Friday Morning Brief Feb. 9, 2024

Feb 8

Written By Michael Avella

Member Spotlight:

Assemblyman Steve Stern

Assemblymember Steve Stern joined us to discuss his district on Long Island and his legislative experiences in the Assembly. Prior to being an Assemblymember, he served six terms as Suffolk County Legislator representing the 16th District, where he was a champion for veterans, the local environment, education, and reducing gun violence. He currently chairs the Commission on Administrative Regulations Review and the Subcommittee on Renewable Energy.

What district do you represent? Can you describe it for those that have never been there? What do you like the most about your district?
I represent the 10th District, and it is the perfect example of suburban America. With beautiful natural resources, world-class beaches, New York’s greatest educators and schools, and within sight of the greatest city in the world, it provides a quality of life we all cherish.

What did you do before becoming a legislator?
I am an attorney by profession, and prior to coming to the NYS Assembly, I served six terms in the Suffolk County Legislature.

What made you want to be a legislator, and what is your favorite part of being a legislator?
From a young age, I was always interested in serving my community. While challenging, it is personally gratifying when a legislative initiative that I authored has a meaningful impact or when I can provide assistance to a constituent in need. I am grateful for the privilege to serve the community.

What kind of music do you like - any favorite bands/artists?
I went to college in New Orleans, where I majored in Mardi Gras, so I love the entire spectrum of the city’s music. The Neville Brothers, The Radiators, Dr. John, and the Soul Rebels are some of my all-time favorites.

How about sports - any favorite NY sports team and any favorite sports/activities to play?
I share the pain of my fellow Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Islanders fans. I played many sports growing up, but these days, I enjoy walking around the block with my dog.

Favorite foods? Any favorite places to eat in your district?
The Town of Huntington is well-known for the best dining on Long Island. From breakfast, lunch, and dinner to the late-night cigar, we have it all.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Enjoy the best beaches in the world right here on Long Island.

What are/is your greatest/proudest legislative achievement(s) throughout your career?
As Chairman of the Veterans’ Committee in the Suffolk County Legislature, I was proud to author and pass the “Housing Our Homeless Heroes Act,” which was our very aggressive effort to end the Veterans’ homeless crisis. Our successful efforts have since become a model across the country. Looking ahead, working with the Suffolk County District Attorney, we just introduced several legislative initiatives to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic that takes far too many of our loved ones way too soon. We’re also focused on increased funding for sewer infrastructure to protect the water we drink on Long Island. As always, my office takes great pride in being open, accessible, and responsive to the needs of our neighbors.

Are you a public official or staffer that would like to be featured in our spotlight? If so, reach out to your favorite D&A team member or contact us at team@dickinsonavella.com to set up an interview!

Annual Tin Cup Day

Known as “tin cup day,” this week mayors across the state came to the Joint Budget Hearing on Local/General Government to make their financial requests of the legislature. During NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ testimony, he stressed the financial implications of the asylum-seekers crisis on the city's budget, explaining that due to the federal government only committing $156 million toward the $10.6 billion cost of sheltering and providing services to asylum-seekers crisis, the state should pay for at least 50% of the total cost. “While we are deeply grateful for the $1 billion…and the $1.1 billion in the shelter costs proposed in the Governor’s Executive Budget, we are still shouldering the largest share of asylum-seeker costs,” Adams explained.

Adams also emphasized his support for extending mayoral control of schools to four years, which was included in Hochul’s Executive Budget. Adams touted that during his mayoral control of schools, graduation rates increased from 50% to 80% and accountability and transparency increased. “We can’t play with this and go backward,” Adams explained. However, Senator Robert Jackson expressed that mayoral control should not exceed Adams’ current term, while Assemblymember Hyndman said that the issue of mayoral control should be discussed after budget negotiations, which some lawmakers alluded to during last week’s Budget Hearing on Elementary & Secondary Education.

On affordable housing, Adams expressed his support for extending or replacing the expired 421-a tax incentive for developers. “We also need our state legislators to step up and deliver a plan that would change how we build from the ground up. That means incentives for affordable housing development, including a new version for the 421a program,” Adams explained. He also indicated his support for tenant protections. “I support a version of tenant protection,” Adams said.

Aside from Adams, mayors from Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers also testified, with a large focus on tying Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) Funding to inflation. AIM is a form of state aid that many cities rely on for the bulk of their budget. Albany Mayor Sheehan explained that AIM funding would be 32% higher if tied to inflation. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano also emphasized the need for the state to focus on local infrastructure, calling it “essential” for “quality of life and economy.”

