Friday Morning Brief May 12, 2023

May 11

Housing and Clean Slate Still Up in the Air After Budget

With the 2024 Budget finally on the books, only four weeks of session now remain. Although significant issues such as criminal justice reforms, education and mental health have been addressed in the Budget, at least two key issues are still up in the air and it remains to be seen if there will be action on either. Affordable housing was one of the main pillars of Governor Hochul's budget (but it eventually fell out after failed negotiations) and Clean Slate (a criminal justice reform that advocates and businesses alike have been pushing hard in recent years.

Although all lawmakers agree on the importance of solving the state’s affordable housing issue, Hochul and the Legislature do not agree on the best way to move forward. Hochul wanted to build over 800,000 housing units in the next ten years by overriding local zoning and mandates, while the leaders of the Legislature were loathe to usurp local authority. Additionally, several lawmakers have pushed for Good Cause Eviction, which limits landlords’ ability to evict tenants without a “good cause.” However, most lawmakers, including Hochul, have not explicitly supported Good Cause but instead called for expanding and protecting tenants’ rights. Just yesterday, the state’s Democratic Party voted to support affordable housing and tenant protections in their party platform while voting down Good Cause Eviction. Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins also voiced her support for affordable housing. However, they explained that the current version of Good Cause Eviction does not have enough support in the Senate to pass and called for a “comprehensive conversation.”

While lawmakers agreed to Hochul’s rollback on bail laws during the criminal justice reforms negotiations, Clean Slate was omitted. Speaker Heastie expressed support for Clean Slate last week, paving a path for Clean Slate to be considered in the Legislature. Clean Slate would seal conviction records once individuals are elgiible, allowing people with prior convictions an easier pathway to attaining access to housing, education and employment. Misdemeanor convictions would be sealed after three years and felony convictions after seven years. The proposal was nixed from the Budget during the negotiations over Hochul’s bail reforms. However, it continued to garner support from several lawmakers, labor leaders, businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. “We will definitely consider Clean Slate before the end of the session,” explained Heastie.

EXECUTIVE UPDATES

Earlier this week, Hochul announced a new $7 million investment for 15 addiction treatment providers across the state. The addiction treatment providers will establish comprehensive, low-threshold buprenorphine services to meet the ongoing need for medication and other addiction services. The services will be provided immediately after enrollment in buprenorphine treatment and care management.

On Wednesday, Hochul hosted the first state’s Unity Summit bringing together multiple elected officials, community and religious leaders, and advocacy groups to tackle hate crime and discrimination. After faith leaders spoke about the importance of combatting hate crimes, Hochul praised the efforts of the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit, which was launched in December and tasked with public education and outreach about hate crimes and prevention. Additionally, Hochul praised the passage of the recent 2024 Budget that would invest in curbing gun violence and the recent strengthening of the state’s red flag laws. Red flag laws enable law enforcement to remove gun possession from those deemed to pose a significant risk to themselves and others. To watch the full coverage of the Unity Summit, please click here

In addition to various lawmakers that joined President Biden's visit to Hudson Valley on Wednesday, Hochul also joined in for remarks about the ongoing federal debt ceiling crisis. "New York is the beating heart of the U.S. economy. So, you mess around with the debt ceiling; you're hurting New York. You're hitting us hard . . . It'll put us closer to a recession, cause unemployment to go up. It'll be devastating," said Hochul. To listen to Hochul’s remarks on Wednesday, please click here.

To help alleviate the ongoing health staffing shortages in the state, Hochul announced the Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Program. The new program will temporarily waive the civil service exam requirement as ten state agencies’ health and human services fields are immediately hiring through a new jobs portal for thousands of state positions. A virtual career fair was also held yesterday in support. “In light of a recent worker shortage, New York State is taking temporary measures to help agencies fill critical roles in health and human services and promote the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers,” said Hochul.

In East Buffalo, Hochul announced the beginning of an affordable housing development to support the ongoing effort to address the needs of the East Buffalo community after its racially motivated shooting last year. The $71 million investment will help preserve 281 homes and 12 townhomes in East Buffalo. The investment also supports Hochul’s affordable housing plan of preserving 100,000 affordable housing across the state and supporting vulnerable populations.

In addition to East Buffalo, Hochul announced a new $416 million housing development in Upper Manhattan. The new 698-unit mixed-income housing development will include 281 affordable units in the Inwood neighborhood, featuring all-electric heating and cooling systems and free broadband internet. "This development will not only create new homes but will also provide essential services and amenities that increase the quality of life and boost the economy for the entire community," said Hochul.

