CapCon: New Congressional Districts (Again), Hochul & High Taxes, Comptroller's Budget Views, Thursday Reads
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Good afternoon — it’s Thursday, and National Gumdrop Day.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2024
TODAY’S CAPCON: New maps from the IRC, Hochul and high taxes, comptroller’s budget views, aid in dying push, Thursday Reads
🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? No.
❄️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Breezy, snow likely, high 20s New York City: Scattered rain and snow, breezy. High 20s. (National Weather Service)
🗺️ New Redistricting Maps: The Legislature will now have to consider new maps for New York’s congressional districts after the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission unveiled and approved new boundaries Thursday.
They had to go back to the drawing board after the state’s highest court decided in December they didn’t finish the job the first time, and now have to do it again.
I was able to snap a few photos of the maps, which may already be on the IRC’s website when you read this.
The upstate districts are above for you to pinch-and-zoom.
I don’t see any noticeable changes on Long Island or in New York City. I’ll put them below this.
A few brief observations on a few of the upstate districts:
NY-22: The west side of this district is extended a bit into the city of Auburn. This district would also lose a chunk of its northeast end. That part was relatively red, so U.S. Rep. Brandon WILLIAMS, a Republican, may have a tougher time holding onto this already competitive district this year with those changes.
NY-26: This western New York district would shrink a bit, but would become even more firmly blue. The redder, northern part of the district has been carved out. This one’s vacant right now after U.S. Rep. Brian HIGGINS stepped down recently.
NY-24: The part carved from NY-26 would instead be added to NY-24, which was already pretty safely red. U.S. Rep. Claudia TENNEY represents this district.
NY-25: The western end of this district, by Rochester, would also be carved into NY-24. That part was relatively red, so this district would be even more likely to stay in the hands of U.S. Rep. Joe MORELLE, a Democrat.
NY-19: This Hudson Valley district would cede some red territory to NY-23, but would take some from NY-21. It’s already a competitive district represented by U.S. Rep. Marc MOLINARO, a Republican.
The maps will now be sent to the Democrat-controlled Legislature, which can approve them or reject the proposed boundaries and offer their own. We don’t yet know when that will happen, but it has to be before petitioning begins in less than two weeks.
If the Legislature rejects them, the IRC is required by law to produce a second set of maps for lawmakers to consider. That would slow things down.
State Sen. James SKOUFIS, D-Orange County, promptly came out against the new maps, saying they largely benefit incumbents and would split his county in half.
“These maps are a disgrace and ought to be rejected by the Legislature,” he said in a statement.
Read more from the TU’s Josh Solomon here (free for subscribers).
💸 Hochul & High Taxes: Progressives who want the state to enact higher taxes on the wealthy usually have little in common with New York City Mayor Eric ADAMS, who’s against that idea.
But, this year, they agree on at least one thing: that Gov. Kathy HOCHUL’s executive budget proposal doesn’t provide enough money to best serve New Yorkers.
Progressives want higher taxes on the wealthy to fund a host of priorities, like new housing, expanded health care options, infrastructure, and more.
Adams wants the state to pony up more cash to help with the city’s influx of migrants and asylum seekers.
State Budget Director Blake WASHINGTON addressed both issues during a round of questions Thursday at an event put on by the Citizens Budget Commission, a budget analysis group in New York.
And progressives will be disappointed to hear that Hochul, per Washington, still has no plans to agree to higher taxes on the wealthy this year, or any year.
That’s not a surprise. Hochul has said repeatedly she’s not in favor of higher taxes on the wealthy.
“I know the governor is committed to not raising taxes in this current year,” Washington said. “I don’t think it’s in her mind in any way, shape, or form in the out-years to increase it further than what it is today.”
New York enacted three new tax brackets in 2021 that raised rates for individuals earning more than $1,077,551 in annual income. Those rates are:
9.65% for people who earn at least that much, but less than $5 million.
10.3% for people earning between $5 million and $25 million.
10.9% for people earning more than $25 million.
But here’s the catch: those rates are scheduled to expire in 2027, setting up a debate between Democrats in the Legislature, who largely support the higher taxes, and the governor, if Hochul (or whoever’s in her place at the time) opposes them.
When asked if Hochul would commit to letting the higher tax rates expire, Washington said it’s too soon to say.
“In terms of decreasing that or any other tax, it’s going to be a sort of game-time decision, look where we are at the moment of time, and then see if we can adjust accordingly,” Washington said.
Washington also defended Hochul’s proposed $2.4 billion to help New York City with the influx of asylum seekers after Adams told the Legislature last week he wanted the cost split 50-50 with the state.
Adams said in August the crisis could cost the city $12 billion through fiscal year 2025.
He told reporters last week he wants $4.6 billion from the state from now through then.
Hochul’s approach, Washington said, is to look at what the state is spending elsewhere, and decide how much would be left to help the city.
“You kind of have to look at the whole state platform and figure out where you spend money,” he said. “You’d want to make sure that every need in the state of New York was met.”
Hochul also continues to lobby Congress and the White House for more aid for the crisis, but that hasn’t looked likely.
💵 Comptroller’s Calculus: Speaking of the budget, state Comptroller Tom DINAPOLI wants the Legislature to reject part of Hochul’s proposed spending plan that he says would curtail his oversight powers.
A 38-page report released Thursday by DiNapoli’s office detailing the plan said:
Hochul’s budget exempts “a minimum of $160 million” from comptroller oversight, and $1.4 billion in spending that would be doled out “without a competitive procurement process.”
