Friday Morning Brief April 7, 2023

Apr 6

2024 Budget Negotiations Continue

With the Budget’s due date of April 1st in the rearview, the second deadline of April 10th looms over the Legislature and Governor Hochul. This week, negotiations regarding bail reforms have been a significant point of debate between Hochul, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Carl Heastie.

“Right now, bail is now taking up pretty much all of the oxygen in the room, and everything else is second,” said Heastie. Hochul seeks to remove the “least restrictive” standard from bail while the Legislature aims to keep the status quo, with no agreement. Besides bail, discussion over housing has also occurred in which Hochul seeks to build new affordable housing by fast-tracking qualified projects. Other issues like charter schools, minimum wage, taxes and healthcare remain to be discussed.

With the ongoing impasse, Hochul did not rule out a second budget extender if an agreement does not occur before Monday (the date at which a new “extender” would be needed). “It’s more important to get it right, and I’m committed to getting it right,” explained Hochul on Wednesday. Yesterday, the Senate GOP requested a second budget extender by today for review before the Legislature returns on Monday.

To read Hochul's statement on the ongoing Budget negotiations click here.

EXECUTIVE UPDATES

Last Friday, Hochul announced the public launch of a new state pharmacy benefit program with a stated goal of improving drug access and coverage for eight million Medicaid recipients. Per the gov, NYRx will enable Medicaid recipients to access more prescription medications at more than 5,000 pharmacies and reduce confusion over the brand-name and generic drugs covered by the program. The program would also be the biggest pharmacy network in the state. The state also provides $705 million in Medicaid funding, which would go directly to 340b providers. “In addition to expanding coverage and access through this program, we are also committing hundreds of millions of additional Medicaid dollars to reinvest in critical providers,” said Hochul.

Hochul announced the expansion of CUNY Apprenticeship Programs on Monday. The $2 million investment would add 12 apprenticeship programs to CUNY, starting in the Fall 2023 semester. The latest investment builds on the five apprenticeship programs embedded within CUNY associate degree programs in software engineering, consulting, finance, risk management, and cybersecurity. The program will be launched at all 10 CUNY colleges and 7 CUNY community colleges. "Apprenticeships are a critical launching pad for good-paying, impactful careers, and we're proud to build a robust program for CUNY students," Hochul said.

Hochu announced a $70 million investment towards critical water infrastructure projects. The $70 million investment enables the Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors to approve low-cost financing and grants to authorize access to capital for municipalities. Low-cost, long-term funding for five completed projects has also been approved, which would provide debt relief through lower interest rates than if the municipalities borrowed on their own. Grants and state financing are hoped to encourage water infrastructure investments from local communities.

On Tuesday night, Hochul directed 13 state landmarks to be illuminated in blue in coordination with the proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. “As we begin Child Abuse Prevention Month, we are reminded that we all must do our part to keep New York’s children safe. By working together and investing in upstream prevention programs, we can ensure children in our state will reach their full potential,” said Hochul. The landmarks are:

One World Trade Center
Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
Kosciuszko Bridge
The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
State Education Building
Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
Empire State Plaza
State Fairgrounds - Main Gate & Expo Center
Niagara Falls
Albany International Airport Gateway
MTA LIRR - East End Gateway at Penn Station
Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
Moynihan Train Hall

LEGISLATIVE/BUDGET UPDATES

The 3-way Budget negotiations continue between both chambers of the Legislature and Hochul continues. Lawmakers will meet again on Monday, the deadline for the 1st Extender, for a Session to vote on the 2nd Budget Extender if the Budget fails to pass before the deadline.

Debate over Climate Action in the Budget

Governor Hochul, NYSERDA President & CEO Doreen Harris, and NYSDEC Commissioner Basil Seggos indicated that the proposal to change how methane emissions are measured had been dropped and would prioritize Cap-and-Invest, instead. The proposal would have to use the 100-year standard instead of the currently used 20-year standard. With the proposal dropped, “it’s full steam ahead for Cap-and-Invest with the climate action rebate,” said Seggos on Wednesday.