Amidst the ongoing migrant crisis in NYC and the expected rise of migrants seeking shelter in the state, Hochul issued an executive order this week providing the state with greater flexibility to attain necessary resources for municipalities that support asylum seekers. These resources include food and equipment. The executive order would also mobilize an additional 500 National Guard personnel to provide logistical and operational support for the state, bringing the total to 1,500 National Guard personnel. The executive order will complement the recently passed 2024 Budget’s $1 billion aid to NYC for migrant assistance.

LEGISLATIVE/BUDGET UPDATES

4 more session weeks before the legislature adjourns until Jan.
Next week, the Legislature is scheduled to be in session Monday to Thursday

Legislature Honors Memory of Victims of 5/14/22 Mass Shooting in Buffalo

Senator Tim Kennedy and State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes honored the victims of last year's mass shooting in Buffalo.

Both Kennedy and Peoples-Stokes presented a resolution the Senate and Assembly Floors as the one-year mark of the massacre approaches, asking fellow lawmakers to show their support. They asked colleagues to join in honoring the victims' memories by calling out hate and racism and working to create meaningful change. Their message was echoed by many of their colleagues with impassioned speeches.

Sen. Kennedy spoke of his memory of a call from his Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Zeneta Everhart, who told him her son had just been shot while working his job at the grocery store. Kennedy went on to describe the hours that unfolded, both personally, professionally and for the City of Buffalo as a whole.

"One year later and yet their absence is still profound,” Sen. Kennedy said. “One year later our grief is still overwhelming and we find ourselves mourning their memories often. But also, one year later, as we look back on that day, we choose to celebrate their lives."

Senate Approves Bills to Combat Animal Cruelty

This Wednesday, in honor of Animal Protection Week, the Senate advanced a bi-partisan bill, sponsored by Liz Krueger, to strengthen animal cruelty regulations. If it were to become law, actions intended to cause physical pain in animals and pets would only have to injure the animals or pets to constitute serious physical injury and aggravated animal cruelty. Under the current laws, to constitute a serious physical injury against a pet or animal, the injury must lead to irreparable physical damage. This comes with the passage of "Tucker's Law," enabling judges to sentence concurrent or consecutive sentences for those guilty of committing multiple counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Simultaneously, the Senate advanced another bi-partisan bill regarding animal cruelty. This bill, sponsored by Michael Gianaris, would limit the devocalization of cats and dogs to only medically necessary circumstances.

Domestic Abuse Package Passed the Senate

This week, the Senate passed a legislative package aimed at strengthening the rights and protections of victims and survivors of domestic abuse. “With this legislative package, we are clarifying important procedures and ensuring that the rights of victims are truly prioritized,” explained Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins. The bills include:

Housing Prioritization for Domestic Violence Survivors: requires state housing authorities to prioritize domestic violence survivors with the same preference as given to other prioritized populations
Expanding Eligibility for Victim Compensation Funds: expands eligibility for victims and survivors of crime to access victim compensation funds.
Enacting the New York State Phoenix Act: extends the statute of limitation for felony domestic offenses to ten years and misdemeanor domestic offenses to five years.
Expanding Definition of “Welfare” for Reimbursement of a Victim’s Personal Property: expand the definition of “welfare” to enable domestic abuse victims to receive reimbursement for lost, damaged, or stolen personal property.
Defining Victims of Unlawful Image Dissemination: include victims of revenge porn into the legal definition of victims of domestic abuse.

For more information on the package of bills, click here.

These bills are in support of the 2024 Budget’s investment in combatting domestic abuse, which includes:

$5 million in grants for supporting survivors and victims of domestic abuse
$4.5 million for rape crisis centers
$13 million for victims and witness assistance

Out-of-State Health Practitioners Bill in the Assembly

With Hochul’s executive order allowing out-of-state health practitioners to operate in the state expiring on May 22nd, some lawmakers have indicated that they would pass a bill to allow out-of-state health practitioners and nurses to practice in the state permanently. Last week, a bill was introduced in the Assembly to enable out-of-state health practitioners and nurses to practice in state healthcare facilities for six months while the state Education Department process their applications for a state license. “This will give us a little bit of an extension as we have serious workforce shortages, especially in our hospitals, especially in our nursing homes, and quite often here in upstate New York,” explained Fahy, the bill’s sponsor. It remains to be seen if the Senate will introduce a similar bill.

Assembly Public Hearing on Cannabis Banking

Yesterday, Assembly lawmakers hosted a public hearing on cannabis banking in the state. Led by Assembly Banks Chair Pamela Hunter and Assembly Economic Development Chair Harry Bronson, the public hearing delved into the challenges faced by the state cannabis industry. One issue discussed was the slow opening of the cannabis industry in the state due to challenges in accessing federal loans and the illegal cannabis market. This comes after the 2024 Budget increased the state’s enforcement of cracking down on illegal cannabis stores. To watch the full public hearing, please click here.

Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins joined WCNY's Capital Pressroom to discuss the 2024 Budget and issues for the remaining four weeks of session. To listen to her interview, click here.

OTHER UPDATES

Attorney General's Proposed Regulation of Cryptocurrency

Attorney General Letitia James last week announced proposed legislation that would tighten regulations on the cryptocurrency industry. The bill aims to protect investors, consumers and the economy by requiring independent audits of cryptocurrency exchanges and prohibiting individuals from owning the same companies. “All investments are regulated to account for every penny of investors’ money — cryptocurrency should be no exception,” said James.

Feds Indict George Santos on 13 Counts

Federal prosecutors recently indicted Long Island Representative George Santos with 13 counts of federal charges:

Seven counts of wire fraud
Three counts of money laundering
Two counts of falsifying financial reports
One count of unemployment insurance fraud

This comes after Santos announced his reelection campaign while he faced calls for resignation from his GOP colleagues due to his history of publicly fabricating his life story. Currently, Santos has been released on a $500,000 bail after his arraignment. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Amidst all this, former Senator Anna Kaplan announced her campaign to unseat Santos, saying, “I’m running for Congress because George Santos is a disgrace.” Santos has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Biden Visits Hudson Valley Amidst a Federal Debt Crisis

This Wednesday, President Biden visited Hudson Valley and spoke at Westchester County Community College about the ongoing federal debt crisis. In the speech, Biden urged his GOP colleagues to ensure that the US does not default on its debt, as the US debt default would plunge the economy into a recession and have devasting implications for the global economy. Biden’s visit also aimed to support NYS Democrats as they seek to reclaim seats in the Hudson Valley in the upcoming congressional elections. Vice President Harris is also expected to visit the region later this month.

Adams Seeks to Bus Migrants to Suburbs for Shelter

Just 30 minutes away from Biden’s speech in Westchester County Community College, Newburgh in Orange County was waiting for the bus of migrants from NYC. Mayor Eric Adams was planning to send about 60 migrants to a hotel in Newburgh on Wednesday as NYC anticipates an influx of asylum-seekers after the expiration of Title 42. This came as local officials from Orange County opposed the move, with the County Executive Steve Neuhaus signing an executive order prohibiting hotels from housing the migrants. However, yesterday morning Adams sent a few dozen asylum seekers to a hotel in Orange Lake, Orange County. “We are coordinating, explaining to our colleagues in the state that this is a statewide issue,” explained Adams. Hochul has been in contact with Neuhaus and Adams. “I’m working very closely with the mayor to identify more sites where we can welcome these [asylum-seeker],” said Hochul on Wednesday.

Currently, Orange, Broome, Rockland, and Rensselaer Counties have executive orders to prevent NYC from housing asylum seekers in hotels and short-term rentals, with the NYCLU filing a lawsuit against Orange County’s executive order. Congressional state representatives Mike Lawler and Pat Ryan urged Biden yesterday to call a federal state of emergency in the state to “provide the resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the migrant surge.”

Adams Sign Executive Order Regarding Migrant Crisis

Just before Title 42 expired yesterday, Adams signed an executive order suspending certain minimum shelter requirements on Wednesday. This comes as NYC expects an uptick in migrants, with the city already taking in over 60,000 migrants and sheltering around 37,500 migrants. The executive order would bypass requirements for the city to provide beds within a certain time frame and access to refrigerators and kitchens. The executive order takes effect immediately and remains in effect for five days unless Adams renews it.

SCOTUS Overturned Bribery Conviction of Ex-Coumo Aide

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court voted unanimously to overturn the bribery conviction of Joseph Percoco, an ex-aide to Andrew Cuomo. In 2018, Percoco was convicted and sentenced to six years for accepting $315,000 in bribes. But Percoco argued that he should not be convicted because he accepted the money when the state did not employ him. Supreme Court agreed with Percoco and explained that the jury that convicted Percoco was given the wrong instructions on the relationship between Percoco and the state government. The case is now sent back to the lower courts for further proceedings.

Susan Sarandon Amongst 8 Arrested at Capitol

Hollywood star Susan Sarandon joined Ana Maria Archila, former LG candidate at the One Fair Wage rally at the Capitol on Monday. Sarandon and Archila were amongst eight individuals arrested for disorderly conduct as they protested in support of ending subminimum wages for tipped restaurant workers in New York state.

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