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For State Budget, Leaders Choose 'On Time' Over Open


cuomo flanagan heastie june 2015

Heastie, Cuomo, Flanagan (l-r), June 2015 (photo via The Governor's Office)


As negotiations over the state's $150 billion budget sputtered on Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ramped up pressure on legislators to accept a deal. Speaking with reporters, Cuomo implied legislators could jeopardize a potential pay raise if they can't deliver an on-time budget.

"So they're gonna need to be able to make that case not just to the pay commission but to the people of the State of New York in November when they go to seek re-election," Cuomo said. "So performance matters - if they don't pass a budget on time obviously that is a failure of performance."

Cuomo has made better state government function, including on-time budgets, a signature of his time as governor. Legislators and good government groups dismiss the governor's insistence that an on-time budget is paramount, especially when negotiations come so close to the April 1 start of the new fiscal year.

In Albany it has practically become tradition for rank-and-file lawmakers to be asked to vote on a budget with only a few hours time to review its contents. The state constitution requires bills to age three days before they are voted on in order to facilitate public review, but Cuomo, like many governors before him, has taken to issuing "messages of necessity" to bypass the otherwise-mandated waiting period. Final budget votes - with debate that is often only for show or to get comment on the record - have stretched late into the night with rank-and-file members discussing measures they discover in the budget almost in real time.

With no budget deal reached as of Wednesday evening, it is all but certain that this year will see the governor again issue messages of necessity and a very short window between budget bills printed and voted on.

Meanwhile, a seven-member commission has begun meeting to determine pay raises for legislators and other state officials. Three of the members of the commission were appointed by the governor, two by the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, and one each by the legislative majority leaders. Legislators haven't had a pay raise since 1999, currently earning a base salary of $79,500.

Contrary to Cuomo's statement Wednesday, the language creating the pay commission does not explicitly mention "performance" as something to be factored into deliberations. The commission is scheduled to make its recommendations in November, right around Election Day when every state Senate and Assembly seat is on the ballot. The recommendations would then automatically take effect in 2017, unless the Legislature votes to oppose them.

A number of legislators told Gotham Gazette pay raises wouldn't factor into the time it takes them to consider the budget.

"Our conference is going to go over and deliberate what's in there, we are going to know what we're voting on," said Senate Deputy Minority Leader Michael Gianaris, a Democrat from Queens. "That review is going to be done at the pace that it takes. We are not going to go out there ignorant to what's in the budget. If those negotiating the budget wanted to ensure timeliness they should have concluded negotiations earlier."

Gianaris' sentiments were echoed by a number of Assembly Republicans and Senate Democrats. The groups represent their chamber's minority, though, and not driving negotiations, which are largely taking place among Gov. Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan.

"Cuomo should look in the mirror if budget is late," tweeted Republican Assembly Member Steve McLaughlin. "Absurd argument to pin it on the legislators who haven't seen it."

John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, pointed out that budgets have passed with fairly controversial measures tucked in at the last minute by lobbyists and their government allies thanks to the lack of thorough review.

"Does anyone really want their state legislator voting on a $150 billion, 10,000 page budget they haven't had time to look at?" Kaehny asked rhetorically. "Does anyone other than the governor really think it is more important to pass a budget on time and unscrutinized, than a few days late and fully examined? Do people want their state representative voting for a budget that could be stuffed full of things like tax breaks for yachts and private jets - like last year?"

Dick Dadey, executive director for Citizens Union, said that a budget that is "a few days late but ages for the requisite three days for public review is far preferable to an on-time budget when the public has no time to review the $150 billion that taxpayers are funding."

In stark contrast to his predecessors Cuomo has successfully delivered on-time budgets each year he has held office. It was typical for budgets to go weeks and even months over deadline before Cuomo became governor. Cuomo has actually used messages of necessity considerably less than his predecessors, but he has used them to pass the budget three times since taking office in 2011.

"As a practical financial matter it won't amount to much if they are a few days late," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "It will shake what little confidence the public has left in state government. The last reasonable claim the governor can make that he brought order to chaos in Albany is in on-time state budgets," said Horner.

This year's final budget negotiations appear to be difficult for both legislative majorities for different reasons. The Assembly majority is fighting a Cuomo proposal to force New York City to take on $250 million in Medicaid funding. The Senate majority is grappling with Cuomo's push to raise the minimum wage to $15 across the state. Some see the wage increase as a winner with voters and admit Cuomo was very successful in pushing the issue, but others are adamant an increase will hurt the economy and hurt them at the polls in November.

Sen. Joseph Addabbo of Queens, who is in favor of the concept of both the minimum wage increase and the paid family leave proposal that appears to be close to finalized, said it is critically important to him to see exactly how those measures are actually implemented. "It's not about beating the clock. I'm not voting on a $150 billion budget without getting every detail," Addabbo, a Democrat, told Gotham Gazette.

