Throwing Mud

Hochul Fires Back, Flurry of Bills Signed, NY Education Facing Losses

Author

Jack O’Donnell
December 02, 2024

Good morning and happy December from Buffalo, New York. 

Governor Kathy Hochul is preparing to roll out her 2025 agenda in the coming weeks, telling reporters, “[New Yorkers] want more money back in their pockets. And that's what I'm going to be delivering on in a very short couple of months.” Hochul also has an eye on 2026, taking time to respond to Rep. Ritchie Torres’ recent jabs and his potential primary run. Torres has been blunt in his public criticism of Hochul, calling her “the new Joe Biden” and saying she “may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities as a Democratic nominee.” Hochul does not often get into public sparring matches through the media, but did make a point of responding to Torres saying, “I actually don’t care what he’s doing” and later adding, “Those who have government jobs who aren’t focused on their jobs and are more focused on an election that’s almost two years off, I would think their constituents might have a problem with that, but I’m here working for the people who put me in office.” 

The Congressman later retorted, “I'm a street fighter, so bring it on,” according to Politico’s New York Playbook (scroll to second story). “I thrive on it. I could do this every single day. The governor is playing right into my hands and I love every moment of it." Torres continued, “Governor: if you think slandering one of the most visibly and vocally pro-Israel members of Congress as a ‘far-left extremist’ is going to work as a line of attack, then I have the Bronx River, Brooklyn Bridge, and Buffalo Bills to sell you.”

A Hochul campaign spokesperson, Jen Goodman, came back with: “Ritchie Torres has proven to be a pandering hypocrite.” The full back and forth also included old questionnaires, past policy positions, and plenty about flip-flops.

Game on.

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“[New Yorkers] want more money back in their pockets. And that's what I'm going to be delivering on in a very short couple of months.”

Governor Kathy Hochul

Of course, before we even talk about 2025, there is still plenty of work to be done in 2024. Last week, Hochul signed 85 bills and vetoed 57. Among the more notable pieces of legislation signed was “Melanie’s Law,” a bill expanding eligibility for protection orders named in honor of Melanie Chianese, a woman who was killed by her mother’s ex-boyfriend. Hochul also signed a measure expanding Medicaid coverage for remote ultrasounds, a bill requiring landlords to notify the whole building when bed bugs are found, and one that garnered the most press coverage: legislation repealing adultery as a criminal charge in the State. Insert your own joke here. You can find a list of all bills that were signed here.

Hochul Signs Bills on Crime, Anti-Violence Education

Most of the vetoes were on bills that would have established new task forces or commissions to study various areas of interest, with Hochul citing the unbudgeted cost associated with starting up these commissions. A bill aimed at speeding up the issuance of downstate casino licenses, a priority for the gaming interests vying for the lucrative licenses, was vetoed by Hochul who said the legislation would “change the rules in the middle of the process.” You can find the entire list of vetoed bills here. 

There are still roughly 200 bills that the Legislature has yet to deliver to the Governor, but must be decided on before December 31st. Some of the more high-profile include: 

  • The bill would require major fossil fuel companies with operations in New York to pay a combined $3 billion annually for 25 years to cover the cost of climate resiliency projects. Proponents of the bill argue it will help jumpstart some of the State’s ambitious climate goals and believe the need for such legislation is even more acute with the incoming Trump Administration. Industry sees it as a new, retroactive tax that will continue to add to New York’s lackluster business climate.

  • A major priority for organized labor, this bill would extend the prevailing wage requirement on environmental remediation work under the State’s Brownfield Cleanup tax incentive program. Opponents of the bill argue the prevailing wage requirement would make the Brownfield Cleanup Program, one of the State’s most popular incentive programs, more difficult, more expensive, and lead to a slowdown in new development. 

  • This legislation would amend the State’s wrongful death law to allow victims’ families to sue for emotional damages. Hochul has vetoed the legislation twice already, but once again, supporters of the bill are optimistic they made enough substantive changes to address Hochul’s concerns. 

  • The Tropical Rainforest Economic and Environmental Sustainability (TREES) Act prevents the State from contracting with entities that contribute to deforestation directly through their supply chains. Hochul vetoed the bill last year when it was named the Deforestation-Free Procurement Act, but sponsors believe their amendments, and the catchy new name, will be enough to get Hochul on board.

  • Named the Legislative Oversight of Automated Decision-Making in Government Act, this legislation limits how state agencies can use artificial intelligence and requires certain disclosures when AI technology is used. The bill also prevents human workers from being replaced by AI systems. 

