CapCon: New Congressional Map, What's Next? CapCon Q&A With Sen. Liz Krueger, State of the Judiciary
The Legislature has introduced their own maps for districts in Congress. What's next? Plus, we speak with Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger on the state budget, and a lot more.
Good afternoon — it’s Tuesday, and National Strawberry Day.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2024
TODAY’S CAP CON: The Legislature has introduced their own map for New York’s congressional districts. What’s next? CapCon Q&A with Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger on budget talks, what Chief Judge Rowan Wilson said Tuesday, and more.
🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? Yes.
❄️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Rain, low 50s. New York City: Rain, low 50s. (National Weather Service)
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🗺️Next on Redistricting: We still don’t know when Democrats in the Legislature plan to vote on a new map for New York’s 26 districts in Congress, but we do have an idea of how they’ll likely be drawn.
Democrats in the state Legislature introduced their own redistricting plan Monday evening via legislation sponsored by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike GIANARIS and Assemblyman Ken ZEBROWSKI.
That was after they rejected a map proposed by the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission. They said those lines had “constitutional defects.”
If you want a visual of the lines now being proposed by the Legislature, CUNY’s Center for Urban Research has an interactive map on their website “Redistricting & You”.
I’ll get to takeaways from the Legislature’s lines in a moment, but let’s touch on timing first.
Legislative sources told me Tuesday afternoon that the timing of a vote from the Legislature on their proposed map is still up in the air.
Because they introduced the lines on Monday, they could vote on them Thursday if they follow a rule that requires bills to “age” three days before a floor vote.
But they could also pass them earlier if Gov. Kathy HOCHUL allows them.
Hochul told reporters Tuesday morning that she would consider issuing a message of necessity to speed up the process.
If you’re not familiar, a message of necessity allows the Legislature to bypass the aging rule.
“We're taking it very seriously,” Hochul said. “We’re looking at it closely, and I have some options available to me. But I will see whether there’s a request to do anything extraordinary to move that along.”
She said lawmakers haven’t asked her to issue a message, but that it’s on the table.
Later Tuesday morning, I spotted Westchester County Executive (and candidate for Congress) George LATIMER roaming the halls of the Capitol.
Latimer is challenging U.S. Rep. Jamaal BOWMAN for his seat in NY-16.
I asked him if he was in Albany to speak with lawmakers about redistricting, but he told me he was here for meetings related to the state budget.
“You drive yourself crazy figuring these things out,” Latimer said. “And then all of these interested parties start to lobby. I’m not worried about those things. I’ve been through this before and I will see the final product, and then I will adjust what I have to do based on the final product.”
He showed me his name tag as proof that he wasn’t here to lobby on the lines:
I reached out to a spokesperson for Zebrowski to see if they’d met, but didn’t get a response back.
🔴 Republicans aren’t saying yet if they’ll sue Democrats over the map they’re expected to approve this week.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Andrew LANZA told the Times Union’s Josh Solomon Tuesday that it felt like a repeat of 2022.
Democrats also drew their own congressional map that year after rejecting the commission’s first set of proposed lines.
A lawsuit in that instance ended with the congressional map being thrown out by the state’s highest court, which labeled the boundaries as gerrymandered.
“Once again, like Yogi Berra said, 'It’s deja vu all over again,'“ Lanza added. “What’s wrong with what the people wanted? The people wanted an independent process.”
🗒️ Takeaways from the Legislature’s map compared to what the commission proposed can be drawn using recent voting patterns, which CUNY also has.
Those patterns tell us how residents voted in the 2022 race for governor between Hochul and former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican.
We can also see how they voted in the 2020 race for president between President Joseph Biden and former President Donald Trump.
NY-19: This district would shift a bit less red than it was before, but would still be competitive. It’s currently represented by Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican.
The Legislature’s map adds Hochul voters from 2022 and Biden voters from 2020.
NY-18: This district would shift a bit less blue, but would still be competitive. It’s currently represented by Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat.
The Legislature’s map adds more Zeldin voters from 2022 and more Trump voters from 2020.
NY-03: This district would shift a bit more blue, but would still be competitive. It’s currently represented by Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat.
The Legislature’s map adds more Hochul voters from 2022 and more Biden voters from 2020.
Former state Sen. Jim GAUGHRAN, meanwhile, ended his bid for Congress Tuesday, saying he doesn’t want to run in the Legislature’s version of NY-1.
Of course, there’s a possibility the Legislature changes the map again, though that’s not likely.
They could amend the map anytime between now and a vote on the floor.
But the bill’s introduction on Monday is a sign they’re on the same page, and have the votes to approve the adjusted boundaries.
Read more on this from the TU’s Josh Solomon. (Free for CapCon subscribers)
🚗 Congestion Pricing: A class-action lawsuit against the state’s congestion pricing plan grew larger Tuesday after nearly two dozen business owners signed on to the litigation.
Congestion pricing would create new tolls in the busiest parts of Manhattan.
The point of the program is to reduce traffic in the area, while producing revenue to improve public transit.
The lawsuit is seeking a full Environmental Impact Study from the state before the congestion pricing program moves forward. There are also at least two other lawsuits against the program.
The state of New Jersey has sued to block it, as has the United Federation of Teachers.
A coalition group — New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax — is leading the lawsuit that was amended Tuesday.
“A congestion tax will significantly increase delivery prices, and those costs will invariably be passed along to consumers. It’s not just drivers getting hit by this tax, it’s everyone,” coalition member Corey Bearak said.
The state has defended the congestion pricing program — both publicly and in court.
