Grinding Closer

Good morning from Waterloo, New York—the birthplace, in 1866, of Memorial Day. 

In Albany, the latest budget of Governor Kathy Hochul’s tenure continues to lurch and wobble toward a conclusion. Lawmakers succeeded in passing two of the nine budget bills last week (along with a fourteenth extender!) before returning home for rest, a reset, and campaigning over this holiday weekend. The Senate and Assembly passed the Education, Labor, Housing, and Family Assistance (ELFA) bill on Wednesday and Public Protection and General Government (PPGG) on Thursday, both largely along party lines. While the bulk of the budget will be in Article VII legislation coming soon, there were a couple of big pieces in the two bills passed last week.  

The ELFA bill ensures a minimum 2% increase in Foundation Aid for every school district, with additional weightings (and dollars) for high-need districts and for students experiencing homelessness or in foster care. The language extends mayoral control over New York City public schools for another two years and sets timelines for implementing full-day pre-K for 4-year-olds statewide. In addition, the ELFA bill adopts legislation from Senator Chris Ryan to delay the state’s mandate for public school districts to transition to electric buses. Districts will now have until 2032 to begin purchasing zero-emission buses and until 2040 to completely transition their fleets. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie indicated there could be more money coming to school districts to help them plan for the transition, telling reporters, “We haven't nailed down that breakdown on the money, but there will be something to still help along with infrastructure and purchasing the buses.”

The legislature also included narrow language tailored to the River Ring housing development in Brooklyn. Lawmakers did away with the 421-a tax credit in 2022, but allowed projects already under development to claim the lucrative incentive, provided construction was completed by 2031. The River Ring development will miss that deadline, prompting lawmakers to remove the 2031 language in this year’s budget for narrow exceptions. Heastie offered, “In order for the project to go, they didn’t think they could make it in time, so they asked us for an extension. An agreement was worked out between the developer, the YMCA was involved, and the local Assemblymember supported it.” 

The PPGG bill passed by lawmakers includes a number of protections for immigrants as well as venues for accountability for overreach by federal immigration authorities. The bill formally bans 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which previously allowed local police to be deputized by ICE to assist with immigration enforcement. This provision is likely to become a recurring topic on the campaign trail as Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP nominee for governor, oversees one of the seven counties that has a 287(g) agreement in place. Earlier this month, Blakeman told reporters, “It’s not constitutional, and it’s boneheaded to say my police department and sheriff’s department can’t cooperate with federal agencies who are lawfully doing their job.” The legislation also prevents employees of local governments—such as school employees and public hospital workers—from assisting federal immigration authorities without a signed judicial warrant, and restricts ICE entry to health care facilities, childcare centers, houses of worship, housing accommodations, non-public schools, parks, or polling places. Law enforcement will be prohibited from wearing masks or concealing their identities in public, and this will provide an avenue for individuals to sue ICE officers for rights violations.

Non-immigration provisions include a measure requiring 3D printers to have “blocking technology” that prevents them from printing firearm components, as well as new guidance on areas where drones are prohibited, specifically schools and large public gatherings of more than 500 people.

On auto insurance, companies will be barred from using an individual’s education level, homeownership status, zip code, or occupational status to determine premiums. Insurance companies will also be barred from using “flex rating,” a practice whereby they can raise rates by up to 5% while the state debates final approval. 

The fourteenth, and likely penultimate, budget extender passed last week runs through tomorrow, when legislators are expected to convene early to pass the final extender and vote on the Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation Bill (TED), which is expected to print later tonight. The hope as of press time—of frankly all of us—is to pass the rest of the budget on Wednesday (perhaps into Thursday) and have at least a short, regular Legislative Session on Friday morning. One of the final pieces to close has been the highly anticipated changes to the Tier 6 pension system for public employees. While the full language has not been released, we understand the agreement will allow teachers to retire at age 58 with 30 years of service instead of the current standard of 63, lower employee contributions to a range of 3-5.75%, increase a cap on overtime calculated in retirement benefit from 15% to 25% of wages for those in the State Police and Fire Retirement System, and change the overtime retirement cap for other public employees from approximately $22,000 to $30,000. The changes are expected to come with a $557 million annual price tag, with New York State covering $118 million while local governments remain on the hook for the rest. 

While the budget has taken up most of the oxygen this session, there is no shortage of standalone bills being considered before the legislature gavels out for the year on June 4th. ALERT: Reminder, there are eight scheduled legislative session days remaining. In addition to the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act and the surveillance pricing bills we highlighted last week, lawmakers are considering a handful of proposals dealing with data privacy.

One high-profile bill, the New York Privacy Act, would require companies to obtain affirmative consent before processing a user’s personal data. Another bill, the New York Health Information Privacy Act, was vetoed by Hochul last year, but has since been amended to take a narrower approach, including exceptions for data already governed by other regulations and restricting protections to health data collected while an individual is physically in New York. 

New York’s live event ticketing and resale regulations are set to expire on June 30th and will require a reauthorization from the legislature.

The Affordable Concerts Act, sponsored by Senator James Skoufis, would extend the current regulations while adding new restrictions capping secondary market resale prices, although his proposal is seen by much of the industry as too much of a giveaway to the biggest supporter of the bill—Live Nation/Ticketmaster—especially after their clear defeat during a trial brought in part by New York’s indomitable Attorney General Tish James (the Court’s proscriptions are not due until 2027). 

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act that is set to decimate minority representation in the South, New York’s legislature is planning to vote on two amendments to the state constitution to allow New York to combat GOP gains elsewhere. The first amendment would allow mid-decade redistricting, while the other would change the composition of the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to avoid a deadlocked commission. Heastie justified the push for amendments, saying last week, “We can’t be asked to play by a different set of rules than other states are and even more aggressively in Republican-dominated states.” However, given the timing and logistical constraints that accompany constitutional amendments, a new map would not take effect until 2028 at the earliest and would also require approval in a statewide vote in the Fall of 2027.

One idea everyone, spurned by Trump or not, should get behind is the push by the House to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 48-1 to include the measure in a broader transportation bill that is heading to the floor for a vote. Trump posted on social media, “It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice-yearly production. We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day—And who can be against that—This is an easy one!” Similarly, the House voted 396-13 to advance a housing affordability package that will curb private equity firms from buying single-family homes, expand loans to construct housing, and push local governments to streamline permitting rules. Who said bipartisanship was dead?

In case you missed it, Trump was in Suffern, New York, on Friday for an event at Rockland Community College alongside Rep. Mike Lawler, calling him “fantastic” and a “pain in the ass” over the SALT deduction expansion. You can watch Trump’s remarks here. Lawler, who is in one of the country’s toughest Congressional races this year, defended the visit from the polarizing president in an interview with Spectrum News here.

 -Jack O’Donnell