Friday Morning Brief March 31, 2023

Mar 31

2024 Budget in the "Middle of the Middle"

The Budget is due tonight by midnight. It remains to be seen if the Legislature and Hochul meet to agree to a final Budget by tonight, with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins saying the current budget process is in "the middle of the middle." Lawmakers and Hochul have been debating over various issues, with discussions over bail reforms being the focal point. Hochul seeks to remove the "least restrictive standards" in the current bail laws while the Legislature omitted the language in their respective One-House Budgets.

Hochul admitted yesterday in the state's Public Radio interview that "it's becoming clear that the budget will not be meeting the April 1 deadline." However, she iterated that "it's not about a race to the deadline, it's about a race to getting the right results." To listen to the interview, click here.

If the Budget misses tonight's deadline, Stewart-Cousins said on Thursday that an extender would be passed to ensure the government keeps running. The deadline for the extender is April 3 to ensure that paychecks can be sent to state workers on time. For now, Speaker Carl Heastie and Stewart Cousins are not planning to send lawmakers back home for the weekend. "I expect the Assembly members to be here," said Heastie.

EXECUTIVE UPDATES

Last week Friday, Hochul nominated Dr. James V. McDonald, to serve as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health. Dr. James V. McDonald, originally from Cohoes, served as the medical director of the Department's Office of Public Health in July 2022. He was later appointed Interim Director of the Center for Community Health and began serving as Acting Commissioner of Health on January 1 of this year. "Dr. James V. McDonald is a talented public health leader with the skills and experience necessary to lead our Department of Health. I am proud to nominate him to this critical role, and I look forward to working closely with him to protect the health of all New Yorkers," Hochul said.

Hochul introduced a bill on Monday that could speed up the nomination of the next chief judge. The bill would forgo the Commission on Judicial Nomination's application and vetting process if an associate judge is chosen as the next Chief Judge, allowing Hochul to pick from the remaining finalists to fill any vacancy. "Amending this law will prevent the Court of Appeals from unnecessarily operating for an extended period of time without a full bench, which results in split decisions and delays in the important work of the court," the bill states. Currently, the list of nominees to be the next state's chief judge includes three associate judges. The Senate version of the bill was passed yesterday 39-23.

Hochul announced on Monday the opening of the state's first woman-owned CAURD in Queens. Good Grades, located at 162-03 Jamaica Avenue, Queens, is supported by State's Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund. "New York is working to support entrepreneurs and ensure that consumers can purchase safe, legal products while supporting their communities," said Hochul. Good Grades first opened for public sales at 2 PM on Thursday.

In response to the horrific white supremacist attack in Buffalo on May 14, 2022, Hochul announced $2.5 million in funding for additional services provided to Buffalo United Resiliency Center and partnered with the Buffalo United Resiliency Center. Buffalo United Resiliency Center would increase staffing and ensure it has the operational and administrative support needed to serve victims and survivors.

With the 2023 MLB season starting, Hochul announced yesterday a new tourism partnership between I LOVE NY, NY Yankees, and NY Mets. I LOVE NY branded signage will appear in Yankee Stadium and Citi Field this season and will be visible during game broadcasts on television. "As the Bronx Bombers and the Amazin' Mets take the field this season, we are proud to work hand in glove with New York's major league teams and help fans take in our state's baseball history, heritage and culture," said Hochul.

LEGISLATIVE/BUDGET UPDATES

Although debates over bail reforms and public safety has been focal points in this year's Budget debate, other issues has also been debated by lawmakers. Other issues includes:

Affordable Housing
Zoning
Environment
MTA Funding
Education
SUNYs & CUNYs funding
Universal Free School Meals
Electrification of School Buses
“Coverage for All”
Film Tax Credit
Cap-and-Invest
MSG Tax Breaks
Charter Schools
Mental Health
Election Infrastructure

Worker Death Benefits for Firefighters Advances the Senate

On Thursday, the Senate advanced a bill enabling firefighters to attain death benefits if filed within 90 days. This bill seeks to alleviate the delays for firefighters' death benefits, adding to the existing Volunteer Ambulance Workers' Benefit Law (VAWBL), and would ensure that firefighters would get their death benefits in a timely manner. The bill was passed unanimously.

Senate Advances the Expansion of Telehealth

The Senate removed a sunset clause for telehealth reimbursement parity this week to expand healthcare services. Under the bill, guidelines were established for reimbursement rates for certain healthcare services making telehealth services entitled to reimbursement at parity to reimbursement given for in-person services. The bill was passed 61-1.