Many good government advocates see this year's budget negotiation as one of the least transparent in modern history. Coming on the heels of the convictions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Cuomo and legislators have held clandestine meetings at the Governor's Mansion and routinely dodged the press. They have been more open about the process in the last few days, but after dealing with two press scrums on Thursday Flanagan dodged the press by exiting a back door of Cuomo's office.

Legislative leaders have rejected discussion of ethics reform and adding transparency to stashes of cash the governor and the Legislature insert into the budget without any particular use given.

Both Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb and Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have decried being left out of negotiations and assailed this budget season as the least transparent in memory. Representatives for Cuomo, Heastie, and Flanagan did not return requests for comment on the use of messages of necessity and concerns over budget transparency.

Gianaris said that while he agrees that rank-and-file legislators need time to examine the budget, "The real issue is that had this process been open and transparent along the way we wouldn't be sitting here at the eleventh hour with nothing. If all conferences had been included we could have wrapped this up a long time ago." 

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by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union.

Criminal Justice Reform Again Given Little Attention in Budget Negotiations


cuomo prison visit dannemora

Gov. Cuomo in Dannemora (photo via The Governor's Office)


As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders rush to deliver an on-time budget, criminal justice reform advocates aren't holding out hope that any of their major legislative priorities will be included in the final document. Advocates are resigned that many of their priorities, which are backed by Cuomo and included in his executive budget, will be pushed to the post-budget legislative session.

A budget is due by midnight Thursday, with the new fiscal year beginning on Friday, April 1, but a deal must be in place sooner so that bills can be drafted and voted on. The legislative session then extends into June. Cuomo and legislative leaders said Tuesday that they were getting close to settling the major funding and policy differences that would be included in the budget, with no mention of criminal justice issues.

For some advocates it is no surprise given the complexities of their issues, like the push to raise the age of adult criminal responsibility in New York and legislation to amend state law to create a special prosecutor to preside over investigations of police killings of civilians.

To others, it isn't surprising for an entirely different reason: they are used to seeing Cuomo pitch major criminal justice reforms during his State of the State address only to abandon them during budget negotiations due to push back from Senate Republicans.

"For years we've seen this pattern where the governor comes out with big bold ideas in January but he doesn't follow through," said Alyssa Aguilera, co-executive director of VOCAL-NY, a community organizing and reform group. "We know the governor is very powerful and can move things when he wants to. He should be acting on these issues that really impact the low-income communities of color who are really his base."

The Cuomo administration did not return request for comment.

Legislators who support criminal justice reforms say they've been focused on the budget and won't likely return to other legislative issues until next week.

Aguilera noted that Cuomo has previously pitched decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana only to abandon the issue. Last year Cuomo dropped "Raise the Age" and legislation to create a special prosecutor to investigate police killings of civilians during budget negotiations. He has also previously abandoned a push to provide inmates with a college education.

However, last year while facing pressure to act from family members of the deceased, advocates, and legislators, Cuomo issued an executive order giving Attorney General Eric Schneiderman the ability to investigate police killings of civilians under certain circumstances. The order allows the Attorney General to investigate any case involving a police killing of a civilian and to take over a case from a local District Attorney.

The bill Cuomo is backing this year would allow an independent monitor to look into cases if a grand jury decided to not move forward against an officer or if a District Attorney did not put the case before a grand jury in a "reasonable" time. The monitor could then make a recommendation to the Governor. The Attorney General would no longer have a role.

Advocates see the proposal, which is not garnering momentum, as a substantial weakening of Cuomo's executive order. Aguilera said she is concerned the current environment might not be ideal for getting the special prosecutor bill her group supports. "Our biggest fear really is seeing a rolling back of our victory. We fought for the executive order which was a very good, solid executive order. We are realistic that the current leadership in the state Senate means it might not be the right time for a stronger bill. We need to protect the current executive order. We don't want to see a watering down of what we already have," she said.

Supporters of the plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York are more optimistic about their chances. New York is currently one of just two states, with North Carolina, to try 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.

"I think it's going to be a priority for the governor once other priorities are taken care of," said Paige Pierce, CEO of Families Together New York State. "We aren't surprised or unhappy it is being dealt with outside of the budget. We want the attention paid to it that it deserves."

The issue of how to treat 16- and 17-year-olds in the state's criminal justice system is complicated. Senate Republicans don't want to be soft on crime, or give the appearance of being so, while Assembly Democrats want to provide a host of alternatives to criminal court.

Lawmakers and advocates say that last year they came close to compromise legislation. "We got so close last session, we just ran out of time," said Stephanie Gendell, associate executive director for policy and government relations at Citizen's Committee for Children of New York.

