Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – June 14, 2019

What’s Inside

  • Final Week of Session in Review
  • Senate and Assembly Spending Resolutions
  • Nominations
  • Updates, Reminders, and Links
  • Coming Up

Final Week of Session in Review

Agenda Items Passed Both Houses

  • Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act – This bill was the result of three way negotiations between the Executive, Assembly, and Senate and was passed with a message of necessity from the Governor. Once signed, this law will establish a commission tasked with identifying a scoping plan to achieve a reduction of statewide greenhouse gas emissions by eighty-five percent by 2050 and net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy. The bill also establishes a renewable energy program designed to achieve a minimum of 70 percent of statewide electric generation be secured by renewable energy systems by 2030 and zero emissions from the statewide electrical demand system in 2040.
  • Marijuana Decriminalization – This bill, if signed into law, will decriminalize the possession of marijuana. Current law sets marijuana possession fines starting at $100, rising to $250 or 15 days in jail if the person has multiple drug convictions. The new agreement reduces the fine to $50 and makes it a violation, instead of a criminal misdemeanor, if caught possessing more than one ounce of the drug. The bill will also allow for the sealing of records and the expungement of prior convictions.
  •  SHIELD Act, Attorney General’s Program Bill – This bill, if signed into law, will expand the scope of information subject to the current data breach notification law and broaden the definition of a data breach. It would apply the notification requirement to any person or entity with private information of a New York resident, not just to those that conduct business in New York State. It also updates the notification procedures companies and state entities must follow when there has been a breach of private information.
  • MWBE Program Extension and Expansion – This bill, the result of three way negotiations, will extend the MWBE program until 2024 and would expand upon those provisions based upon the findings of the 2016 Disparity Study. Notably, the bill provides that – for bids in the amount of $1.4 million or less, adjusted annually for inflation – the bid of the minority or women-owned business enterprise shall be deemed the lowest bid unless it exceeds the bid of the lowest bidder by more than ten percent. The bill also Increases the personal net worth limit for qualification from $3.5 million to $15 million and provides the Director the authority to set the personal net worth (“PNW”) requirement for MWBE certification via regulation. 
  • Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act – This bill was passed by both houses and signed into law by the Governor (Chapter 37 of 2019) on Monday night. This new law will allow for documents issued by foreign governments to be accepted as valid identification for the purpose of issuing driver’s licenses. The law also restricts the release of any records to federal agencies primarily charged with enforcement of immigration law, as well as, the disclosure of any personal information obtained from any application for a license or the underlying documents submitted with the application.
  • Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act – This bill is the result of a three way negotiation. Once signed into law, farm laborers will be provided the right to unionize and to have at least one day off per week. The bill requires farmers to provide overtime pay to laborers who work more than 60 hours in a week, but sets a path to reduce that threshold to 40 hours in future years based on the determinations of a wage board. Workers also would be eligible for unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation benefits. 
  • Ban on the Gay and Trans Panic Legal Defense – Another bill with three way agreement will clarify that the discovery of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity cannot be raised as an affirmative defense for murder to reduce the defendant’s culpability. 
  • Expansion of Statutes of Limitations on Rape in the Second and Third Degrees – This bill is the result of agreement between the Executive and the Legislature and expands the statute of limitations for rape. Currently, prosecution for rape in the second or third degree must start within five years of the offense, with limited exceptions. This legislation would extend this statute of limitation to 20 years for rape in the second degree and 10 years for rape in the third degree. Additionally, this bill would increase the time period for a victim to bring a civil suit for such conduct to 20 years. 
  • Workplace Harassment Protections – This bill, if signed into law, would provide a wide range of protections for employees from workplace harassment. Notably the bill would:
  • Extend protections for non-employees in the workplace to all protected classes;
  • Allow courts to award attorney’s fees on all claims of employment discrimination, and allow for punitive damages in employment discrimination cases against private employers;
  • Provide that the Human Rights Law is to be construed liberally for remedial purposes, regardless of how federal laws have been construed;
  • Prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses for discrimination claims;
  • Prohibit non-disclosure agreements in any settlement for a claim of discrimination, unless it’s the complainant’s preference;
  • Require that employees be notified that non-disclosure agreements in employment contracts cannot prevent them from talking to the police, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the State Division of Human Rights or a similar local entity, or a lawyer;
  • Require any term or condition in a non-disclosure agreement be provided in writing to all parties, in plain English and the primary language of the complainant;
  • Extend the statute of limitations to file a sexual harassment complaint with the Division of Human Rights from one year to three years. 
  • Capital Appropriation/Big Little Ugly – The legislature and Governor also agreed to a capital appropriation which can be found here and a omnibus bill which was mainly a clean up bill which can be found here. 

Agenda Items Left Undone: 

  • Recreational Marijuana – The legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana, long speculated to be part of a potential end of session agreement, ran into opposition in the legislature and an agreement was not reached. As a result, the Legislature moved forward with marijuana decriminalization. 
  • Prevailing Wage – Another issue that never came to fruition was a deal on prevailing wage. The issue was resurrected several times after declared dead. Ultimately, an agreement could not be reached. 
  • Automatic Voter Registration – A deal on automatic voter registration was actually reached, however, a loophole created by another bill passed and signed by the Governor which provides driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants created a situation where this legislation would have automatically registered non-citizens to vote. The Legislature vowed to take up the measure next year when time would allow them to fix the issue.
  • Child-Parent Security Act- Legalize Gestational Surrogacy – This bill would have lifted the ban on compensated gestational surrogacy in New York. The Senate passed the measure, however, concerns were raised in the Assembly were it was not taken up.

