CapCon: House Speaker to NY, What's Next On Redistricting, Where We Are On Budget
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Good afternoon — it’s Monday, and Presidents’ Day.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024
TODAY’S CAP CON: House Speaker in N.Y., what’s next on redistricting, where we are in the budget process.
🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? No.
❄️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Mostly clear, low of 14°F . New York City: Clear, high 20s. (National Weather Service)
🕓 Good afternoon! We’re thrilled to be back today, but we understand that many of you are not checking email given the holiday. So, we’re going to keep today’s newsletter relatively light while you get some extra rest.
🚅 House Speaker in N.Y.: House Speaker Mike JOHNSON, R-La., is coming to New York Thursday.
He’s traveling to Binghamton to meet with U.S. Rep. Marc MOLINARO, a freshman Republican who represents a competitive district that stretches from the Hudson Valley to the Southern Tier.
It’s a chance for Molinaro to show he has the confidence of leadership in the House, where Republicans have a slim majority.
He’s expected to face a tough reelection, and Republicans are on guard after Democrats won NY-3 last week in a special election.
They’re scheduled to meet in the afternoon with area law enforcement leaders, emergency responders and their families.
They’re planning to talk about issues important to public safety, including funding for law enforcement, per Molinaro’s office.
💰 Commerce Secretary in N.Y.: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina RAIMONDO will be in New York on Tuesday to help tout a $1.5 billion CHIPS award for GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor company.
Another $1.6 billion is being offered in loans to the company as well for expansion projects, as the TU’s Larry Rulison reports today.
Raimondo will be joined by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. SCHUMER, Gov. Kathy HOCHUL, and White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard in Malta to promote the funding.
🗺️ Next on Redistricting: Democrats have a common enemy in the emerging fight over redistricting, but it’s not one they can easily defeat: time.
After the Independent Redistricting Commission unveiled and approved a new set of maps for New York’s congressional districts last week, Democrats who control the Legislature began to discuss what to do about them.
They really only have two options at the moment: approve the new maps, or reject them and draw their own. (Hello, it’s 2022 calling.)
That same day, state Democratic Party Chair Jay JACOBS cautioned them against rushing the maps to a vote, saying “we owe it to the public to carefully review these maps.”
“The fact that Lee Zeldin … endorsed this map should give us all pause,” he said, also noting concerns over communities split by the proposed maps.
The next day, the issue intensified when House Minority Leader Hakeem JEFFRIES, who represents part of Brooklyn, echoed those thoughts, while providing a little more incisive remarks about his concerns.
“The map adopted by the Independent Redistricting Commission should be meticulously scrutinized by the New York state Legislature, particularly as it relates to compliance with provisions in the state constitution designed to protect historically under-represented communities,” Jeffries said.
He also slammed the commission’s “failure … to address many of the flaws in the current map drawn by an unelected, out-of-town special master in 2022.”
Jeffries claims the latest maps were “gratuitously designed” to benefit the incumbent in NY-19. That would violate the state’s redistricting laws.
The incumbent he’s talking about is Molinaro, who said he just wants the whole thing to be done with.
“I didn't think it was necessary to revisit these maps to begin with,” Molinaro said. “This process has dragged on way too long. Voters deserve clarity and this process needs to end.”
State Republican Chair Ed Cox said the same, and urged the Legislature to “adopt these district lines without change.”
For now, we don’t know what Democrats plan to do, or when they plan to do it.
There was initially a possibility that they would make a special trip back to Albany this week to consider the maps. They’re scheduled to be off this week.
But legislative sources say that’s really unlikely at this point.
The biggest obstacle they’re facing is time.
Petitioning starts on Feb. 27 — one day after the Legislature is set to reconvene.
If Democrats come back, and decide to reject the maps, they’ll have to draw their own. When that happened two years ago, they were ultimately thrown out by the state’s highest court — which had a different dynamic at that time.
That’s what led to a special master drawing them that year. Those are the current districts.
They would also have to abide by a section of state law that says they can’t amend the commission’s map in a way that would impact more than 2 percent of each district’s population.
But they have options there, according to Jeffrey Wice, who leads the New York Census and Redistricting Institute at New York Law School.
“The Legislature could easily repeal that statute,” Wice told me. “That’s a very major question that everybody’s got on their minds now.”
That doesn’t fix the timing issue, but that could be remedied as well, Wice said. Remember, we saw this in 2020, when the pandemic upended thousands of lives and the political calendar.