On Monday, Governor Hochul announced that over $15 million was awarded to 19 projects through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The Regional Economic Development Councils, which are 10 Regional Councils consisting of local experts, business stakeholders, local government officials, and NGOs, that give awards to economic development projects in local municipalities on a rolling basis. So far, $8 billion has been awarded since 2011, creating 9,900 jobs and supporting community development projects that bolster each region’s economic strategy. The Regional Economic Development Council initiative is one of the strategies employed by the state to support local municipalities in increasing their economic development and job creation.

On Tuesday, Hochul released draft recommendations from the Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group which outlines enhanced safety standards for battery energy storage systems. The draft recommendations address how to mitigate potential fire safety hazards from battery energy storage and include proposed requirements related to peer review of project permit application packages, emergency response planning, and local fire department training. The draft recommendations help support the state’s existing battery storage systems to ensure that the state reaches its CLCPA goals of achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040 and economywide carbon-neutral neutrality by 2050. "The battery energy storage industry is enabling communities across New York to transition to a clean energy future, and it is critical that we have comprehensive safety standards in place,” Hochul explained.

Earlier this week, Hochul announced two initiatives to strengthen the educational workforce: the expansion of Education Career Development Ambassador Program and the third round of the Empire State Teacher Residency Program award. The Education Career Development Ambassador program was expanded and will provide four weeks of summer training for teachers, librarians, and counselors for grades 6-12. The $12 million third round of the Empire State Teacher Residency Program was awarded to the NYC Department of Education to support 400 aspiring teachers pursuing master’s degrees or certifications. $442,930 was also awarded to Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES to support 15 aspiring teachers. The awards are part of the larger $30 million initiative launched last year. These two educational initiatives aim to build upon Hochul’s 2024 State of the State to improve educational quality and workforce readiness through targeted workforce training and development initiatives.

On Wednesday, Hochul held a roundtable with the newly announced certified Pro-Housing Communities. The first Pro-Housing Communities included municipalities from Long Island, Mid-Hudson, Central New York, Western New York, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, North Country, and the Capital Region. Municipalities being certified as Pro-Housing Communities can receive up to $650 million in discretionary funding from the state. “These 20 communities — and more than 60 others who have started their applications — are taking a stand to build a better, more prosperous, and more affordable future for New York,” Hochul said. The Pro-Housing Communities initiative was first announced by Hochul last year as part of a series of executive actions to address the shortage of housing supply by financially incentivizing municipalities to build more housing.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Next week, the Legislature is scheduled to be in session Monday to Wednesday

Joint Legislative Budget Hearings next week:

Tuesday - Mental Hygiene
Wednesday - Taxes
Wednesday - Housing

Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus Will Push To Restore Medicaid QIP Funding

On Monday, members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus held a rally to restore $111 million for the Medicaid Quality Incentive Program that was cut from the proposed 2024 Executive Budget. The $111 million funding for the Medicaid Quality Incentive Program was first implemented in the 2021 Enacted Budget and increased to $189 million in the 2023 Enacted Budget. The program serves as a deferred payment program for health providers, closing gaps in care and improving access. The $111 million cut to the program is part of the proposed wider $1.2 billion Medicaid funding cut, and the opposition from the Caucus is the latest backlash against the proposed Medicaid cut. “Let’s look at the smart ways of saving Medicaid dollars and trying to wrap it back into the overall savings. I know that there’s been issues and concerns, but we have to talk about and support smart programs,” Caucus Chair Assemblymember Michelle Solages said.

Senate Pass Consumer Protection Legislative Package

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a package of bills aimed at addressing the affordability crisis in the state by further enhancing consumer protections. One notable bill in the legislative package includes the NYS Junk Fee Act, which would eliminate so-called junk fees and would require that mandatory fees be displayed with the total price of a good or service. “Junk fees often harm the most vulnerable communities, and by requiring transparent pricing, we would create a more equitable economy for all,” the bill Sponsor Mike Gianaris explained.

Other notable bills in the legislative package includes:

Toll Payer Protection Act: would establish a toll by mail program and improve the process for notifying drivers about tolls and fines incurred
E-ZPass Deposit Fees: would waive the deposit fee when purchasing a new E-ZPass for 60 days following a toll increase
Prohibiting Benefit Banking Services Fees: would prohibit banks from imposing any fees for use of state-issued electronic benefit transfer cards
Credit Card Service Charge Cap: would create a cap on the credit card service charge on a retail installment contract

Lawmakers Express Support for

Amending Recreational Cannabis Law

Earlier this week, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said that she is open to amending the 2021 Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act, which legalized recreational cannabis in the state. Peoples-Stokes explained that negotiations over recreational cannabis occurred “under the former Governor, and there are some pieces of it, quite honestly, that have his footprint on it that are not necessarily fitting for 2024.” Jeremy Cooney, the Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Cannabis agreed, explaining that he “is definitely open to any changes that solidify and more accurately reflect the MRTA’s original vision, including securing an equitable marketplace with a quicker timeline.” This comes after Hochul criticized the law fact that the rollout of legal dispensaries have been hampered by a string of lawsuits against the state’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries in addition to the growth of illegal cannabis dispensaries.

