In the News-New York State
NYS Senate Confirms New York State Police Superintendent
The New York State Senate on Thursday confirmed State Police veteran Steven G. James as New York State Police Superintendent. Governor Hochul announced Superintendent James’ nomination in January.
Superintendent James has served with the New York State Police for more than 32 years, including more than two decades in a leadership role. He served as Deputy Superintendent for Employee Relations and has also served as Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Staff Inspector, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Senior Investigator, Sergeant, Investigator and Trooper. He holds a B.S. in Psychology from SUNY Albany and a master’s in public administration from Marist College.
NY Readies for the Eclipse
New York will be one of eleven contiguous U.S. states situated within the path of totality for the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th. Several regions of the state will be in the direct path of totality. Other parts will be able to view a partial solar eclipse. The next total solar eclipse will not happen in New York again until 2079.
The eclipse will begin in western New York shortly after 2 p.m. Full totality will begin in Chautauqua County at 3:17 p.m., moving through the state – Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown, Lake Placid to Plattsburgh at 3:25 p.m. Locations in the path of totality could experience total darkness for up to 4 minutes.
The I ❤ NY website Experience the Total Solar Eclipse in New York includes the best viewing spots in the totality areas: the Adirondacks, Greater Niagara, Chautauqua-Allegheny, Thousand Islands and Finger Lakes Regions. In addition, it highlights events such as the ROC Eclipse Event (Rochester) and the Glow for the Gold Speedskating Track (Lake Placid). Rounding out the State’s Eclipse resources is the I LOVE NY ECLIPSE PLAYLIST with 84 songs including Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler, Good Day Sunshine by the Beatles, Blinded by the Light by Bruce Springsteen, Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, Soak Up the Sun by Cheryl Crow, and Bark at the Moon by Ozzy Osbourne. Below are some I ❤ NY Tips for Eclipse travelers.
Tips and Resources
- Protect your eyes with specialized solar viewing glasses.
- Plan on staying in one place for the day due to anticipated traffic volume.
- Allow for plenty of extra travel time.
- Also remember to gas up your vehicle and pack snacks, water, blankets, and extra clothes in your car.
- Do not stop to view the eclipse along the roadway, first responders need to be able to get through if there is an emergency.
- Share your trip details with an emergency contact and make sure they have your itinerary.
If you can’t get within the band of the total darkness on Monday, Eclipse2024.org has developed an Interactive 2024 Eclipse Map for various areas across the country. To follow is a link to a projected map of the eclipse across the New York area. New York City is projected to have 90.8% totality, while Albany is projected to have 96.6% totality.
As Leaders Continue to Negotiate, Rank and File Lawmakers Pass State Budget Extender through April 8th
The New York state Legislature on Thursday passed, and Governor Kathy Hochul signed, another state budget extension, paying the State’s obligations through Monday, April 8th. The next budget extender deadline is Monday at 12 p.m. to ensure that State employees are paid on time.
The Assembly recessed Thursday at the call of the Speaker and is expected to return to Albany on Sunday to approve another extender. Members of the Peoples’ House may then return to their districts and come back to Albany for session on Tuesday to close out the scheduled week of legislative work. The Senate will return on Monday at 11 a.m.
Budget negotiations between Governor Hochul and legislative leaders continue, with some areas beginning to take shape. According to published reports, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Thursday that they’re in the “same neighborhood” when it comes to an agreement on housing and that agreement on initiatives to deter illegal cannabis shops are in an “extremely good (place).”
Also, on Thursday, Governor Hochul indicated that major changes to the State’s education funding formula will not be fully implemented until next year.
“We talked about putting a process in place so, by this time next year, giving everybody the notice and warning they all asked for, there will be a different formula,” Governor Hochul said.
New York’s budget was due April 1st and while the budget extenders keep New York funding the salaries its State employees, members of the Legislature will not be paid until a budget is enacted.
