Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – June 14, 2019

What’s Inside

  • Final Agreement on Rent Regulation
  • New York Repeals Religious Exemption for Vaccines
  • Siena College Research Institute Releases Poll
  • Court Strikes Down Legislature’s Outside Income Ban
  • Governor Announces Funds for Flooding Lake Ontario Communities
  • Gaming Commission Approves Sports Betting Regulations
  • Senate Majority Holds Fundraiser for Assemblyman Ryan
  • Updates, Reminders, and Links
  • Coming Up

Final Agreement on Rent Regulation

A final agreement was reached this week, just ahead of the expiration of the current rent laws. The deal is not exactly what was announced last week by the legislative leaders, though largely similar. The notable differences from last week’s announcement are as follows:

  • The final bill made these actions permanent;
  • “Good cause eviction” was dropped from the final bill;
  • The Major Capital Improvement (MCI) and Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) was not banned completely, rather it was scaled back in the following ways;
  • A reduction in the rent increase cap from 6% to 2% in New York City and from 15% to 2% in other counties.
  • Increases made under the major capital improvements program would expire after 30 years.
  • Spending on individual apartment improvements, up to three times in any 15 year period, will be subject to a $15,000 cap over that 15-year period and makes related increases expire after 30 years.
  • A new aspect of the deal places a cap on the amount a landlord can charge for security deposits, limiting it to the equal of one month’s rent;
  • A new statewide ban on “tenant blacklists” will be included, which will ban a landlord from avoiding tenants that have previously been involved in a court action or eviction proceeding;
  • New protections for mobile home tenants were included;
  • A new requirement that a landlord provides written notice of any planned rent increase upon renewal or their intention to not renew a lease was included.

The bill is expected to pass both houses of the legislature on Friday and the Governor has suggested he would sign the bill.

Statement from Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins:

“These reforms give New Yorkers the strongest tenant protections in history. For too long, power has been tilted in favor of landlords and these measures finally restore equity and extend protections to tenants across the state. These reforms will pass both legislative houses and we are hopeful that the Governor will sign them into law. It is the right thing to do.

“None of these historic new tenant protections would be possible without the fact that New York finally has a united Democratic legislature. Our appreciation also goes to the tenant advocacy groups and activists that fought so hard to make this possible.”

Statement from REBNY President John Banks:

“The legislation put forward last night will be a disaster for the City’s future. By eliminating vacancy bonuses, and all but eliminating MCIs and IAIs, the Governor and the Legislature are consigning hundreds of thousands of tenants to buildings that soon fall into disrepair. The manner in which the bill eliminates vacancy decontrol will have a significant adverse impact on the City’s production of new affordable housing. The end result will be that the City’s housing crisis will get worse, with higher vacancy rates, less affordable housing and little relief for those New Yorkers who need the most help paying the rent. The Governor and Legislature have a choice: they can work collaboratively to change the legislation and pass responsible reforms or pass the bill and worsen the City’s housing crisis.”

New York Repeals Religious Exemption for Vaccines

A controversial bill to repeal New York’s religious exemption for vaccinations was narrowly passed in both houses and signed into law by the Governor on Thursday. The bill is not controversial in the traditional sense, as polling shows wide support by all political parties and persuasions in the state, however, there was a vocal contingent that effectively opposed the repeal. The Governor had originally balked at the measure, citing constitutional first amendment concerns, but had since pressed the legislature to pass the bill in the interest of public health.

The bill almost did not make it to the floor in the Assembly as it was nearly defeated in the Health Committee by a tie vote. Ultimately, one member changed his vote to a yes – though clarifying that he would not vote yes on the floor – as he believed the entire body should vote on the measure. The bill passed the full body of the Assembly with 77 votes, one more than necessary. The measure passed the Senate with a slightly wider margin garnering 36 yes votes where 32 are needed for passage. The bill was delivered to the Governor immediately and was signed into law as chapter 35 of the laws of 2019.