Senate and Assembly Spending Resolutions

Both the Senate and Assembly released the following bullet aid resolutions, itemizing grantees for certain appropriations for the 2019-20 state fiscal year:

  • Senate R2139 School districts, public libraries, and not-for-profit institutions
  • Senate R2141 Drug, violence, and crime control and prevention programs
  • Senate R2144 New York State economic development assistance program
  • Assembly E632 School districts, public libraries and not-for-profit institutions

Nominations

This week, various Senate committees worked through a long list of nominations sent by the Governor to fill a number of vacancies or to remove the status of acting commissioner and officially assume the position. Overall this week, the Senate moved – through committee and on to the Senate floor for confirmation – 86 individuals nominated by the Governor. A complete list of those confirmed are as follows:

New York State Urban Development Corporation 

Howard Zemsky, Director

Office of Children and Family Services

Sheila J. Poole, Commissioner

Public Service Commission 

Tracey A. Edwards, Commissioner

John B. Howard, Member

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services 

Patrick A. Murphy, Commissioner

Department of Transportation

Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner

State University of New York

Caryl M. Stern, Trustee

Public Health and Health Planning Council

John D. Bennett, Jr., MD, Member

Peter G. Robinson, Member

Mario R. Ortiz, PhD, Member

Ann F. Monroe, Member

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board

Robert F. Mujica, Member

Linda Lacewell, Member

Robert W. Linn, Member

Andrew Albert, Member

Randolph Glucksman, Member

Judicial Nominations

Catherine Leahy-Scott, Court of Claims 

Hon. M. William Boller, Court of Claims 

Hon. Sanford Berland, Court of Claims 

Hon. John Higgitt, Court of Claims 

Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, Court of Claims 

Hon. Guy Mangano, Jr., Court of Claims

Hon. Stephen Mignano, Court of Claims 

Hon. April Anne Newbauer, Court of Claims 

Hon. Joseph Risi, Court of Claims 

Maureen T. Liccione, Court of Claims 

Hon. Martin Marcus, Interim Supreme Court of the Second Circuit 

Hon. Ruth Pickholz, Interim Supreme Court of the Tenth Circuit 

Hon. Robert Onofry, Interim Supreme Court of the Eleventh Circuit 

Hon. Barbara Panepinto, Interim Supreme Court of the Eleventh Circuit 

Administrative Review Board of Professional Medical Conduct

Steven V. Grabiec, MD, Member

Jill M. Rabin, MD, Member

State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council 

Joseph J. Toomey, Member

Robert Hughes, Member

Workers’ Comp Board 

Arelis Tavares, Commissioner

Martin M. Dilan, Member

Pamela Caggianelli, Member

State Liquor Authority

Vincent Bradley, Jr., Chair

Lily M. Fan, Commissioner

Greeley T. Ford, Commissioner

State Board of Parole 

Carlton S. Mitchell, Member

Sheila Y. Samuels, Member

Richard Kratzenberg, Member

Chanwoo Lee, Member

Michael S. Corley, Member

Elsie Segarra, Member

Board of Directors Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation 

Jeffrey R. Escobar, Member

Conway S. Ekpo, Member

David E. Kapell, Member 

State Insurance Fund 

Sean A. Graham, Member

Bhakti Mirchandani, Member

Kenneth R. Theobalds, Member

SUNY College Environmental Science and Forestry

William P. Fisher, Member

Linda Brown-Robinson, Member

Matthew J. Marko, Member

Steven Richard Fedrizzi, Member

John K. Bartow Jr., Member

John K. Bartow, Jr., Member

Board of Visitors

Alicia Cloonan, Member, Board of Visitors of the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center 

Lisa Leib, Member, Board of Visitors of the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center 

Anna Jean Brigham, Member, Board of Visitors of the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center 

Vernon Jordan, Member, Board of Visitors of the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center 

Dhanu Sannesy, Member, Board of Visitors, Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center 

Patricia Pangburn. Member, Board of Visitors of the Capital District Psychiatric Center 

Randall Lambrecht, Member, Board of Visitors for the NYS Home for Veterans and their dependents at Oxford 

Albert S. Prohaska, Member, Board of Visitors of Greater Binghamton Health Center 

Roger A. Benn, Member, Board of Visitors of Central New York Developmental Disabilities Services Office 

Diane Carbonaro, Member, Board of Visitors of Staten Island 

Parks and Recreation Commissions

David Okorn, Member, Long Island State Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission

Keith M. Corbett, Member Long Island State Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission

Joseph P. Trusso, Member, Allegany State Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission 

Interstate Environmental Commission 

Jeffrey A. Myers, Commissioner

Philip M. De Gaetano, Commissioner

Industrial Board of Appeals 

Najah A. Farley, Member

Patricia Kakalec, Member

Transportation Authorities

Heather C. Briccetti, Member, NYS Thruway Authority

James Bensley, Member, Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority 

Patrick M. Lance, Member, Capital District Transportation Authority 

Ranjit S. Dighe, Member, Port of Oswego Authority 

Constance Cosemento, Member, Port of Oswego Authority 

Sheila S. Peo, Member, Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority

Stella M. Barbara, Member, Republic Airport Commission

State Council on the Arts 

Hildy Kuryk-Bernstein, Member

State Camp Safety Advisory Council 

Dawn Ewing, Member

State Board for Historic Preservation 

Carol Clark, Member

New York Convention Center Operating Corporation 

Gary Lavine, Member

Updates, Reminders, and Links

City & State NY’s Winners and Losers here.

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 (originally schedule for June 17th but postponed).

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, June 25.

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.