

This week the Governor signed a bill that will increase the sales tax in Westchester County by one percent, lifting the total sales tax to 8.375 percent overall. The proposal, a request of Westchester County Executive George Latimer, will to prevent a property tax increase and the sale of a portion of parkland in order for the county to balance its budget. The additional tax, which will take effect on August 1, is projected to provide an additional $58 million in revenue to the county over the final five months of 2019. The authorization for the additional 1 percent sales tax will expire next year at the same time as other county and municipal tax authorizations, signaling that the measure is likely to be renewed on a continual two-year basis as other county and municipal tax authorizations currently are.

County Executive George Latimer said:

“We fought a long hard battle for parity with other cities in our own county, and today we are able to say property taxpayers will soon see some relief. This is a victory for municipalities and school districts in this county — today we all benefit.” 

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said:

“I know that the county was depending on the governor signing the bill so they can begin to collect the additional revenue and help them become financially sound. That is the hope.”

Governor Signs Gays and Trans Panic Defense Bill

On Sunday, the Governor signed a bill banning gay and trans panic as a legal defense. Under the statute as previously written, the law provided a blanket affirmative defense that may reduce the crime of murder when the defendant acts under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there is a reasonable explanation or excuse.

The bill signed this week by the Governor would expressly prohibit the use of such affirmative defense when the defendant’s actions resulted from the discovery, knowledge or disclosure of the victim’s sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression or sex assigned at birth. This is the only such limitation on the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance.

Governor Cuomo said:

“The gay and trans panic defense is essentially a codification of homophobia and transphobia, and it is repugnant to our values of equality and inclusion. This defense strategy isn’t just offensive – it also sends a dangerous message that violence toward LGBTQ people is somehow OK. It’s not, and today we’re sending this noxious legal tool to the dustbin of history where it belongs.”

Public Campaign Financing Commission Announced

This week, the members of the Public Campaign Financing Commission were announced. The commission was established in this year’s budget and will have binding power to create and implement a public financing system for legislative and statewide offices. The commission is tasked with determining specific aspects of the public financing system, including eligibility thresholds, public financing limits and contribution limits for participating candidates. The commission’s findings will be due in a report by December 1, 2019 and will be binding unless modified by law within 20 days.

The Governor has appointed:

  • Mylan Denerstein, a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Public Policy Practice Group. Ms. Denerstein previously served as Counsel to the Governor from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that she served as the Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs for the New York City Fire Department and as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
  • Jay Jacobs, current Chairman of the State Democratic Party and longtime Chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Party. Mr. Jacobs was first elected to the position of Nassau County Democratic Chairman in 2001, and served as the Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee from 2009 to 2012, returning to the post in 2019. He is also an at large member of the Democratic National Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has appointed:

  • DeNora Getachew, New York City Executive Director of Generation Citizen. Ms. Getachew was previously Campaign Manager and Legislative Counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program and Policy Director for the Public Advocate’s Office.
  • John Nonna, County Attorney for Westchester county and co-founder of the Democratic Lawyers Council. Mr. Nonna previously served as a Westchester County Legislator and as Mayor of Pleasantville.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has appointed:.

  • Rosanna Vargas, currently serving as associate law clerk to a NYC Civil Court Judge in Bronx County criminal court. Prior to that, Ms. Vargas served as the Bronx Democratic Commissioner and later as the President of the Board of Commissioners for the Board of Elections of the City of New York. Ms. Vargas also has commercial litigation experience representing clients in trials, mediations and arbitrations in state and federal courts.
  • Crystal Rodriguez, current chief of staff to Buffalo State College President Katherine S. Conway-Turner. Previously, Ms. Rodriguez was the chief diversity officer for the City of Buffalo where she developed the Opportunity Pledge to encourage diversity and provide opportunity to all in Buffalo, and made it easier for businesses to apply for New York State’s Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) certification. Prior to working for the City of Buffalo, she served as a law clerk in the New York State Unified Court System and worked as an adjunct professor at SUNY Buffalo.

At large seat jointly selected by the Governor, the Assembly Speaker and the Majority Leader:

  • Henry Berger, an election law attorney with more than 40 years of experience litigating issues in state and national elections. He is also a former Special Counsel for the City of New York.  

Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan has appointed:

  • David Previte, principal attorney at Hinman Straub, PC and former Chief Counsel to the New York State Senate Majority.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb has appointed:

  • Kimberly Galvin, Co-Counsel and Co-Director of the State Board of Elections’ Campaign Finance Compliance Unit. Ms. Galvin previously served as Chief of Staff and Counsel to the Republican Leader in the New York State Assembly.

Felder Officially Joins Senate Democratic Conference

It was announced this week that Senator Simcha Felder would be officially joining the Senate Democratic conference. Until this year, Felder had conferenced with Senate Republicans and has never been part of the Democratic conference. Early this year, the Democratic majority decided to move forward as a conference without him, but, left the door open to a future partnership.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said:

“At the start of this past session, I made clear that we wanted to begin with the 39 Senators who were committed to being members of our conference, but that we were open to growing if other Senators displayed a desire to advance our Democratic agenda. This year, Senator Felder joined our Senate Democratic Majority in support of many crucial issues, including the strongest tenant protections in history, the new Green Light law, voting reforms and legislation to prevent gun violence. Accordingly, we will move forward with 40 diverse and united members joined by a shared commitment to continue delivering progressive results for our state.”

Governor Calls on DFS to Investigate Facebook

This week, the Governor called on the Department of Financial Services to investigate reports that state-regulated advertisers are using Facebook’s advertising platform in an attempt to discriminate against protected classes. According to reports, Facebook’s advertising platform allows advertisers to modify or block ads using ZIP code information to exclude consumers based on race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability, among other classifications.

Governor Cuomo said:

“The allegations against Facebook advertisers are extremely troubling and fly in the face of everything that New York stands for. I am calling on the Department of Financial Services to investigate these claims and help ensure that New Yorkers seeking housing for themselves and their families are not discriminated against in any way. We will take aggressive action and ensure that those who are behind these reprehensible alleged practices are held fully accountable.”

Updates, Reminders, and Links

Watertown mayoral primary ends in a tie.

Ranked: the 30 fastest growing cities and villages in Upstate.

DEC opens Frontier Town, new Adirondack campground.

Another republican eyes Chris Collins’s congressional seat.

Coming Up

The Assembly Committees on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions and Consumer Affairs and Protection will hold a joint public hearing on robocalls, spoofing and nuisance calls on a date to be determined (Postponed – Date TBD).

The PSC will hold its next meeting on Thursday, July 11.

The Board of Regents will hold its next meeting on July 15th and 16th.

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, July 23.