Gendell said that legislators from both sides of the aisle were motivated to deliver on legislation when they heard details of how 16- and 17-year-olds were treated. "Certain pieces of Raise the Age just aren't controversial to anyone. That's why we got so close," said Gendell. "Legislators were surprised to hear that a 16-year-old arrested can be held all night without parental notification, without anyone knowing. The more people learn the more they are motivated to act."

Cuomo did push last year to leave funding in the budget to enact Raise the Age reforms were a deal reached, and that money was there, but no deal occurred. The governor included similar language in this year's executive budget. Advocates are anxious to see if the language makes the final budget bills, setting the stage for an agreement in the months ahead. Cuomo also has bail reform on his agenda for the legislative session ahead.

The governor, Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan continue to negotiate the budget framework.

With no legislative deal reached last year Cuomo took executive action, placing all 16- and 17-year-old inmates in an alternative facility. He followed up by pushing the issue again in this year's State of the State address. The Assembly put forward its own version of the bill in its one-house budget. Senate Republicans have indicated some interest in compromising on reform legislation.

"Part of why this doesn't get passed in the budget is that it is a very comprehensive piece of legislation," said Gendell. "Out bill is very long and there is a lot to it. When we get to legislative session we can talk more about the details. Senator Flanagan said he didn't want to deal with Raise the Age in the budget, he didn't say he didn't want it to happen at all."

[Related: Cuomo's Executive Action on Raise the Age Prompts Questions]

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by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 28


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

A state budget is due by midnight Thursday! How close to the deadline will it go? Will it be late? Odds are Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders will reach a deal on the $150-plus billion spending plan in time, as the governor has made this a priority of his time in office, more or less achieving it in each of his five years leading the state thus far (last year's is the only one in question, as the budget was technically voted through after the midnight deadline). In order to get everything done by Thursday night, the governor may need to issue "messages of necessity" removing the three-day aging period on the budget bills. We'll see what Monday holds as Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan continue to negotiate. One key sticking point remains the details of raising the minimum wage so that it eventually reaches $15 per hour, a major priority for Cuomo and Heastie. There's a chance that the minimum wage will be dealt with, along with several other major policy issues like government ethics reform, in the legislative session following the budget. The state's fiscal year begins April 1. The legislative session continues into June.

It was a quiet Easter weekend all over the state, including in New York City. Mayor de Blasio was in Florida for the holiday - he's back Sunday evening - and several City Council members, including Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito are on a trip to Ireland (along with the speaker, traveling Council members include: Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, Jimmy Van Bramer, Daniel Dromm, and Corey Johnson) - they are due back Tuesday.

Voting in this year's cycle of participatory budgeting began this weekend and continues throughout the week in the 28 (of 51) Council districts where members have decided to run the program, which allows constituents to propose projects and decide how $1-2 million in capital funds gets spent in each.

This week we're largely focused on the state budget, which of course has a great deal at stake for New York City, while city preliminary budget hearings continue at the City Council - it's been a fairly quiet city budget season thus far, though there are one or two points of contention between the Council and the de Blasio administration - like library funding. Still, most in the city are more concerned with the state budget than with city budget negotiations. While Gov. Cuomo has bowed to pressure over his proposed cost shifts to the city for hundreds of millions of dollars in CUNY funding, there are still several other high profile issues de Blasio, other city officials, and many around the city are keeping an eye on.

As always, there's a great deal happening all over the city, with many events to be aware of - read our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
E-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday
Both houses of the New York State Legislature are in session on Monday in Albany.

At the City Council on Monday:

  • 10 a.m., the Committee on Public Housing will hold its preliminary budget hearing
  • 2 p.m., the Committee on Immigration will hold its preliminary budget hearing

At 10 a.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will host a Women’s History Month discussion and networking breakfast, featuring women working for Manhattan city, state, and federal elected officials as well as popular YouTube content creators. The venue will be the YouTube Space in Chelsea Market.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Bronx Veteran Advisory Council will host a meeting to educate the local community boards and elected officials on veterans’ resources in the Bronx and across the city. Speakers at the event include Commissioner Loree Sutton of the Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs, Jamal Othman, Deputy Director of the NYS Division of Veteran Affairs; and Shawn Kingston from the Bronx VA Medical Center.

At 11 a.m. Monday in the Bronx, "The Tata group...will be donating 10,000 new books to children in New York's 79th assembly district in The Bronx, in partnership with First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise and Assembly member Michael A. Blake. To celebrate this historic effort, one of the Tata group companies, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), will host a "Read-A-Loud" with pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students at Urban Scholars Community School, where each of these 300+ students will receive two books to add to their personal libraries at home."

