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Just when you think you have seen it all in Albany – think again. In January, the Democrats assumed control of the State Senate for the first time since 1965, only to have it temporarily halted on June 8, when two Democrats, Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate, joined ranks with the Republicans, creating a “Coalition Conference.” Shortly thereafter, Senator Monserrate returned to the Democratic Conference, creating a 31-31 tie for control the chamber. This stalemate lasted until July 9, when Senator Espada rejoined the Democrats, returning the Senate back to the 32-30 majority.

In an attempt to restore order in the Senate and to avoid confusion regarding the line of succession to the Governor's office, Governor Paterson nominated former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Richard Ravitch, as his Lieutenant Governor on July 8. The Senate Republicans brought a legal action to stop Mr. Ravitch from assuming this position, which has not yet been resolved. Despite the delays which resulted in the Senate for over a month, the Assembly completed most of its business on June 23rd while the Senate completed most of its business for the year by working late into the night on July 16th. However, because some issues were not resolved and given recent statements by Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli that the state’s revenue shortfalls for May were down $350 million, on top of a $240 million shortfall in April, the Legislature will return in September to address these issues - click here for additional information. Additionally, the Senate will be in session on Thursday, August 6 to address New York City school governance legislation.

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Richard Ravitch named Lieutenant Governor

On July 8, Governor David A. Paterson announced the appointment of Richard Ravitch to serve as Lieutenant Governor. The Governor announced the appointment in an address televised statewide, during which he spoke about the fiscal and government crises facing the State.

Mr. Ravitch began his career as an attorney for the Government Operations Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., from 1959-1960. In 1975, Governor Hugh Carey appointed him to serve as Chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation. In 1979, Ravitch was appointed Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which oversees the operation of the New York City subways and buses, the Long Island Railroad and MetroNorth commuter lines, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.

Bills Passed

Follow the link below to view lists of bills that have passed both houses to date:

Bill Numbers

Power for Jobs Program Survives

Governor David A. Paterson recently signed into law a bill to continue Power For Jobs (PFJ), an economic development program aimed at reducing the high costs of electricity for hundreds of New York businesses and not-for-profit organizations. The law authorizes the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to continue providing rebates or low-cost electricity to customers in the PFJ and Energy Cost Savings Benefit (ECSB) programs. According to Governor Paterson, the PFJ and ECSB programs support nearly 330,000 jobs at businesses and not-for profit organizations across the New York. Participants receive benefits either through a cash rebate from NYPA to offset their electricity costs or through a discount on utility delivery rates or through NYPA financial subsidies of wholesale electricity prices.

Read more information here.

Governor Paterson to Deliver Economic and Fiscal Recovery Plan to Address $2.1 Billion Current-Year Budget Deficit

The Division of the Budget released its First Quarter Update to the State Financial Plan, which includes updated information on revenues, spending, and other financial indicators. Based on operating results through the first three months of the fiscal year and updated economic projections that indicate continuing weakness in the overall economy, the State must eliminate a current-year deficit of $2.1 billion in 2009-10, which will grow to $4.6 billion in 2010-11. To address this issue, Governor Paterson announced that he will work with Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch to develop an Economic and Fiscal Recovery Plan to eliminate the current-year budget deficit which will be September.

Read more information here.

State Tax Revenues Continue to Fall

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli recently reported that state tax revenues continue to fall below projections. The “Monthly Cash Report” for May 2009 found the General Fund balance for that month was $97.3 million below projections. General Fund receipts totaling $6.9 billion were $347.9 million below projections and disbursements of $8.8 billion were $250.1 million below projections. Personal income taxes of $3.6 billion were $2.9 billion, or 44.1 percent, below May 2008 receipts.

Read more information here.

Significant Reforms To New York’s Public Health Insurance Programs Made

On July 10, Governor David A. Paterson announced the release of New York State’s 2007-2009 Health Care Transformation Report which outlines the progress the State has made over the past two years to reform New York Medicaid. In addition to reforming reimbursement systems, New York has implemented several initiatives including:

Selective contracting for certain procedures to ensure that beneficiaries receive care in facilities that produce the best outcomes;
Non-payment for ‘never events’, avoidable hospital complications and medical errors that are identifiable, preventable and serious in their consequences to patients;
The introduction of comprehensive service utilization review to help Medicaid better identify patterns of inappropriate health care utilization for the benefit of beneficiaries and overall program efficiency; and
A number of pharmacy initiatives intended to reduce medication errors, as well as encourage pharmaceutical practices that produce better patient outcomes and yield savings.