Local Politicians Urges Hochul to Expand Undocumented Immigrant Healthcare Coverage

Earlier this week, Representative Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to Hochul urging her to expand public health coverage to undocumented immigrants in the Budget. Hochul has received similar letters from City Comptroller Brad Lander and other local politicians, including Mayor Adams. Currently, the proposal has been omitted from the Budget proposed by Hochul, while both the Senate and Assembly included it in their respective One-House Budgets. “We believe that health care is a human right, regardless of immigration status,” AOC and Nadler wrote.

Lawmakers Visited Riker's Island

Yesterday, eight lawmakers from NYC visited Rikers’ Island in NYC to urge other lawmakers to not accept Hochul's bail reform in the 2024 Budget. This comes as leaders of both chambers of the legislature negotiate over the Budget with Hochul.
The lawmakers include:

Senator Kristen Gonzalez
Senator Nathalia
Assemblymember Latrice Walker
Assemybymember Zohran Mamdani
Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes
Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest
Assemblymembers Tony Simone

Cameras in Courtroom Bill in the Budget Talks

As the arraignment of Donald Trump took place this week, lawmakers called for the passage of a bill in the Budget that would enable cameras in the courtroom. Currently, cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, making New York one of only two states to do so. The bill was included in the Senate One-House Budget.

OTHER UPDATES

Donald Trump Charged with 34 Counts of Felony Charges

On Tuesday, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg publicly unveiled the charges against Donald Trump. During Trump's arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, he pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying financial records

Eleven counts relating to illegal invoices for legal fees
Eleven counts of using campaign funds to reimburse Michael Cohen for the illegal invoices.
Twelve counts relating to financial entries in the general ledger for Trump's trust

The charges came from a $130,000 hush-money payment that Michael Cohen, Trump's fixer, sent to Stormy Daniels to suppress the story of Trump's infidelity during his 2016 presidential campaign. Manhattan DA office believes that Trump committed financial fraud when he reimbursed Cohen and classified it as legal expenses, citing a retainer agreement. The charges against Trump are all Class E felonies, which carry a maximum sentence of four years per count with the possibility of bail. To read the full indictment, click here.

NYC Agencies to Cut their Budgets

On Tuesday, Mayor Adams ordered all city agencies to slash their budget by 4%, or roughly $1.1 billion, every year through 2027 starting July 1st. Only the NYCDOE and CUNY would face 3% budget cuts. NYC Budget Director Jacques Jiha noted the “massive strain” on the budget by the migrant crisis to justify the budget cuts, “Working together, we overcame substantial obstacles to maintain and establish balanced budgets in FY23 and FY24 in the January Financial Plan. However, we have since encountered developments that place a massive strain on the city’s budget,” added Jiha. The budget cuts “cannot include layoffs and should avoid meaningfully impacting services where possible,” said Jiha. All agencies must submit their proposal for the budget cuts by April 14th.

MSG Lawsuits Rulings

A judge recently dismissed James Dolan’s MSG lawsuit against the state Liquor Authority. The judge quoted Dolan’s comment on his Good Day interview, in which he expressed that MSG does not make money on liquor sales. The judge noted in his decision that the lawsuit raised doubts that MSG would be harmed if its liquor license was removed.

In another lawsuit by James Dolan & MSG, a Supreme Court Judge upheld a previous ruling on reselling MSG’s tickets. The hearing enables MSG and its properties to prohibit the sales of seasonal tickets to ticker resellers. “The Court delivered MSG a clear win today, upholding our right to sell season ticket memberships to our loyal Knicks and Rangers fans rather than professional ticket scalpers,” said MSG.

More Legal Cannabis Dispensaries Licenses Awarded

During its monthly meeting on Monday, the state Cannabis Control Board approved 99 CAURD licenses to sell recreational cannabis, bringing to a total of 165 licenses. This comes after a federal court lifted an injunction that prevented Central New York, Western New York, Mid-Hudson, and Brooklyn from being issued licenses. Seventeen licenses were granted to Queens County, where its first legal dispensary opened in Jamaica last week. The awarding of licenses continues as the state ramp up its closure of illegal dispensaries.

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