Maternal Mental Health Workgroup Passed the Senate

As Women's History Month comes to a close this week, the Senate passed a bill that would establish a maternal mental health workgroup in the Office of Mental Health. The new maternal mental health workgroup would study and provide recommendations on alleviating the negative impacts of maternal mental health disorders on women, children, and families. The bill was passed unanimously.

Senate Solar Energy Tax Credits Passed

This week, the bill authorizing personal income tax credit for installing residential solar energy systems was passed in the Senate. The bill will enable solar tax credits for one residence per homeowner. Solar tax credits are also applicable for those with multiple homes if it’s not the primary residence. The tax credits will be in effect on the following first of January. The bill was passed unanimously.

OTHER UPDATES

D&A’s Katie Neer was recently featured in Cannabis Insider’s “N.Y.’s women in cannabis” series to talk about the power of collaboration and women in the cannabis industry! Currently, women are vastly underrepresented in the cannabis industry, with the share of women in executive positions dropping to 23% from 37% between 2019 and 2022.

She served as chair of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, where she gained a specialized understanding of the challenges facing cannabis operators. Afterwards, she became the vice president of industry affairs at Lantern, an e-commerce marketplace that facilitates cannabis home delivery and provided runs incubators for social equity businesses in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Colorado. She was heavily engaged in advocating for the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which promoted women-owned businesses as a vital component of the state’s cannabis social and economic equity plan.

To read the full feature by Cannabis Insider on Katie Neer and her take on women in the cannabis industry, click here.

Manhattan Grand Jury Indict Donald Trump

On Thursday, Donald Trump became the first ex-president to be charged with a crime after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him. The indictment is still unknown to the public, but the Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, was investigating Trump's hush money payment to Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The indictment will be publicly announced in the coming days, with its charges against the former President. Trump's attorneys released a statement reiterating that Trump did not commit any crimes and would "vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court."

NY Congressional Members Pressures Hochul on Build Public Renewables Act

Nine NY Congressional members wrote a public letter, led by Representative Jamaal Bowman, to pressure Governor Hochul to fall in line with the Legislature to support the Build Public Renewables Act. The bill would allow NYPA to build, own, and operate renewable energy generation. “…we strongly encourage you to consider amending your budget proposal to incorporate certain elements of the New York Build Public Renewables Act, recently passed by the state Senate and included in its own budget proposal…” the letter says. Nine Congressional members that signed the letter were Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Yvette Clarke, Grace Meng, Adriano Espaillat, Daniel Goldman, Nydia Velázquez, Patrick Ryan, and Jamaal Bowman.

Democrats Challenge in Court Over Congressional Restricting

Democrats file a lawsuit to revive a case surrounding redrawing state congressional districts before the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Albany. Current districts, which remain in place for the next decade, were drawn up by the court after a series of court rulings scrapped the districts drawn up by Democratic lawmakers. The case is scheduled to be argued in May.

Eric Adams Launch the Phase One of MyCIty Portal

Mayor Adams unveiled the first phase of MyCity Portal for NYers on Wednesday. MyCity Portal would enable NYers to shop for city services and benefits, increasing NYers’ accessibility to apply and check eligibility for services and benefits. MyCity Portal would be user-friendly, allowing closer collaboration between various city agencies. “The newly launched MyCity online portal will allow New Yorkers to go online, easily search, apply for, and track city services and benefits right from their smartphones or computers,” said Adams. Phase two of MyCity Portal is set to launch later this year. To visit MyCity Portal, click here.

Mayor Adams Urges Hochul for the Expansion of EP for Undocumented Migrants

Mayor Adams sent a letter to Hochul this week urging her to support the expansion of Essential Plan to include undocumented adults between the ages of 19 – 64 in the state, totaling up to 245,000 individuals. The letter explains that providing Essential Plan to undocumented adults would lower costs as they move away from Medicaid and safety-net providers. "Expanding EP eligibility to undocumented adults is an imperative of both moral and economic consequence," Adams wrote to Hochul. This comes as lawmakers push to include it in the final Budget.

Court Allows Facial Recognition in Madison Square Garden

Appeals Court ruled on Tuesday that James Dolan’s venues, such as Madison Square Garden, could ban attorneys from entering if they are suing Dolan’s company. The preliminary injunction has been lifted but ruled that Dolan must provide monetary compensation to the banned attorneys, making MSG liable to $500 compensation per ticket. This ruling comes as the controversy around facial recognition sparked outrage amongst lawmakers in Albany and NYC since Dolan utilized facial recognition technology to ban attorneys. Besides proposed legislations to ban facial recognition in venues, the question of MSG tax breaks in the final Budget also lingers with the recently released report from the Independent Budget Office.

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