Lawmakers Rally to Make Eid Public Holidays

This week, various lawmakers joined a rally with advocates to urge the Legislature to establish Eid as public holidays in the state. Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are two important holidays for Muslims, with ul-Fitr celebrating the end of fasting in Ramadan and al-Adha celebrating families and the wider Muslim community. With more than 20% of all American Muslims living in NYC, many lawmakers are urging Eid to be official public holidays to celebrate diversity and ensure that Muslim students do not face academic repercussions. Robert Jackson, the Senate sponsor and the first Muslim elected to the Senate explained that recognizing Eid as public holidays “is celebrating diversity and inclusivity in our state.”

Senator Hoylman-Sigal Filed An Objection With Board of Elections To Remove Trump From Ballot

Following a vote by the state Board of Elections to keep Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot, Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal filed an objection with the board and promised further legal action if the board does not remove Trump. “We’re going to court,” Hoylman-Sigal said. In December, he, alongside Senators Liz Krueger, Gustavo Rivera, Tim Kennedy, and Shelley Mayer, sent a letter to the Board of Elections to remove Trump from the primary ballot, arguing that Trump was responsible for the January 6 Capital Riots and thus ineligible under the Insurrection Clause. Although the Board of Elections has four members, the Republican members are in charge of the Republican candidate’s eligibility for the primary ballot. They explained that they based their decision on eligibility rules on candidates’ campaign finances and their national prominence. Currently, there is a separate pending case in NYC over Trump’s eligibility to run for president. “The Fourteenth Amendment to the Consitution plainly disqualifies anyone who has ‘engaged in insurrection’ from holding office, including former President Trump,” the objection stated. This comes as the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in a case over Colorado removing Trump from their ballots under the Insurrection Clause.

PRIMARY UPDATES

Republican Yiatin Chu to Challenge Senator Toby Ann Stavisky

Earlier this week, Yiatin Chu filed to run against Senator Toby Ann Stavisky in this year’s general election. Chu, a Republican, is a co-founder of the conservative Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum Education in NYC, who have led the movement against the state’s class size mandates and removal of the Specialized High School Admissions Test. Regarding her reason for challenging Stavisky, Chu recalled a speech by former NYC Councilmember Charles Barron that made her “feel like I’ve done a lot of good work, but I’m ready to take the next step.” Stavisky’s campaign spokesperson explained that she has “earned the support of Queens families” in her 25 years of service and secured “record funding for public schools, strengthening common sense gun laws, empowering law enforcement to keep our communities safe and protecting women’s reproductive rights.” Some observers believe that Chu’s challenge may signify a competitive election in the future as the district has voted increasingly for Republicans in recent years.

Poll Suggests a Very Close Race Between Suozzi and Pilip

According to a recent poll, Tom Suozzi and Mazi Pilip are neck-and-neck in the final stretch of the bellwether special election to replace expelled former Rep. George Santos. In the poll with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2%, Suozzi had 48% support among all likely voters while Pilip had 44%. It is estimated that 7% of all likely voters are undecided. The race to replace Santos is of national significance to both the Democrats and the Republicans, with the Democrats hoping to chip away at the Republican House majority of 219 seats. Recently, both the GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rallied to support their respective candidates in the district. The official results of the special election are set to be released on Tuesday.

OTHER UPDATES

Judge Upholds Early Mail Voter Act

Earlier this week, a state Supreme Court judge upheld the state’s Early Mail Voter Act enacted last year. The lawsuit against implementing the early vote by mail system, led by the state GOP Party and Rep. Elise Stefanik, argued that it violated the state Constitution. However, Judge Christina Ryba in Albany wrote in her decision that the law did not violate the state Constitution, explaining that “The mere fact that the framers specifically authorized the Legislature to establish a different voting method for a specific category of voters does not necessarily signify their intent to restrict the Legislature’s power to establish alternative voting methods for other voters.” State GOP Chair Ed Cox expressed that he plans to appeal the decision, explaining that the state Constitution requires a constitutional amendment to expand absentee voting. "The Legislature acknowledged this fact when in 2021 it submitted an amendment for no-excuse absentee voting. The people overwhelmingly rejected that amendment,” Cox said.

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