Read more information here.

Board of Regents Elects Dr. David M. Steiner as New York State Education Commissioner

On Monday July 27, the New York State Board of Regents elected elected Dr. David M. Steiner as education commissioner. Steiner has spent the last four years as dean of the Hunter College School of Education at the City University of New York. Dr. Steiner succeeds Richard Mills, who announced his resignation in January and left the Education Department in early July. Steiner will begin his new position on Oct. 1st, and Carole Huxley, will remain as interim director until then.

Read more information here.

Stimulus Oversight Panel Formed

Governor David A. Paterson announced that he has appointed a stimulus oversight panel to further his commitment to ensuring that federal economic recovery funds are utilized with transparency and accountability. The oversight panel will work to prevent waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. It will also work to ensure benefits are distributed in an equitable, non-discriminatory manner.

The new panel will be headed by the State Inspector General Justice Joseph Fisch, and will include James Sheehan, the State’s Medicaid Inspector General, Barry Kluger, Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Galen Kirkland, Commissioner of the State Division of Human Rights .

Read more information here.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Webcasts

New York State is hosting a series of online seminars, which are being organized and hosted by the Governor's Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet. They are designed to provide the public with up-to-date information regarding Recovery Act programs and funding opportunities, as well as, information on reporting, accountability and compliance for local governments and other organizations that receive stimulus funds.

View the webinar schedule here.

Computer Chip Hybrid Integration Partnership Announced

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblywoman RoAnn M. Destito (D - Utica) and Governor Paterson have announced a partnership between the State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) and the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), to create the “Computer Chip Hybrid Integration Partnership” (CHIP).

According to Governor David A. Paterson, This new collaboration will create as many as 675 new jobs in the Mohawk Valley and Capital Regions combined. The partnership will be funded with $92.5 million in New York State capital investment, which includes:

$50 million from the 2009-2010 Empire State Development Corporation Capital budget for the construction of 120,000 square foot semiconductor packaging center at CSNE,
$27.5 million from the 2008-09 SUNY Capital Plan for the construction of a new building that will function as SUNYIT’s Center for Advanced Technology, and;
$15 million in Assembly discretionary funding.

Read more information here.

New York Small Business Task Force Created

Governor David A. Paterson announced the creation of the New York Small Business Task Force, which will focus existing State resources and develop new strategies to promote the growth and development of small business enterprises in New York. Governor Paterson has named William J. Grinker of Seedco Financial Services, Inc. as the Chair of the Task Force. The Task Force will deliver a final report to Governor Paterson in November, which will include solutions and recommendations on issues such as:

reducing government regulatory burdens;
increasing access to financial capital;
developing technical assistance programs; and
workforce development.

Read more information here.

$21.5 Million in Funding Allocated for Stem Cell Research

$21.5 million in State funding for stem cell research is now available, through the release of two Requests for Applications (RFAs) announced by Governor David A. Paterson on July 8. The State is seeking proposals to stimulate stem cell research, as follows:

Investigator-Initiated Research Projects and Innovative, Developmental or Exploratory Activities (IDEA) in Stem Cell Research ($15 million) – to stimulate and support basic, applied, translational, pre-clinical and clinical investigations on any aspect of stem cell biology that will lead to a better understanding of the unique properties of stem cells and allow their use to treat disease; and
Targeted Projects in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research ($6.5 million) – to derive and characterize new human embryonic stem cell lines, devise novel and improved derivation methods, increase efficiency in the production of new lines, standardize protocols, and enhance their potential for clinical application.

Read more information here.

