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‘Big Ugly’ Bill May Emerge in Albany as State Legislature Nears Break
Single piece of legislation might be tasked with tackling rent regulations, climate change, sexual-harassment claims and online sports betting
It has been standard practice at the Capitol to combine disparate issues into a single bill. PHOTO: VICTOR J. BLUE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Prepare to meet the “big ugly.”
Leaders of the Senate and Assembly will begin serious negotiations this week with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about a host of unresolved issues, from rent control to, potentially, legalizing recreational marijuana.
It has been standard practice at the Capitol to combine disparate issues into a single piece of legislation to create a Franken-bill with parts that appeal to all comers. With so much in the air, lobbyists and lawmakers are waiting to see if a “big ugly” bill will emerge this year before the Legislature adjourns for the summer on June 19.
Imagine it: one bill that renews rent regulations, addresses climate change, changes the legal standard for sexual-harassment claims, authorizes mobile sports betting and … take your pick.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have both said they hope to avoid a “big ugly.” But Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan, a Republican from Long Island, warned during a press conference last week that such an omnibus bill was coming. He was stating his opposition to a measure that would let undocumented immigrants obtain a New York driver’s license.
“Don’t wrap it up in a bundle of things,” Mr. Flanagan said.
Democrats control both the state’s Senate and Assembly for the first time in a decade. But the agenda of the party’s progressive wing—including the driver’s license bill and marijuana legalization—has run into resistance from more moderate members representing Long Island and New York City’s northern suburbs.
Progressive advocacy groups have been targeting those senators, whom they see as roadblocks to their agenda, including rent laws that are more favorable to tenants. On Monday, members of Make the Road New York, which has organized protests at the Capitol, will demonstrate at the offices of the six Democratic senators from Long Island and urge them to include a “good cause” eviction measure for nonregulated tenants in the final rent bill.
Democratic State Chairman Jay Jacobs, who lives in Nassau County, said he has warned suburban legislators that supporting those bills could have political consequences.
“My argument has been: Let’s play the long game, not the short game,” Mr. Jacobs said in an interview. Gains in the suburbs helped Democrats win the Senate majority.
Mr. Cuomo made a similar argument in a Friday public-radio interview, but both he and Mr. Jacobs said their efforts weren’t coordinated.
The rent laws expire on June 15, which is viewed as the deadline for action. Several lawmakers said they were preparing to be in session for the weekend.
ABOUT THAT MTA SEAT: There may be a problem with Mr. Cuomo’s plan to appoint Robert Mujica, his budget director, to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Legislators reacted to the news of Mr. Mujica’s potential nomination last week with questions of whether he met the requirements to serve. The law says that five of Mr. Cuomo’s six appointees to the board live in the 12-county region served by the authority’s subways, buses and commuter trains.
Mr. Mujica lives in Albany and is registered to vote in Columbia County—neither of which is in the MTA area.
“He can’t be on the board. The law is crystal clear,” said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a good-government group.
Mr. Mujica didn’t return an email seeking comment. Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Mr. Cuomo, said his appointment was “something we’re examining and discussing with the legislature. Given his expertise and experience no one disputes what he brings to the board.”
The law doesn’t include a residency requirement for the authority’s board chair, another gubernatorial appointee, Mr. Kaehny said. Mr. Cuomo appointed Patrick Foye to that position in March.
THE QUESTION: Saturday was the 10th anniversary of the 2009 state Senate coup, in which two Democrats defected to the Republican Party to give the GOP control of the chamber, and cause a 31-31 stalemate when one lawmaker reversed his defection. Which Democratic senator was presiding over the chamber when it happened?
LAST WEEK’S ANSWER: U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer got help from Daniel Squadron in writing his 2007 book “Positively American.” Mr. Squadron was later elected to the New York state Senate.
—Know the answer? Leave a comment below! Have another question, or a tip? Write to Jimmy Vielkind at Jimmy.Vielkind@wsj.com<mailto:Jimmy.Vielkind@wsj.com>.
Write to Jimmy Vielkind at Jimmy.Vielkind@wsj.com
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