Comptroller DiNapoli Audit: Growing Number of Youth in Juvenile Justice Centers at Risk Due to Staff Shortages
Ongoing staff shortages in juvenile justice centers around New York state are potentially putting youth at risk, according to an audit released this week by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The Comptroller found that the population in secure juvenile justice facilities has grown, straining staff’s ability to properly assess the physical and mental health of youth at intake as physical altercations, illegal drug use, and incidents of self-harm rise.
“This audit found some very troubling problems in our state’s juvenile justice centers,” Comptroller DiNapoli explained. “These facilities are meant to provide safe housing and services to help rehabilitate young people and discourage them from future criminal behavior. Unfortunately, staff appears to be overwhelmed and short-handed, which may account for missed or delayed opportunities to provide care for the physical or mental health issues facing the young people in these facilities.”
The state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) runs nine residential juvenile justice facilities through its Division of Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth (DJJOY), including three secure facilities. Following a decline of 44% in the number of youth in these facilities from 2013 to 2018, the number of youth in the facilities rose nearly 74% from 2018 through 2022. New York’s Raise the Age legislation, which increased the age of criminal responsibility to 18, was phased in during the noted period of increase (2018-2022).
The audit looked at six facilities and found that OCFS did not do enough to ensure youth were properly assessed when they entered facilities or that staff were up to date on the training required to be authorized to restrain youth.
Auditors examined records for 101 youths and found 53 lacked evidence of at least one required screening having been completed. Medical admission checklists were missing, along with preliminary physical and mental health interviews and orientation checklists, which connect youth to education and vocational services. It took 271 days, or nearly nine months, for one youth to undergo a medical assessment, which is required to be done within seven days of admission.
From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022, certain types of incidents in the facilities increased. For example, for the secure facilities, there were no reported instances of controlled substance contraband in 2019 but there were 37 incidents in 2022. Positive drug tests were up 24% over that period. Instances of self-harm rose 100% in secure facilities over the period from 24 to 48 instances. Among these, the number that included an expression or gesture of suicide was up 667%, from three to 23 incidents.
Comptroller DiNapoli’s audit recommended OCFS determine the staffing levels needed to properly look after the health and safety of incarcerated youth and increase efforts and focus resources to meet those levels. In response, OCFS cited staffing shortages that stem from the pandemic and said it was exploring options to better train, prepare, and retain staff. The agency’s full response is included in the audit.
In the News-New York City
New York City Council Responds to Mayor Adams’ Preliminary Budget
Finds More Funding and Identifies Areas to Reverse “Underbudgeting”
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, and Council Members unveiled the Council’s Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Budget Response that identifies $6.15 billion in newly available resources to help reverse recent budget decisions.
The Council’s budget outlines $1.63 billion for the restoration of funding for 3-K, public schools, and support for students, as well as cultural institutions, libraries (including 7-day service), parks, sanitation services, and other key services cut by the Administration. It targets investments of $1.32 billion in capital funding for affordable housing, over $225 million for mental health services, nearly $60 million for programs that reduce recidivism, and other programs that address major challenges in the city but have been insufficiently funded.
In addition, the Council budget sets aside nearly half ($3 billion) of the additional resources to protect against risks from underbudgeted costs in the mayor’s proposed budget and dedicates $500 million to the Rainy Day Fund reserves, while leaving an over $1 billion surplus to address other fiscal issues. The full Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Budget Response is available here.
According to the Speaker, the source of these additional funds is the $3.35 billion in greater tax revenues estimated by the Council for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025 than recognized by the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, combined with $2.25 billion in potential underspending and $550 million of in-year reserves.
The response calls for investment in specific programs and priorities that will help ensure that the city continues to support all New Yorkers, including:
- Investing in Affordable Housing – The Council calls upon the Administration to increase capital spending on affordable housing by $3.66 billion over the next five years, including a $732 million annual increase in capital funding for affordable housing and homeownership.
- Prioritizing Maintenance Repairs for NYCHA – The Council also urges the Administration to increase capital commitments for NYCHA by $584 million in FY25 to address critical maintenance repairs.
- Replacing Expiring Federal Stimulus Funds – The Council calls for approximately $550 million in city funding to replace expiring federal COVID stimulus funds that have supported vital school and student support programs, like community schools, pre-school special education, restorative justice, mental health services, and support for students living in temporary housing.