Legislation to Streamline Local Government and Reduce Property Taxes Signed Into Law

The “New York Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act” – a bill to streamline New York’s local governments, reduce waste, lower the cost of doing business and reduce property taxes was signed by Governor David A. Paterson on June 25. This law establishes a single, comprehensive procedure to consolidate or dissolve several kinds of local government entities, which until now have been governed by disparate provisions of law, in order to make it easier for such governments to consolidate or dissolve. The consolidation and dissolution procedure set forth in the bill will apply to towns, villages and districts, including special districts and improvement districts.

Read more information here.

Office of Taxpayer Accountability Formed

Governor David A. Paterson announced the creation of the Office of Taxpayer Accountability. As part of the Executive Chamber, the Office will have a full-time mission to save taxpayers money by lowering costs, sharing services, eliminating duplication, improving service delivery, limiting unnecessary and unfunded mandates, and attacking waste, fraud and abuse. It will also have an ongoing focus on local government reform and implementing recommendations made by the Local Government Commission on Efficiency and Competitiveness and the Property Tax Commission.

Read more information here.

State Unveils Matching Grant Program To Drive Economic Recovery

Governor David A. Paterson unveiled "Bold Steps to the New Economy: A Jobs Plan for the People of New York." The plan is designed to capitalize on federal stimulus dollars to drive economic recovery in the fields of energy, environmental protection, technology and health care. Governor Paterson announced the creation of an Innovation Economy Matching Grants program that will provide a 10-percent match for every stimulus dollar the federal government awards through competitive grants to research facilities in New York State. New York will allocate $100 million over several years for this program which is expected to leverage one billion dollars in federal research funding.

Read more information here.

View Governor Paterson's report here.

Governor Paterson's Director of Operations Announces Retirement

Governor David A. Paterson announced that Director of State Operations Dennis P. Whalen will resign his position and retire from public service, effective September 8, 2009. Valerie Grey has been selected to replace Whalen. Before being appointed to the position of Director of State Operations last year, Mr. Whalen served as the State’s top health care advisor as Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Health and Human Services. As Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Health and Human Services, Mr. Whalen had previously served as the top health care advisor to Governor Paterson. He has held other senior posts in the Department of Health and served in a number of policymaking positions at the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, including Deputy Commissioner for Program Services. He began his career in State government in 1974 as a public health educator at the Department of Health.

Ms. Grey has served as First Deputy Secretary to the Governor since April 2009, and prior to that she served as the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services. From 2007 to 2008, Ms. Grey served as Assistant Commissioner of Government and External Affairs of the New York State Department of Health. Before joining the Department, Ms. Grey was the Director of Government Affairs for Greenberg Traurig, LLP from 2006 to 2007, and from 2003 to 2006, Ms. Grey served as Vice President of AmeriChoice of NY, Government Affairs and Regulatory Compliance division. Ms. Grey worked for the New York State Comptroller in the Office of Budget and Policy Analysis from 1996 to 2003.

Governor Paterson Announces Additional Adminstration Appointments

Governor David A. Paterson has announced the appointments of Marty Mack to serve as Deputy Secretary for Appointments, Cathy Calhoun to serve as Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs and Thomas Congdon to serve as Deputy Secretary for Energy. The Governor has also announced the appointments of Marissa Shorenstein as Deputy Director of Communications and Press Secretary and Latia Curry as Director of Special Projects.

Read more information here.

Controversy Over Finger Lakes Truck Policy

A report recently issued by an Albany group is critical of the New York State Department of Transportation’s Large Truck Policy (LTP), which now prohibits through travel by large trucks on seven roads in the Finger Lakes Region. Entitled “The Unreasonable Impact of the Reasonable Access Highway Regulation”, the report examines the economic impacts of the LTP and concludes that NYSDOT underestimated the policy’s impact on the State.

Using case study estimates from a number of affected businesses, this report concludes that the policy holds potential for significant job loss and that NYSDOT miscalculated the implications of the LTP. The policy is premised on protecting the character of certain local communities by eliminating truck traffic, but critics say that the Department is “reacting to emotional input from community residents more than hard analysis”.

NYSDOT officials say that the policy implemented last year is aimed at keeping large trucks on interstate highways, and end a practice of trucks using local roads across the Finger Lakes and Central New York regions, to save money on fuel and avoid tolls and weigh stations.