CapCon: Redistricting Update, Movement on Marijuana, Rx Drug Website, Numbers of New York

Assembly Democrats discussed their redistricting plans Friday, what a key lawmaker wants to do on Cannabis this year, and more.

Feb 23, 2024

Good afternoon — it’s Friday, and National Banana Bread Day.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024

TODAY’S CAP CON: Assembly Democrats met Friday to discuss their redistricting plans, how New York’s cannabis laws and rollout could change, what happened to N.Y.’s prescription drug pricing website, and more.

🔨 Is Monday a Session Day? Yes.

❄️ Tonight’s Weather: Albany: Mostly cloudy, chance of snow, low 20s. New York City: Mostly cloudy, mid-30s. (National Weather Service)

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🗺️ Redistricting Update: Assembly Democrats met privately on Friday for a virtual conference to discuss what they want to do on redistricting next week.

They went through multiple scenarios and how they could play out, legislative sources confirmed to the Times Union.
But no final decisions were made on what they actually want to do, at least in the long term.

One source told us that lawmakers are considering moving the June primary for Congress to August, but that’s one of several options on the table.

Those primaries were also moved to August two years ago because of a redistricting battle, but a state judge changed the date that time.

If Democrats choose to draw their own maps again, they’ll first have to vote down a set of lines proposed last week by the Independent Redistricting Commission.

They could do that as early as Monday, when they’re scheduled to return to Albany.

But they’re also planning to pick up Friday’s conversation Monday, so we likely won’t know more on a timeline until that’s over.

This item features reporting from the Times Union’s Josh Solomon and I.

💊 What Happened to N.Y.’s Rx Drug Website: The state Legislature approved a bill in 2005 that required pharmacies to send the current price of common drugs to the state Department of Health, which would then post those prices on a state website.

It was signed into law by former Gov. George E. Pataki, and the agency got to work.

The website was launched with this web address: rx.nyhealth.gov
The earliest capture of the site was in early 2008 by the Internet Archive, a tool that tracks websites over time.

The website allowed consumers to compare prices in different areas for the 150 most commonly prescribed drugs.

Lawmakers praised the law at the time, saying it would help consumers save money by knowing which pharmacy would have the lowest price.

“This new law has made Internet shopping for prescription drugs a reality here in New York state,” said former state Sen. Martin Golden, who sponsored the bill.

But if you go to that same web address today, you’ll find that nothing exists. The website is gone, and is no longer operated by the state.

Sometime in 2013, the web address for the service changed, but it still existed.
It’s unclear when it was taken down.

I found all of this out after a reader reached out, telling me about the website, and that it was no longer operational.

My first thought was that the law had been repealed or replaced, as often happens with dated statutes related to technology.

But that’s not the case. The section of law that required the website’s creation and maintenance is still on the books.

I wanted to know what the deal was, so I reached out to DOH to find out.

I asked why it was taken down, and a spokeswoman for the agency said it was decommissioned because consumers can now find drug prices through other, non-state resources online.

“The drug pricing webpage became obsolete and was decommissioned,” said Alicia Biggs, a spokeswoman for the agency.

“The public now has access to resources with more current and comprehensive drug pricing information, as (the state Education Department) now requires all pharmacies, upon request, to provide customers with a computer-generated updated price list for the top 150 drugs, and as other online resources are now available, such as https://www.goodrx.com.”

🍁 Movement on Marijuana: The state Senate will consider advancing a bill on Monday that would repeal the state’s potency tax on cannabis, and instead replace it with a phased-in wholesale tax.

The legislation is sponsored by state Sen. Jeremy COONEY, a Democrat from Rochester who chairs the cannabis subcommittee in the Senate.

Eliminating the potency tax would make legal dispensaries more competitive with the illicit drug market, Cooney told me.
Hochul proposed a similar change in her executive budget last month, as we reported at the time.

“Legal dispensaries, because of the existing potency tax, have to charge more for that high potency product than an illicit store,” Cooney said. “When people are price-sensitive, they’re going to go buy the same product from an illicit store.”

The legislation is up for a vote in the Senate Budget and Revenue Committee, and bills typically aren’t considered in committee without the votes to move forward.