Hochul, and Democrats more broadly, are looking for ways to address the cost of living that served as a political anchor in November’s elections. Hochul hinted that affordability will be the theme of her State of the State address in January saying, “When we launch that, people are going to understand that we not only heard them, we’re acting on what we heard.” While she has made progress on certain health initiatives and tenant protections aimed at increasing affordability, Hochul will need to enact, and effectively message, policies that address voter’s broader economic concerns ahead of 2026. 

New York Attorney General Tish James is also calling on state lawmakers to pursue initiatives that help families across New York. Touring the Regional Food Bank of Northwest New York in Albany last week, James called on her colleagues in state government to permanently fund universal school meals for all students in New York. James said, “I heard from providers in the city and providers in Upstate New York that we need to make it permanent. We need more funding for food deserts.” The State currently provides free meals in low-income school districts with an associated cost of $145 million, and lawmakers have estimated the program would need an additional $100 million to be expanded to all school districts. In addition, James has called for additional funding for food banks to help struggling families make ends meet saying, “This has nothing to do with politics [and] nothing to do with your belief system. It all has to do with serving a need that's out there. And they serve anyone who comes through their door.” Any time the popular James advocates for a policy position, it is certainly taken very seriously in Albany.

Aside from the prospect of expanding the free meal program, educators in New York are facing a “trifecta of change” this year, according to ace political reporter Susan Arbetter of Capital Tonight. School districts are facing the loss of COVID-era money, much of which was used for personnel and programs to respond to the growing needs of children coming out of the pandemic. Jennifer Pyle, Executive Director of the Conference of Big 5 School Districts said, “We receive criticism, of course, for doing that... but it was something where we didn’t have a choice. This is what our kids needed. And a lot of those positions are now on the chopping block.” Additionally, Hochul still has her eye on changes to the State’s Foundation Aid formula and removing the “hold harmless” provision that ensures school districts do not receive less funding than the previous year, regardless of enrollment changes.

Understanding Foundation Aid: How Public School Funding Works in New York State

Public school funding is allocated to local school districts based on formulas specified in state law, primarily through a formula known as Foundation Aid. This brief explains the State’s rules that govern public school funding.

Pyle has argued that even marginal changes to the Foundation Aid formula could have drastic impacts offering, “Buffalo receives 73% of their money from the State, 16% from federal. Their local share is so low. If the State doesn’t come through with the funding and the federal government fails to deliver or cuts back, there will be nowhere to go.” Changes at the federal level, including incoming President Donald Trump’s threat to dissolve the Department of Education, add another level of uncertainty. If widespread federal cuts came to fruition, Deputy Director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents Robert Lowry believes low-income and special needs students could be among the most impacted. Lowry also voiced concerns about cultural and political issues seeping into the education debate saying, “The campaign also made statements to the effect that the (Trump) administration would attempt to withhold funding to schools which are teaching critical race theory or are somehow being overly supportive of transgender children.”  These issues will be big in 2025; it is well worth watching Arbetter’s report here.

U.S. Capitol Building

In Washington, D.C., lawmakers return to session this week with just three weeks to go before the 118th Congress gavels out for the year, and at least two “must pass” bills that they will need to resolve. The continuing resolution (CR) currently funding federal agencies expires on December 20th, and House Republicans appear to be moving forward with another short-term CR, kicking the full-year funding fight into 2025. Speaker Mike Johnson has not publicly indicated how long another CR would last, with some lawmakers preferring an earlier timeline of January or February while others are advocating for a March deadline and even a couple pushing for later, all with an eye on the incoming Trump Administration and possible focus on confirmations and broader policy changes and how any funding fight can take up all the oxygen in Washington, especially in what looks to be a very slim GOP majority. Johnson and House Republicans will likely have a margin of 219-215, which will shrink even further when Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) formally resign their seats to join the incoming Trump Administration. There is still an undecided race in California's 13th Congressional District where Adam Gray is ahead by under 200 votes in his race to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. John Duarte, but however that race shakes out, Republicans will still not be able to afford any defections when advancing legislation. 

Any short-term spending bill will also contain additional disaster relief, though it is unlikely to be the full $99 billion requested by the Biden Administration. The other item on the agenda is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual bill that sets U.S. defense policy and top line spending totals for defense agencies. The Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee, known as the “Big Four,” will need to come to an agreement on a top line number before legislative language can be released. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the bill released in June calls for a $25 billion increase, bringing the total number to $923 billion. Many of the controversial amendments in the House GOP version of the bill, including provisions restricting abortion access for female service members and medical treatment for transgender troops, will not be included in the final version. 

