Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – September 13, 2019

What’s Inside

  • Governor Announces Action Against Opioid Manufacturers
  • Governor Aims to Reduced Electronic Cigarette Use
  • Elijah’s Law Signed
  • Senate Holds Public Hearing on Criminal Justice Reform Implementation
  • Governor Announces Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force
  • Governor Issues Letter to MTA Board
  • Updates, Reminders, and Links
  • Coming Up

Governor Announces Action Against Opioid Manufacturers

Governor Cuomo, joined by the Commissioner of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), held a press conference to announce their intention to investigate and seek restitution of up to $2 billion from opioid drug manufacturers and distributors. The administration contends that New York consumers have overpaid an estimated $2 billion in insurance premiums over the past 10 years. This over-payment is due to the costs associated with opioid manufacturers misrepresenting the safety and efficacy of opioids – which in turn has resulted in the over-prescription of opioids, additional addiction treatment and treatment of other adverse health effects associated with opioid addiction. DFS will seek fines and restitution from the opioid industry as a result. DFS has issued subpoenas and other document requests to opioid manufacturers and distributors, New York State-licensed insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers. The department plans to hold public hearings across the state.

Governor Cuomo said:

“The opioid scandal, the opioid scheme, is as diabolical, as brazen, as obnoxious and as offensive as anything I have seen. They knew what they were doing. This was not accidental. It was purposeful and it was an industry wide conspiracy. The more evidence comes out, the clearer that is. It was the manufacturers of the product who knew exactly how addictive it was. It was the distributors. It was the retailers. In some cases literally primary care physicians were also involved.”

Governor Aims to Reduced Electronic Cigarette Use

This week the Governor signed into law a bill (S.301A/A.481A) that will expand the current school-based programs and marketing initiatives aimed at reducing tobacco use, to include electronic cigarette and liquid nicotine use. The bill also expands the mandate of the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Advisory Board to include making recommendations to the commissioner of the Department of Health regarding the prevention of electronic cigarette use among minors.

The Governor also signed Executive Order No. 196 which directs all State agencies, departments and public benefit organizations over which the Governor has executive authority to include vaping and e-cigarette prevention and cessation measures into their educational programs and employee trainings. The order also directs the state Department of Health to work with the State Education Department to immediately develop and deploy such measures for school districts to incorporate into their curriculums.  

Both measures come on the heels of a recent press conference where the Governor announced that he had directed the Department of Health to issue subpoenas to companies marketing and selling thickening agents used in black market vaping products and to issue emergency regulations mandating that warning signs must be posted in all vape and smoke shops in New York State. The Governor also said he would advance legislation to ban flavored electronic cigarette products. President Trump also announced that the FDA was in the process of making some “very strong recommendations” including a ban on flavored products.  

Governor Cuomo said:

“After raising the smoking age to 21 to protect young people from the costly and deadly addiction to nicotine, we are doubling down on our mission to protect the public health and keep our children safe from the dangers of e-cigarettes – which have unfortunately become common alternatives to regular cigarettes. We are united and determined in our goal to protect an entire generation of New Yorkers from these harmful products and will use every tool at our disposal to accomplish this.”

Elijah’s Law Signed

Governor Cuomo signed legislation (S.218B/A.6971B) requiring all child daycare programs in New York to follow guidelines for preventing and responding to food allergy anaphylaxis. The new law is named after 3-year-old Elijah Silvera from New York City who died due to anaphylaxis from a severe dairy allergy while at daycare. Anaphylactic policy for food allergies is already in place for New York school districts. The bill mandates that similar guidelines and procedures are followed by child daycare programs for the prevention of and emergency response to anaphylaxis. The guidelines will be developed by the New York State Department of Health Commissioner in consultation with pediatric physicians and allergy specialists and will include staff training courses, preventative measures to reduce children’s risk of exposure, and emergency response protocols. 

Bill Sponsor Senator Brian Benjamin said:

“Elijah Silvera was just three-years-old when he was fed a cheese sandwich at a daycare center that had been dutifully notified of his allergy to dairy. I was heartbroken when his family told me that he died of the resulting anaphylactic shock, and I promised to join Assembly Member Al Taylor in ensuring this did not happen to another child and family in New York. Thank you, Governor Cuomo, for signing this bill, which requires that there be a plan in place to prevent avoidable tragedies like Elijah’s.”

Senate Holds Public Hearing on Criminal Justice Reform Implementation

This week, the Senate Majority today held the first of two scheduled public hearings on the implementation of discovery reform legislation passed during the New York State Budget. Senator Jamaal Bailey, Chair of the New York Senate Codes Committee, chaired the hearing. Stakeholders provided input on the best ways to implement discovery and other pretrial reforms to accomplish the goals of the new legislation. District Attorneys from across the state suggested that additional funding would be needed in order to comply with the new 15 day deadline for sharing discovery set to take effect on January 1, 2020 and asked for a delay in implementation date.

Several defense attorneys and advocates for pre-trial discovery reform also attended the hearing and pushed back against prosecutors’ concerns. Sergio De La Pava, the legal director of New York County Defender Services, agreed that “reform without resources can be dangerous” but added that several other states have implemented similar discovery reforms without facing the issues prosecutors describe.

Another hearing on the same subject is scheduled for October 28th in Albany.