Siena College Research Institute Releases Poll

Siena College Research Institute released a poll focused on end of session issues before the legislature and the typical favorability ratings for elected officials. Highlights of the poll include massive support for requiring vaccinations (84-14) and amending the constitution to include the Equal Rights Amendment (72-17). Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana enjoys majority support of those polled (55-40), enacting a government run single-payer health care system has majority support of those polled (51-40), and driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants remains unpopular with a majority opposed (41-53).

Governor Cuomo gets his best favorability rating in more than a year (52-42), though most do not believe he should run for a fourth term. Mayor de Blasio has a lower favorability rating than President Trump, those his unfavorable are not quite as high.

Court Strikes Down Outside Income Ban for Legislature

Late last week, a State Supreme Court Judge stuck down the limit on outside income for members of the legislature. Overall, the decision upheld part of the law enacted as a result of the recommendation of a pay commission established by the legislature to determine if the legislature should receive a pay raise. The bill establishing the commission stipulated that the recommendation of the commission would be binding unless the legislature acted by passing a different measure; ultimately the legislature never acted.

The commission recommended a pay raise for the legislature, executive, and agency commissioners phased in over a period of three years, the end of most stipends (known colloquially as lulus), and a limit on outside income for lawmakers. The petitioners argued that the commission acted outside of its mandate by recommending a ban on outside income and the court agreed. The changes enacted this year, which included part one of the legislative raises, raises for the executive and agency commissioners, as well as the end of most legislative stipends will remain law, however, future changes that have not taken effect yet were struck down

Governor Announces Funds for Flooding Lake Ontario Communities

Governor Cuomo hosted the first meeting of community leaders and the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative, or REDI, commission where he announced up to $300 million in funding available for communities impacted by Lake Ontario flooding. Local governments outlined their infrastructure and economic development priorities to state officials who will award funding to projects identified by the REDI commission. Local governments have until Labor Day to submit their projects for consideration. The Governor also announced the launch of a new website to help local leaders and members of the community experiencing flooding seek immediate help from the state. On the site, residents can obtain information ranging from how to request resources to lake level data to permitting and grant information. As the situation progresses, the site will be updated with additional resources that may be useful.

The Governor said:

“We have a major challenge ahead of us. This situation with Lake Ontario is not a once in a lifetime event, and the question is now not if it happens again, but when it happens again. The REDI Commission is going to be taking unprecedented action. It’s going to take total partnership. It’s going to take creativity. It’s going to take everyone working together. It’s going to take us pushing the envelope. It’s going to take significant resources. And I want you to know that in this unprecedented effort, the State of New York is behind the Lake Ontario communities and we’re going to commit up to $300 million to do the kind of resiliency and economic development work that we have to do.”

Gaming Commission Approves Sports Betting Regulations

Early this week, the Gaming Commission approved regulations for the licensing and operating of sports betting in New York. The rules approved have some limits, as players can only make bets in person at one of the state’s four commercial casinos, or at one of the seven full-service Indian nation-owned casinos. Bettors are also prohibited from placing wagers on New York college teams, or on collegiate events taking place within the state.

Though lawmakers are currently working on a bill that would expand sports betting to mobile devices, it is unclear if the measure will pass this year. It is also unclear whether or not the Governor will support mobile betting, having previously suggested a constitutional amendment would be required to enacted mobile sports betting.

Senate Majority Holds Fundraiser for Assemblyman Ryan

The Senate Majority is holding a fundraiser for Assemblyman Sean Ryan, a potential candidate for the Senate seat currently held by Senator Chris Jacobs, who has already declared interest in running for Congress. Ryan has not yet made a formal decision on whether or not to run for Senate.

Updates, Reminders, and Links

City & State NY’s Winners and Losers here.

City & State NY’s Staten Island Power 100 here.

Buffalo News: Another Voice: Climate Protection Act would lead to emissions increase.

NY Post: What Big Pot doesn’t want you to know.

City & State NY: Will Skoufis investigate Cuomo?

Coming Up

The PSC will hold its next meeting on June 13th.

The Assembly Committee on Social Services will hold a public hearing on public assistance requirements on June 17th.

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 June 25th.