But Cooney also wants to make other changes to the state’s cannabis laws this year, and has a few ideas to help speed up the relatively rough recreational roll-out.

“I’m frustrated by the speed of implementation so far,” Cooney said. “I’m still very optimistic the program will work.”

There are 75 recreational dispensaries across the state, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management.

Hundreds of retail licenses are awaiting consideration by the Cannabis Control Board, which governs the office.
That’s prompted complaints from applicants, state lawmakers, and even Hochul.

Cooney said the office should consider prioritizing applicants based on who’s ready to open, and who’s not. Right now, applicants are chosen based on a lottery.

Applicants who’ve signed a lease, have a business plan, and have financing could be moved to the front of the line, he said.

“Give those people the licenses over other people who are just not at that stage of development,” he said.

Legislation: Many licenses were held up by litigation that froze the state’s ability to approve new retail dispensaries under the CAURD program, which allows conditional licenses for retailers.

Part of that lawsuit had argued that the CAURD program was implemented in a way that didn’t accurately reflect the state’s cannabis legalization laws.

The litigation ended in a settlement that, in part, paused new CAURD licenses until April 2024.

“To break this cycle of lawsuits, whether in federal or state court, we need to codify the CAURD program,” Cooney said.

He also wants to repeal the 7 percent excise tax on medical cannabis products, saying more consumers would use that program if costs were lower.

☹️ Correction: In yesterday’s newsletter, I used the wrong title for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. I apologize, football fans.

Using a number to tell you about something in New York government, politics, or policy that you might not read about otherwise.

The Number: 3.2%

Short Version: That’s how much more in funding human service agencies that receive money from the state want in this year’s budget.

Long Version: The organizations making that push are primarily geared toward mental health and substance use services. They received a 5.4% cost of living adjustment, or COLA, in 2022. Last year, they got a 4% COLA.

Hochul is proposing a 1.5% COLA for those organizations in this year’s budget, which workers say is not enough.

Key lawmakers from both chambers, including the respective mental health chairs, have said they’d support more funding.

“I think the governor should know, with the increase of mental health [issues] across the state of New York … that we have to invest in this community, in the workers that provide care for all of these folks,” Assembly Mental Health Chair Aileen GUNTHER said.
Senate Mental Health Chair Samra BROUK has legislation with Gunther that would permanently tie funding increases for those agencies to inflation, but it hasn’t gained enough support to move.

Okay, And: Advocacy groups point to low wages as the reason for high turnover and short staffing among the state’s mental health care and substance use workforce.

In 2006, the state Legislature enacted a statutory COLA for human services agencies, meaning their funding was supposed to go up with inflation.
But that didn’t happen for several of the intervening years, which advocates have said is the root of the industry’s financial woes.

👮 Vandalizing Pro-Israel Print: S8625 MARTINS: Would make it a class A misdemeanor for someone to intentionally cause the destruction, damage, or removal of visual content in public that advocates for support for Israel. (New bill)

❤️‍🩹 Age-Friendly Health Care: A8471B PAULIN: Would provide new financial incentives for health care facilities that are designated as “age friendly” by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a nonprofit, or have level two geriatric emergency departments. (New bill)

🫱 Refugee Resettlement: S6070A GOUNARDES: Would codify the state’s current refugee resettlement program, administered by the Bureau of Refugee Services within the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, into state law. (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 Monday a Session Day? Yes.

🙋 Hearings: No hearings scheduled for Monday.

🕕 Monday’s Committee meetings (2/26):

Senate Finance | 11 a.m., CAP 124
Senate Housing | 11 a.m., CAP 123
Senate Local Government | 11 a.m., LOB 904
Senate Procurement & Contracts | 11:30, LOB 801
Senate Civil Service | 11:30, CAP 123

🍞 National Banana Bread Day: The three bananas rotting in my fruit basket would like to be made into banana bread, so today is perfect. No, I will not be using chocolate chips. It’s National Banana Bread Day.

Bananas didn’t really become popular in the U.S. until the turn of the 20th century, according to King Arthur Baking (the people who make the flour).
The treat was popularized partly because of the Great Depression, when families weren’t willing to toss rotting bananas and had to find a use for them.

More from the Times Union (Free for CapCon Subscribers):

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