Democrats could extend the petitioning period or reduce the number of signatures required, for example.
They could also move the primary, scheduled for June 25.
We may know more in the coming days, but for now, it looks like Republicans want the new maps approved, and Democrats want to consider their options.
That doesn’t inspire confidence that the maps are on the fast-track to passing the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
💵 What’s Next on Budget: It’s about this time of year when I like to take a breath and remind myself where we are in the ever-evolving state budget process.
Lawmakers wrapped up a marathon of hearings on Hochul’s proposed state budget last week, checking another box on the way to a final spending plan.
Think of one of those maps, with the bright red pins that say: “You are here.”
Before that pin, you’ll see what’s already happened: Hochul has proposed her budget, and lawmakers have concluded their hearings. You are here.
Here’s what happens now:
Next week, representatives from the Legislature and the governor’s office will convene a public meeting to come to a consensus on the state’s revenue forecast.
This is basically when they decide how much money they’ll have coming in over the next fiscal year.
After that, the Senate and Assembly will meet with their respective conferences and compile their one-house budgets.
These are rebuttal plans to what Hochul proposed, and aren’t binding.
They’re then approved on the floor in a largely symbolic measure.
That kicks off more regular negotiations between Hochul’s office, the Senate and the Assembly. Remember, the chambers don’t always agree on everything.
The Assembly has 101 members who have to decide on a single position, while the Senate has 42.
The end goal is to get a budget passed before March 31 — a day which marks Easter and the end of the state’s fiscal year. We’ll see what happens!
📖 THIS WEEK IN NEW YORK HISTORY: Every Monday, we’ll plan to tell you about part of New York’s history from years past. This research is from New York State Historian Devin Lander and the New York State Museum, so you know it’s legit.
February is Black History Month. For a calendar of events taking place at museums and historical societies across New York State, click here.
🎨 Feb. 20, 1872: Last Monday, we told you about New York’s introduction to modern art from Europe in 1913. But the art world was already alive and well when, on this date, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened to the public for the first time.
The Met, as it’s more commonly known, was first incorporated by the state Legislature in 1870 and was originally in the Dodworth building on Fifth Avenue.
It moved to a larger space on West 14th Street the next year, and in 1880 moved to where it now stands in Central Park.
📖 Feb. 21, 1965: Human rights activist Malcolm X was assassinated on this day at age 39 in Harlem.
He was killed while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom.
His killers were thought to be members of the Nation of Islam, a religious and political organization that Malcolm X was involved in, but the true identity of the assassins remains a controversial mystery today.
🏒 Feb. 22, 1980: When the Olympics were hosted in Lake Placid on this date, it was already a special day for New York. But it became even more special when the U.S. men’s ice hockey team beat the Soviet Union in the medal round in what became known as the “Miracle on Ice.”
The Soviet Union had won the gold in five of the previous six Winter Olympics, so they were heavily favored to win.
But a team of young, amateur players from the states triumphed in a 4-3 victory. Two days later they beat Finland to win the gold medal.
👮 Red Flag Gun Law: S8589 SCARCELLA-SPANTON: State law requires an officer’s name to be associated with an Extreme Risk Protection Order. This bill would allow a police agency to be listed as the petitioner to prevent harassment. (New Senate sponsor)
💉 COVID-19 Vaccine: A9226 REILLY: Would prohibit any requirement that a child or incapacitated person receive a COVID-19 vaccine without parental/guardian consent. Would also bar the vaccine as a requirement for attending school or day care. (New Assembly sponsor)
✏️ Violence in Schools: S4598A BAILEY: Would create the School Anti-Violence Education Fund, which would be used to create anti-violence programs in schools. No funding allocated in the bill, but it says money could come from public and private sources. (New bill)
🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? No.
There are no events scheduled at the Capitol for Tuesday.
🏛️ Presidents’ Day: You already know this one, but today is Presidents’ Day.
The day originally marked the celebration of George Washington’s birthday in 1885.
It became known as Presidents’ Day in 1971 as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which was apparently passed to create more three-day weekends.
More from the Times Union (Free for CapCon Subscribers):
Mobile gambling soars as concerns about the fallout also increase
Small farms decline in New York, especially dairy
Human smugglers use social media to solicit northern border crossings
The Times Union Bill Tracker: Your guide to key bills on the table in this year’s legislative session, compiled by the TU’s Capitol Bureau. Find it here.