Legislative Wrap-Up Legislative Wrap-Up
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Preliminary 2018 Legislative Wrap-Up Legislative Wrap-Up Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Democratic Conference Leader Counsel and Finance Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Democratic Conference Leader Counsel and Finance Table of Contents Legislative Wrap Up Summary …………………………………………………………... 2 2018 Policy Group Summary……………………………...……………………...………. 4 Hostile Amendments……………………...……………………...……………………….. 6 Senate & Assembly Bill Tally……………………...……………………...……………… 9 Aging……………………...……………………...……………………...……………….. 10 Agriculture……………………...……………………...……………………...………….. 16 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse……………………...……………………...………….. 22 Banks……………………...……………………...……………………...……………….. 24 Children and Families……………………...……………………...……………………… 28 Cities……………………...……………………...……………………...………………... 35 Civil Service and Pensions……………………...……………………...………………… 41 Codes……………………...……………………...……………………...……………….. 48 Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business……………………...………… 52 Consumer Protection……………………...……………………...……………………….. 60 Corporations, Authorities and Commissions……………………...…………………….... 66 Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections……………………...……………………...……. 74 Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation……………………...………………….. 87 Education……………………...……………………...……………………...…………… 83 Elections……………………...……………………...……………………...…………….. 90 Energy and Telecommunications……………………...……………………...…………... 97 Environmental Conservation……………………...……………………...………………. 105 Finance……………………...……………………...……………………...……………… 111 Health……………………...……………………...……………………...………………. 141 Higher Education……………………...……………………...……………………...…… 149 Housing, Construction and Community Development……………………...…………… 153 Insurance……………………...……………………...……………………...……………. 160 Investigations and Government Operations……………………...……………………….. 164 Judiciary……………………...……………………...……………………...……………. 173 Labor……………………...……………………...……………………...………………... 179 Local Government……………………...……………………...…………………………. 184 Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities……………………...…………………… 193 Racing, Gaming and Wagering……………………...……………………...…………….. 198 Rules………………………………………………………………………………………. 206 Social Services……………………...……………………...……………………………... 212 Transportation……………………...……………………...…………………………….... 217 Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs……………………...……………….. 227 1 2018 Legislative Wrap Up Summary The 2018 legislative session will be remembered for a litany of legislative and policy successes accomplished by members of the Senate Democratic Conference. While the total number of bills passed in the Senate declined this year, Senate Democratic Conference members saw a conference-wide uptick in legislation and consequently gained new opportunities to achieve long-held legislative goals. Most importantly, many of the bills passed by Conference members will positively impact the lives of constituents and New Yorkers around the state. Some of the most noteworthy measures include: ● Prohibiting smoking within 100 feet of public libraries; ● Expanding the plain language requirement for consumer contracts from contracts worth up to $50,000 to contracts worth up to $100,000; ● Promoting clear information for families of residents of nursing homes by requiring notice when a Temporary Operator is installed to manage a nursing home or assisted living facility; ● Studying wage disparities on the basis of race and sex within the public sector; ● Supporting small businesses and worker cooperatives through grant funding, micro- lending, and further state support; ● Establishing tax credits to support disabled individuals through retrofitting non- accessible buildings and incentivizing the hiring of disabled individuals by small businesses; ● Creating a hotline to report the location of potholes to ensure repair work is directed to the right places; ● Promoting career and technical education through data driven analysis; ● Eliminating the overtime cap for New York City Transit Authority employees; ● Studying the use of a New York City seawall to protect the City from rising sea levels; ● Requiring disclosure of water usage in plain english to various communities in Long Island and Westchester County; ● Providing free feminine hygiene products to inmates in correctional facilities; and ● Promoting the construction of a new Hudson River Tunnel crossing by securing a permanent easement in the future transit corridor. With broad agreement on strongly supported goals, the Senate Democratic Conference used an aggressive strategy of hostile amendments designed to bring issues of critical importance into focus within the Senate Chamber. Senators debated and voted on critical priorities through Democratic-sponsored amendments such as: ● Supporting the reproductive health and contraceptive coverage; ● Enacting the Child Victims Act; ● Supporting the DREAM Act; ● Protecting New Yorkers from gun violence; ● Enacting comprehensive voting rights and campaign finance reform; and ● Uncoupling teacher evaluations from standardized test results. The votes and advocacy of Senate Democratic Conference members can also be credited for ensuring core progressive accomplishments in this year’s Enacted Budget. This year’s Enacted Budget saw the enactment or creation of; the first phase of an MTA Rescue Plan that includes a 2 surcharge on for-hire vehicle rides; Additional state support for the New York City Housing Authority and enactment of Design-Build authority to speed further repairs; Comprehensive sexual harassment legislation including new rights for independent contractors and a requirement that all employers enact internal anti-harassment policies; Support for public-sector unions in response to the Janus case; Extension of the time required to save rape kits from 30 days to 20 years; a public option pension plan that allows private sector employees to opt into a retirement savings account managed by the state; and a plan to combat the Trump Tax cuts through tax workarounds that restore lost tax benefits taken away from New Yorkers by the federal government. While many critical issues were left unaddressed, the Senate Democratic Conference increasingly drove the business of the chamber and secured victories on many core legislative priorities . This year’s session was a clear and emphatic step towards a Democratic Majority and the accomplishment of long-held Democratic policy goals. In a complex political environment produced by this year’s events, the Senate Democratic Conference’s members seized a new opportunity to ensure New Yorkers voices were heard and real-word problems were addressed in thoughtful and productive ways. 3 2018 Policy Group Summary In October 2015, Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins launched the Democratic Policy Group to develop policy initiatives to serve all New Yorkers. The group, chaired by Senator Brad Hoylman, with Senators Leroy Comrie, Velmanette Montgomery, Kevin Parker, Diane Savino, José M. Serrano, and David Valesky, works with the entire Democratic Conference to identify and advance practical solutions to the most pressing problems facing New Yorkers today. Since its start, the Policy Group has worked with the Conference on reports, forums, press, and regional events. The Policy Group has also worked on bills in related legislative packages. During the 2018 session, the Policy Group worked with the Conference to address critical statewide issues such as voting reform, the Child Victims Act, the State DREAM Act, and the crushing burden of property taxes on New York families. Voting Reform On May 1, 2018, the Policy Group released its report, Why Don’t More New Yorkers Vote?, on the subject of voting rights in New York state. Using data from a new survey conducted by Senate Democratic Conference staff, the Policy Group identified some of the key reasons why New York ranks just 41st in turnout in the nation. The survey identified several important reasons why turnout is so low: registered voters stated that they missed one or more elections because of work or school obligations, because they were caring for a family member or child, because of bad weather on Election Day, because of an unforeseen illness or disability, because they did not know the date of the election, or because they could not get an absentee ballot. To combat these problems, the Policy Group proposed the enactment of numerous bills that would strengthen access to the ballot. The proposed legislation would: (1) establish early voting; (2) start the process of amending the State Constitution to permit no-excuse absentee voting; (3) establish automatic voter registration; (4) allow 16- and 17-year olds to pre-register to vote; (5) shorten the deadline for party enrollment; (6) lengthen primary polling hours in Upstate counties; (7) consolidate the federal and state primaries; (8) make important voting information available in more languages; and (9) require mailed notice to voters before primary, special, and general elections. Child Victims Act The Policy Group worked with the Senate Democratic Conference to continue to promote the long overdue Child Victims Act with its briefing Don’t Put a Cap on Justice: Why the Child Victims Act is Worth It. The Child Victims Act (S.6575/Hoylman) would provide new and expanded remedies for victims of child sex abuse in New York by (1) extending the statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions to age 28; (2) extending the statute of limitations for civil actions based on child sexual abuse to age 50; (3) create a one-year period where presently time- barred claims could be revived; (4) permit claims against