“This is going to be transformative. We'll have the resources to invest in our system, a 110-year-old system, so it's positioned for the next 110 years,” Hochul said in December.
⚖️ State of the Judiciary: Chief Judge Rowan WILSON delivered what he called an “unorthodox” address Tuesday detailing his vision for New York’s court system, and invited Hochul to speak as well.
This was Wilson’s first State of the Judiciary, an annual address delivered by the state’s chief judge on their plans for New York’s courts.
Hochul spoke first, and said she’s focused on work that would “strengthen our courts.”
“I have staunchly defended the independence of our courts and vetoed legislation that in my view would have interfered with the courts’ self-governance and I will continue to do that,” Hochul said.
Wilson followed, and said he wants to change how judges in New York think about their work with the public. He’s considered further to the left than his predecessor.
“Instead of merely asking which party is right, our courts should consider what result is best for the parties involved,” Wilson said. “Let’s think about courts as problem solvers, not solely as adjudicators of which party is right.”
He then invited seven people whose lives were impacted by the court system to speak. Many of them received standing ovations.
If you want to read Wilson’s full remarks, I’m told the state court system will post a transcript here.
Each week, we’ll bring you a Q&A with a top newsmaker or expert on topics in the news cycle and important to you.
❓ Sen. Liz Krueger chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which is critical to the state budget process. You’ve seen her leading marathons of budget hearings for the past few years, and she plays a key role in budget negotiations.
TU: Last year, we had a budget surplus. This year, we have a budget gap. Do you think it’s easier to negotiate with a gap or a surplus?
LK: For the record, we don't have a significant gap this year (each week seems to bring fewer concerns for the upcoming year). Gaps cause urgent concerns about what must be cut, and bad economic years, which is the usual cause of gaps, are also not good years to raise people's taxes.
TU: Every year, a handful of key issues dominate budget talks. As you prepare for negotiations, what do you see as this year’s set of key issues?
LK: There is a desperate need for building and preserving affordable housing statewide. Statewide staff shortages to provide for health care needs in hospitals, institutions and home health care workers.
Parents always rightly worry about the quality of public education and the affordability of higher education. For NYC, the coming deadline on mayoral control legislation also adds to the education discussion.
Obviously, concerns about migrants and service needs for newly arriving people are a daily operational, political and press discussion throughout the state.
Climate change concerns and the need to expedite actions to shift to sustainable energy options are this year's and forever's responsibility within and outside budget negotiations.
TU: If you could pick just one item from Gov. Hochul’s executive budget proposal that you have concerns with, what would it be?
Building AFFORDABLE Housing.
TU: Your district is in Manhattan, where migrants have arrived by the thousands since 2022. Gov. Hochul has proposed $2.4 billion in this year’s budget to help address the influx. Do you think that’s enough?
LK: The budget needs to address housing, health, and service needs for newly arriving asylees, [which are] dependent on federal actions.
Will more or fewer people arrive in New York state in the coming year? Will the federal government contribute their fair share of funding to provide for these people? Will the federal government do more to expedite the ability of asylees to go to work in the jobs we have available throughout the state? Will more local governments outside NYC realize that asylees can be positively absorbed into their communities quickly and become tax-paying neighbors (some midwestern rust belt cities are actually offering asylees payments of up to $15,000 to come to their communities)?
TU: You sponsored MRTA, the bill that legalized recreational marijuana in New York. Retail applicants have been frustrated by the state’s slow approval of licenses. Do you think the program needs any legislative changes, or is this just an agency problem?
LK: There are problems at the beginning with every state that has started a legalized adult-use marijuana system. Almost all took several years to get their markets up and running. MRTA was bigger and more focused on social equity goals than any other state — addressing adult use, expanded medical, CBD/hemp regulation, and a social equity component for licenses.
We have also had to deal with multiple major lawsuits funded by national corporations to delay our rollouts in the hopes of claiming control of our entire model. Lawsuits seem to be slowing down, and approving licenses is speeding up.
Our biggest obstacle moving forward is forcing the closing of pop-up illegal stores (also being funded by big money). Some changes in the MRTA law have already passed last June. I support the additional fixes proposed in the governor’s budget. People want to blame OCM, but they do not understand the real issues behind the scenes or just have some illusion you build an entirely new set of businesses overnight.
⚡ Electric Vehicles: S7767A HARCKHAM: Would allow a limited number of zero-emission vehicle manufacturers to sell directly to consumers if data shows that electric vehicle purchases are lagging behind the state’s goals. (Amended)
🤖 A.I. in Politics: S7592A ASHBY: If artificial intelligence is used to create video or an image for political communication purposes, this bill would require that be disclosed along with the content. (Amended)
🤝 Prison Visits: A6488A WEPRIN: Would codify visitation policies at prisons and jails in New York, and require evening and/or weekend hours. Visits would be required to last at least an hour. (Amended)
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.
🔨 Is Tomorrow a Session Day? Yes.
🙋 Events:
2024 Economic & Revenue Consensus Forecasting Conference Meeting | 1:30 p.m., CAP 124
🕕 Tomorrow’s Committee meetings (2/28):
Senate Commerce | 9:30 a.m., LOB 945
Assembly Education | 10 a.m., LOB 835
Assembly Insurance | 10 a.m., LOB 714
(If an Assembly committee is streaming, you’ll find that here.)
🍓 National Strawberry Day: Strawberries are one of my favorite snacks. But I also love a strawberry milkshake. Today is National Strawberry Day.
Strawberries weren’t always the big, red berries that you would buy at the grocery store.
The modern strawberry is actually a cross between two different strawberry species — one from Chile, and one from France, according to the University of Vermont.
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