Governor Announces Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force

Governor Cuomo announced the new Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force, which will develop potential solutions and policies to address the lack of cell service in rural and remote parts of upstate New York. The task force, which the Governor originally proposed as part of the 2019 State of the State, will be administered by Empire State Development. The Task Force will review existing policies, potential constraints, and available resources and funding sources including federal support, to develop implementable recommendations for enhancing cellular coverage in unserved areas including the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Members of the task force include:

  • Barbara Rice, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
  • Jeffrey Nordhaus, Executive Vice President, Innovation and Broadband, Empire State Development
  • Thomas Congdon, Deputy Commissioner, New York State Public Service Commission
  • William Farber,Chair, Board of Supervisors, Hamilton County
  • Chris Fisher, Advisor and Former President, New York State Wireless Association
  • David Hopkins, Director, E911, Steuben County
  • Jeff Senterman, Executive Director, Catskill Center
  • Satya Sharma, Executive Director, CeWIT, SUNY Stony Brook
  • Michael Sprague, Director, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
  • Rick Weber, Deputy Director, Planning, New York State Adirondack Park Agency
  • Betty Little*, New York State Senator
  • Jen Metzger*, New York State Senator
  • Rachel May*, New York State Senator Senate
  • Aileen M. Gunther*, New York State Assembly Member
  • Billy Jones*, New York State Assembly Member
  • Angelo Santabarbara*, New York State Assembly Member
    * Ex officio member

Governor Issues Letter to MTA Board

This week, the Governor issued a letter to the MTA board outlining priorities for the capital plan.

Full text of the letter:

To: MTA Board of Directors,

The MTA has made quantifiable and undeniable progress over the past three years.  The path forward for the MTA has two tracks. Short-term progress will be achieved by institutionalizing the means and methods of the Subway Action Plan through expeditiously implementing the MTA’s Reorganization Plan and completing the commenced special initiatives. Longer-term improvements will be achieved when the Capital Plan is approved. The Capital Plan offers unprecedented opportunities as we have new dedicated revenues including those from the Congestion Pricing Plan legislation.

The short-term agenda requires an energized management capacity to complete the ambitious MTA Reorganization Plan’s new hirings, realignment, consolidation and special initiatives. The Train Speed and Safety Task Force, the Help for the Homeless Initiative, Fare Evasion and Worker Safety Task Force and the station and train intensive cleaning initiative, are top short-term management priorities to advance the New York City Transit Authority and Andy Byford’s progress. They must be fully completed on time. 

Major capital construction projects under MTA Capital Construction and Janno Lieber must be supported and rigorously executed. The L Train Tunnel redesign shows the potential for new approaches.

The new business integrity laws including “bad contractor” debarment, time and attendance systems and forensic audits must be in place.

As the Capital Plan requires approval by the legislative leaders and the Mayor of the City of New York, these legislative mandates must be completed for the benefit of the taxpayer and riders and so the MTA’s noncompliance does not become an issue in the approval of the Capital Plan.

The Capital Plan provides an historic opportunity in that new funding has been secured to support $25 billion in Capital Plan projects including from the State’s passage of Congestion Pricing in the Central Business District. The State Legislature and the Mayor of New York City have made their priorities clear in the bills they have passed and in public statements.

I want to advise you of my priorities for the Capital Plan before it is prepared and presented.

I believe it is essential that the Capital Plan achieve the following goals:

  1. The progress on making stations accessible for people with disabilities has not been acceptable. It is a legal and moral mandate that the MTA accelerate the number of stations made accessible and the timeframe in which accessibility is achieved.
  2. “Quality of Life” issues in the subway have deteriorated. The number of homeless, dangerously mentally ill, fare evaders, aggressive “pan handlers” and worker attacks has skyrocketed. Station redesign securing access to the tracks and worker safety is essential. Riders must be provided a safe environment and additional MTA police with proper equipment, training and facilities is essential.
  3. State of the art signal systems must be installed to speed up the trains and long-delayed construction projects such as East Side Access, Grand Central improvements, the Moynihan Farley Station, Long Island Rail Road improvements and Second Avenue Subway must be prioritized.
  4. The New York City outer boroughs and Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad must receive an equitable distribution of resources.
  5. New buses should be hybrid or electric and distributed throughout the City, and you must work with New York City to find ways to improve speed and service. New train cars must be procured without the multi-year delays in past contracts.

There is no doubt that the rigor and activism of the Subway Action Plan has achieved quantifiable progress. Performance is demonstrably improved. The management discipline and capacity must now be institutionalized through the Reorganization Plan and accompanying Task Forces and Special Initiatives.

An intelligent Capital Plan that can be approved by the Legislature and New York City Mayor in an expeditious fashion will secure and advance progress.

Sincerely,

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Updates, Reminders, and Links

City & State NY’s Winners and Losers here.

City & State NY: Will New York follow California’s lead on gig workers?

The Public Finance Commission held its first public hearing.

When will the state be mailing your STAR rebate check? Schedule here.

Coming Up

The Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction and Overdose Prevention will hold a public meeting to hear from stakeholders on strategies for reducing overdoses, improving individual and community health, and addressing the harmful consequences of drug use on September 16.

The Joint Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and Assembly Standing Committee on Local Governments public hearing on rural broadband will be held on September 17.

The PSC will hold its next meeting on Thursday, September 19.

A Joint Senate and Assembly public hearing on New York’s response to Federal Government shutdowns will be held on September 24.

The Senate Committee on Internet and Technology will hold a public hearing to hear from stakeholders within the “Gig Economy” – to identify the needs of workers and employers operating outside the traditional employee-employer dynamic and determine possible legislative avenues – including S.6538 – The Dependent Worker Act’s impact on the workforce on October 16.

The Senate Codes Committee will hold public hearings on Policing (S3695) on October 17 and October 24.

The Senate Committee on Higher Education will hold a series of public hearings regarding the cost of public higher education. The hearing will take place on October 24, October 28, October 30, and November 1.

The Senate Codes Committee will hold its second public hearing on discovery reform implementation on October 28.

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, October 29.

Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction and Overdose Prevention will hold a public hearing to hear from stakeholders on strategies for reducing overdoses, improving individual and community health, and addressing the harmful consequences of drug use on November 15.