On Monday at noon in Albany, “A coalition of government reform organizations will come together to respond to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's public statements that there will be no ethics reforms included in the final budget agreement. The groups will denounce the “unprecedented” secrecy around budget negotiations while urging that any lump sum budget appropriations be itemized and publicly disclosed.” Participants include Citizens Union; Common Cause NY; League of Women Voters of NYS; NY Public Interest Research Group; and Reinvent Albany.

"On Monday, Mayor de Blasio will join NYPD officials for a counterterrorism tabletop exercise...After the tabletop, the Mayor and NYPD Commissioner Bratton will hold a media availability on terrorism preparedness." This press conference is scheduled for 3 p.m.

At 4 p.m. at City Hall, "the Mayor will hold public hearings for and sign eight pieces of legislation – Intro. 701-A, in relation to low energy intensity building requirements for certain capital projects; Intro. 721-A, in relation to green building standards for certain capital projects and to repeal section 3 of local law number 86 for the year 2005, relating to certain reporting requirements; Intros. 805-A, 814-A and 819, in relation to increasing inclusivity and enhancing the interpretation of the New York City Human Rights Law; Intro. 818-A, in relation to the provision of attorney's fees under the New York City Human Rights Law; Intro. 832-A, in relation to prohibiting discrimination in housing accommodations on the basis of an individual's status as a victim of domestic violence; and Intro. 763-A, in relation to requiring the department of correction to report on security indicators in City jails and repeal section 9-130 of such code, in relation to jail data reporting on adolescents."

Tuesday
Both houses of the New York State Legislature are in session on Tuesday in Albany.

At 8 a.m., City & State and The Plumbing Foundation will host a panel, “Skilled Labor (re)Building NYC,” a discussion to highlight the need for investment in the city’s aging gas infrastructure and the need to make the city more sustainable and resilient. Speakers to include City Council Members Jumaane Williams and Mark Treyger; David Gmach, Con Edison’s Director of NYC Public Affairs; among others.

At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, The Association for a Better New York will host a breakfast with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who will discuss the progress his borough has seen since he first took office in 2009 and offer policy suggestions for the improvement of his borough and the city.

On Tuesday at the City Council:

  • 11 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will hold its preliminary budget hearing
  • 1 p.m., the Committee on Technology will hold its preliminary budget hearing

On Tuesday afternoon, Mayor de Blasio is scheduled to deliver keynote remarks at the launch of The Ford Foundation’s “Inclusive Growth in Cities campaign.” The event “will bring together mayors from more than 20 cities around the world—plus other business, philanthropic, and urban leaders—to highlight innovative ideas and smart strategies for addressing rising inequality and fostering inclusive growth worldwide.”

Wednesday
Both houses of the New York State Legislature are in session on Wednesday in Albany.

At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, The Manhattan Institute will host a conference on career and technical education schools in New York City and across the country. Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education, will deliver the keynote address.

At the City Council on Wednesday:

  • 10 a.m., the Committee on Women’s Issues will introduce a bill requiring lactating rooms in certain public spaces throughout the city
  • 1 p.m., the Committee on Recovery and Resiliency will hold an oversight meeting to review Build It Back’s Temporary Relocation Assistance Program

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, an “all-in-one” resource clinic providing access to free, comprehensive services addressing aging, disability, immigration, personal finance, and transportation issues will launch at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The effort will be held on Wednesdays in the months ahead, and is intended to enhance the work done by Borough President Eric Adams’ Constituent Assistance Center to provide assistance on issues facing the borough’s residents.

Thursday
Both houses of the New York State Legislature are in session on Thursday in Albany. A budget is due by midnight!

At 10 a.m. Thursday, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, the first African-American woman to hold this position in the history of New York State, will speak at the South Bronx Leadership Forum, in recognition of Women’s History Month. Clark will discuss progress in reforming the criminal justice system and her experience at the helm of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

At the City Council on Thursday:

  • 10:30 a.m., the Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet on two bills: one to exempt the taxation of alterations and improvements to multiple dwellings and another to exempt the and abate the taxation of certain rehabilitated buildings as authorized by the real property tax law
  • 1 p.m., the Committee on Governmental Operations will hold an oversight hearing to evaluate the structure and content of the Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report (PMMR)

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, City & State NY will host the “Above & Beyond: Honoring Women of Public and Civic Mind” gala. The event will celebrate 25 accomplished women working in various fields, including business, public service, nonprofit, organized labor and media, and feature special guest speaker Maya Wiley, Counsel to Mayor de Blasio.

Friday and the weekend
Nothing on our radar for the end of the week as of now. Stay tuned for updates here and other days this week!

***
Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).

***
by Kelly Fan and Ben Max
@GothamGazette



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