2025 Tax Policy Crossroads: What Will Happen When the TCJA Expires?

What to watch as Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax rates and deductions expire.

While lawmakers are wrapping up this year’s business, many of them are already planning for 2025 priorities, especially the expiration of the 2017 tax bill. New York’s Congressional Delegation will be primarily focused on how any new tax bill deals with the federal deduction for state and local tax payments, known as SALT. The 2017 tax bill, signed by Trump, capped the SALT deduction at $10,000 which disproportionately affected taxpayers in blue states with higher property and state income taxes. Republicans nationally generally support the cap, but Republicans in New York and other blue states have been campaigning on lifting the SALT cap, and even tanked a number of procedural votes earlier this year as part of an unsuccessful bid to force their party to the table on SALT reform.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a second-term Republican lawmaker representing Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, believes that the Trump Administration could get behind lifting the SALT cap and other tax policies that benefit New York, including the child tax credit. Malliotakis did concede that tax cuts will have to be offset somehow offering, “Everyone wants tax cuts, but nobody really wants to pay for them. So that’s always the challenge here when you have 435 members and everybody wants something different. I think that’s why we have to be reasonable in our approach and try to spread the tax relief, but understand that we’re not going to be able to get everything.” Trump has seemingly endorsed lifting the cap in the past, posting on social media ahead of a rally in New York this summer that he will "get SALT back." 

Cameo, the popular platform that provides customized video messages from celebrities for a fee, is raising questions within Congress. Disgraced former Rep. George Santos famously turned to Cameo after his expulsion from Congress, as did former Rep. Matt Gaetz after withdrawing his nomination to be Trump’s Attorney General. Current Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) recently launched and then quickly deactivated her Cameo account, seemingly conceding that it may be a violation of House Ethics rules, which state “[lawmakers] may not receive compensation and may not permit compensation to accrue to his beneficial interest from any source, the receipt of which would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from his position in Congress.” It also raises concerns about avenues in which corrupt actors or foreign governments could enter financial influence over elected officials.  

Finally. . .

If you think your cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner was top-notch, imagine having this version. A New York City steakhouse is serving just a dollop of the fruity topper for an eye-popping price: nearly $200! [Read more.]

A proud moment for our Jack O'Donnell! He’s been named to City & State NY’s The 2024 Responsible 100 Alumni list. Jack was also named to the Responsible 100 list in 2023.

Jack is honored to be among dozens of distinguished New Yorkers across many sectors who demonstrate the principles of social responsibility, including: Charity, Community Engagement, Customer Service, Diversity & Inclusion, Equity, Ethics, Transparency, Sustainability, and Volunteerism.

City & State NY writes: A top lobbyist and political consultant, Jack O’Donnell is in demand from Fortune 500 companies to presidential and gubernatorial candidates. A former senior aide to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, O’Donnell has used his passion for helping people and fighting for the underdog as a key part of his work in public affairs. O’Donnell has helped boost the New York economy, advance green energy technology, expand health care, and support the state’s culture and tourism industry. A key accomplishment of his has been supporting struggling families and domestic violence programs, part of his commitment to addressing societal issues.

How can Jack help your cause?

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New to the NYS Legislature

Steve Chan, Senator-elect for the 17th Senate District, brings a distinguished background in public service to his new role representing parts of South Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst. Born in Hong Kong, he immigrated to the United States at age 11, settling with his family in Bay Ridge. His early experiences in this diverse community fostered a deep appreciation for American values and multiculturalism.

Chan's commitment to service began with a six-year tenure in the U.S. Marine Corps, followed by a 27-year career with the New York Police Department, where he retired as a Sergeant in 2020. During his time with the NYPD, he built strong relationships across various communities and worked tirelessly to enhance public safety.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Chan has been actively involved in his children's education, serving in roles such as PTA President and Title 1 Chairperson. These experiences have reinforced his dedication to supporting schools and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to succeed.

As he prepares to assume office in January 2025, Chan is committed to advocating for public safety, educational excellence, and the well-being of families in his district. His diverse experiences and steadfast dedication to community service position him to be a strong voice for his constituents in the State Senate.

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This Day in History

December 2, 1823: U.S. President James Monroe declares the "Monroe Doctrine" opposing European colonialism in the Americas, arguing any European political intervention in the New World would be a hostile act against the United States.

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