- Supporting Early Childhood Education – The Council calls for $361 million for early childhood education, including $170 million to restore cuts to 3-K, $96 million to replace expiring federal stimulus funds for preschool special education, $60 million to provide additional extended day, extended year seats, $25 million for Promise NYC, and $10 million in new funding for 3-K marketing and outreach.
- Restoring CUNY Funding – The Council calls on the Administration to restore $40 million in cuts to CUNY’s budget that were initiated in the Mayor’s November and Preliminary Plans. The Council also calls for over $25 million in restorations and enhancements to several CUNY related programs, like CUNY Reconnect, ACE and ASAP.
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Restoring and Enhancing Recidivism Reduction Programs – The Council calls on the Administration to reverse cuts to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) by restoring $27.8 million in Fiscal 2025 for Alternatives to Incarceration ($6.7M), supervised release ($13M) and re-entry ($8M) programming that is essential to public safety and reducing recidivism. Additionally, the Council calls for nearly $9M in additional funding for mental health courts and diversion programs for District Attorneys, along with an additional $7 million to increase the Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) team budget by nearly 50 percent.
- Restoring Funding and Baselining Library Funding – The Council proposes to restore 7-day service at the city’s library systems by allocating an additional $58.3 million which would cover the $22.1 million November cut to their budgets, FY24’s one-time funding of $20.5 million and the Council’s discretionary funding subsidy of $15.7 million.
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Restoring Sanitation and Community Composting Cuts – The Council calls on the Administration to provide baseline funding of $22 million annually to maintain the same level of litter basket service in each district throughout the five boroughs. Additionally, the Council urges the Administration to support community composting by fully restoring and baselining $7.1 million for these programs and extending GrowNYC’s contract.
Briefs
New York Court Invalidates Cannabis Marketing Rules
Narrows Original Decision Voiding State’s Adult-Use Cannabis Regulations
A New York State Supreme Court yesterday narrowed its ruling in a case challenging the state’s regulations on cannabis businesses, voiding the Office of Cannabis Management’s marketing and advertising restrictions.
Earlier in the week, Albany County State Supreme Court found the agency’s rulemaking process problematic and its regulations unconstitutionally vague and in violation of free speech rights, according to the order. The order voided nearly all of the state’s adult-use cannabis regulation. The Honorable Kevin Bryant subsequently amended his decision to apply only to certain marketing and advertising restrictions.
The revised order finds the following sections “declared null and void as arbitrary and capricious”: The Third-Party Marketing Ban, The Pricing Ban, Third-Party Order Ban, Third-Party All Licensee Listing Mandate, and the Third-Party Distributor Listing Mandate.
The case was brought by Leafly which is known for its cannabis strain database, and also provides information about dispensaries and products. In addition, consumers can order cannabis through Leafly, though they complete the transaction with the dispensary itself. Leafly sued state regulators over rules that essentially made it illegal for the cannabis information company to operate in the New York market. Stage One Cannabis, a dispensary in Rensselaer, New York, and Rosanna St. John, a cannabis consumer, joined Leafly in the action.
“Given the absence of any evidence of the process by which these regulations were developed and approved, this court must find that the conclusions were arbitrary and capricious and that there is no sound and substantial basis in the record to support Respondents actions,” Judge Bryant wrote in the revised order.
New York Launches Inaugural Mental Health Needs Assessment for First Responders
Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced the launch of the state’s inaugural mental health needs assessment for first responders, stemming from a partnership between the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and SUNY New Paltz. The assessment will include a voluntary anonymous survey and series of focus groups.
“As we continue to make historic investments in mental health care, it is critical that we engage with communities of first responders, who suffer disproportionately from mental health related challenges,” Governor Hochul said. “Our state is only as strong as the network of individuals who keep us safe, and this comprehensive needs assessment will help us provide them with the care and resources they deserve.”
The needs assessment will gather input from law enforcement, the fire service, EMTs, 911 dispatchers and emergency managers.