The budget would also allow $1.9 billion in spending “based on a plan that it approves but does not require that the funds be distributed based on a competitive process or objective criteria,” the report said.
That spending is a combination of 50 separate provisions spread across several budget bills, according to the comptroller’s office.
“This independent oversight protects taxpayers from short-sighted decisions that can burden the state financially. These proposals should be rejected,” DiNapoli said Thursday.
DiNapoli’s office also had plenty to say about the rest of Hochul’s budget in the report, which is released each year ahead of negotiations between the governor and the Legislature.
Hochul has irritated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the Legislature this year by proposing changes to how state funding is distributed to school districts.
That change would result in 336 districts receiving more state aid, and 337 districts receiving less, DiNapoli’s report said.
It also urged a “holistic, comprehensive review” before the change is considered. That’s something that lawmakers, and the state Education Department, have said as well.
The report also said the state should be more transparent about its spending toward Medicaid, which is billed at $30.9 billion for the next fiscal year in Hochul’s proposed budget.
That’s an increase of 10.9%, per the budget’s financial plan.
That’s partly because due to higher enrollment during the pandemic that hasn’t gone down, but expanded benefits and increased reimbursement rates are also to blame.
“Transparency in the Medicaid program remains problematic, not only in understanding the program’s cost drivers, but also in accounting for the impact of Medicaid savings actions, most notably the $400 million in undefined savings included in the Executive Budget,” the report said.
DiNapoli’s office also called for greater disclosure about how federal relief funding from recent years has been used, writing that “increased transparency about the use of these funds is needed.”
💻 Aid in Dying: A handful of state lawmakers are trying to boost support for legislation that would allow terminal patients to be prescribed life-ending drugs so they can die on their own terms before disease kills them.
Supporters call that “medical aid in dying,” and believe those patients should have a choice to end their lives in the way they want.
Also called “death with dignity,” the option is legal in 11 states.
Six lawmakers from the state Assembly sat for a new video from national group Death With Dignity, which advocates for the option to be legalized across the country.
Assembly Health Chair Amy PAULIN has carried the bill since 2016, and has tried to gain support by sharing the experience of her sister, who died a painful death from cancer.
In the video, she said the legislation has gained support over the years because other lawmakers went through something similar.
“Many of the legislators who now support it and didn’t initially have had that unfortunate experience. It just changes you. You see death differently,” Paulin said.
Paulin and Assembly members Jessica GONZALEZ-ROJAS, Catalina CRUZ, Anna KELLES, Nathalia FERNANDEZ, and Kenny BURGOS appeared in the video.
“My father was in constant pain. He could barely eat when we put him in the hospital,” Cruz said.
The bill is in the Health Committee in both chambers, but won’t come to the floor until Democrats are sure they’ll have the votes to pass it.
Opposition has largely come from religious groups and some disability rights advocates.
⚖️ New Deputy Chief IG: Michele Bayer was appointed by state Inspector General Lucy Lang to be the office’s new deputy chief inspector general this week. That position is pretty important — Bayer will oversee the office’s investigations statewide.
She was most recently a deputy inspector general for the office, focusing on downstate.
Before that, she was with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Here are some good stories from the week that you might have missed, or we found really interesting.
🧑⚖️ Saratoga County judge candidate tipped GOP to impending decision (Times Union)
🍖 New York state senator calls challenge to new even-year election law 'baloney' (Spectrum)
⛰️ Pristine area of Adirondacks will open for limited research, public use (Adirondack Explorer)
🏠 Tens of Thousands of Rent-Stabilized Apartments Remain Off the Market During Record Housing Shortage (THE CITY)
💵 As Overdoses Soar, Addiction Treatment Funding Stagnates (New York Focus)
🍁 Cannabis Crackdown: A8428A RAJKUMAR: Would allow municipalities to order the closure of unlicensed cannabis retailers and seize all illegal merchandize. That power currently only rests with the state.
🧑⚖️ Judges and Drugs: S8565 ASHBY: Would allow judges to commit someone charged with a crime to a rehabilitation or mental health facility for 15 days if they show signs of continued substance abuse and a likelihood to harm themselves.
🎓 SUNY Trustees: A6430A WALLACE: Would change the appointment structure of the SUNY Board of Trustees to allow the Legislature to appoint eight of the 18 trustees. Right now, the Legislature doesn’t appoint any of them.
🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? No.
No events scheduled for tomorrow, as is usually the case on Fridays.
🍬 National Gumdrop Day: I imagine you probably didn’t get a pack of gumdrops for Valentine’s Day, but if you did, you’re in luck. Today has been marked as National Gumdrop Day.
The origin of the holiday is unclear, but gumdrops have been around for a while. This food blogger shows an article from 1934 that featured them.
An exhaustive search failed to find who created this sweet treat, but they’re still plenty popular today.
More from the Times Union (Free for CapCon Subscribers):
Human composting, now legal, remains elusive in New York
UAlbany researchers use molecular chemistry to protect endangered trees
Attorney general announces 217 charges for fentanyl, ghost gun trafficking in Hudson Valley
Casino real estate shifts with Tioga Downs Casino sale
College Board agrees to pay $750K to N.Y. for student data misuse
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.
Thanks for reading, and be well.
Have feedback or a tip? Reach out anytime: Dan.Clark@TimesUnion.com