Mayor Adams Launches Workforce Development Council to Unlock New Job Opportunities for New Yorkers
New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week announced the launch of the New York City Workforce DevelopmentCouncil, a group of leaders from the business community, educational institutions, unions, and training providers who will help develop and sustain strategies that will aid New Yorkers in finding family-sustaining careers and help employers tap the talent they need to succeed.
Chaired by Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer, the new advisory board will be comprised of over 30 external stakeholders committed to rebuilding and strengthening the city’s talent and workforce development system for a post-pandemic labor market. The Workforce Development Council will make recommendations to the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development (NYC Talent) and the New York City Workforce DevelopmentBoard, which is responsible for stewarding between $60 million and $100 million in annual federal Workforce Innovation andOpportunity Act funding.
Additionally, the Adams administration this released two Requests for Proposals to advance its moonshot goal of connecting 30,000 New Yorkers to apprenticeships by the year 2030. An initial investment of $3.5 million — from Workforce Innovation andOpportunity Act funding — will identify potential private-sector and non-profit partners that are interested in developing new apprenticeship programs and transforming existing talent development initiatives into structured apprenticeships.
Mayor Adams Announces First Annual Increase In Minimum Pay Rate For App-Based Restaurant Delivery Workers
Minimum Hourly Rate Is Now $19.56 and Will Be Adjusted Annually for Inflation
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga today announced that, effective immediately, the city’s minimum pay rate for app-based restaurant delivery workers is increasing to at least $19.56 per hour before tips.
The $19.56 rate reflects the 2024 phase-in rate of $18.96 and an inflation adjustment of 3.15 percent – up from an average of just $5.39 per hour before enforcement began. When the rate is fully phased-in on April 1, 2025, workers will earn at least $19.96 per hour with an adjustment for inflation. Since DCWP began enforcing the minimum pay rate in December 2023, apps have paid the city’s delivery workers $16.3 million more per week across the workforce – an increase of 165 percent – totaling an additional $847.6 million annually.
DCWP is actively monitoring compliance, which includes analyzing monthly reporting from the apps. Based on compliance data submitted by Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub, which together make up 95 percent of the market:
- Delivery workers are earning $16.3 million per week more in wages. These workers went from being paid a rate of $5.39 per hour before tips – far below the minimum wage – to earning at least $17.96 per hour before tips.
- The number of orders per week and the number of workers performing deliveries have remained steady since enforcement of the minimum pay rate began, and the amount of time workers spent waiting for trips decreased.
- There was no change in the number of deliveries performed by workers for Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub, which together average about 2.6 million deliveries a week, both before and after enforcing the rate.
President Biden & Former President Trump Victorious in NY’s Presidential Primaries
On Tuesday, voters in New York State came out to vote in the Presidential Primary election. Democrats across the state showed strong support for President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., who won 91.5% of Democratic ballots cast across the state, according to unofficial election night results.
Democrats in New York City also supported President Biden by the same percentage. Republicans in turn supported former President Donald John Trump, who received 82.0% of Republican Ballots cast. Republicans in New York City showed slightly more support, with 86.3% casting ballots for former President Trump.
The Board of Elections will publish final results following the review of absentee and military ballots.
Coming Up
New York State
Monday, April 8th
New York State Senate Session, 3 p.m.
Senate Transportation Committee Meeting, (legislation) 708 LOB, 11:30 a.m.
New York State Assembly Session (*) at the Call of the Speaker
Tuesday, April 9th
New York State Senate Session, 11 a.m.
Senate Transportation Committee Meeting, (nomination) 708 LOB, 9 a.m.
Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting, 124 CAP, 9:30 a.m.
Senate Cities 1 Committee Meeting, 124 CAP, 10 a.m.
Senate Local Government Committee Meeting, 904 LOB, 10 a.m.
Senate Banks Committee Meeting, 710 LOB, 10:30 a.m.
Senate Finance Committee Meeting, 124 CAP, 11:30 a.m.
New York City
Monday, April 8th
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, April 11th
Committee on Finance, Committee Room – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Committee on Rules, Privileges, and Elections, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m. City Council Stated Meeting, Council Chambers – City Hall, 1:30 p.m.
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