Upstate Gets Its Cap

Today the New York State Senate voted, overwhelmingly (45-17), to cap property tax increases at two percent per year. The legislation was opposed by 17 senators, all downstate democrats.

It is no secret that New York State has some of the highest property values in the country. However, with the passage of a property tax cap in the Senate, and Governor Cuomo’s outspoken support for the legislation, New York is one step away from achieving real property tax reform.

The cap, if passed by the Assembly, would mandate property taxes can not be increased by more than two percent yearly. However, local governance is allowed to hold a referendum vote to increase over the two percent should it find it pertinent and the electorate vote in favor of it.

Alongside the cap, the bill creates significant local government un-funded mandate relief. Too often local governments are forced to increase property taxes in order to follow new laws that are passed without corresponding monetary support, thus driving up property taxes to their current level.

Governor Cuomo has made property tax relief a central component of his reform package, and similar property tax cap laws passed the Senate last year. The Assembly however has kept the legislation from reaching the floor for a vote for the last three years, saying it will drive the state further into debt. That being said, Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver has promised to personally introduce Cuomo’s tax cap legislation; and in the world of the Assembly, if Sheldon Silver wants it to pass, it passes.

IDC Picks Up Some Power

After yesterdays drama/ screaming match in the senate chamber, there was no way today could have been more dynamic…and then the Republicans offered chairmanship positions to IDC members.

The rogue group of Democrats will be in charge of 4 different committees. Senator Savino will chair the committee on children and families, Senator Valesky will chair the committee on aging, Senator Carlucci will co-chair the commission on regulations review, and Senator Klein will chair the newly reformed committee on alcoholism and substance abuse.

All members of the IDC will receive an additional 12,000 dollar lulu to run their respective committees. That being said IDC members have stated that money was not their motivation, and if they wanted money they would have switched parties.

The committee changes came along with some rules changes that would strip Lt. Governor Duffy of his tie breaking power in the senate. Which will have a significant impact on the Democratic minority’s power in the house. With the IDC now holding power over four committees their impact on legislation will be significant. While their power on the floor may still be minimal, they will have the power to stop legislation from reaching the floor, and more importantly, change any that does significantly.

Session is still young and things are already sticky. Get ready for a bumpy legislative session.

The Sandbox Gets Dirty

For the first time this session the patience and civility of New York’s State Senators was tested. Monday evening’s session began with a debate about the rights of the newly created Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC) inside the chamber, and quickly turned into a shouting match between Senator Adams and Senator Libous.

Recently, IDC members were offered, and accepted their formal committee posts with no increase in pay from Minority Leader Senator Sampson. However, they believe that since they are caucusing together they should have the right to sit next to one another inside the Senate Chamber. In reality, this is not that huge of a request. Since, Democrats sit on one side of the aisle and Republicans on the other, it makes sense that the new caucus would like to be seated next to one another.

That being said, the Republican leadership obliged and moved all four IDC members to the back of the Democratic side, seated next to one another. Upon discovering this, traditional Democratic members began arguing that “there are only two conferences, a Majority and a Minority, and that the Republicans had no right to move the seats. Senator Adams then took it a step further and accused the Republican leadership of being both sexist and racist with their decision on office spaces for Minority members. At this point, Senator Libous began yelling (and rightly so) at Senator Adams, both men calling the other out-of-order.

Ultimately, Lt. Governor Duffy had to step in to stop the in fighting and to move beyond the disagreement. Clearly, tensions within the Senate are near boiling and even the slightest miss-step will set people off. It should be noted that the IDC members remained fairly quite throughout these events and had little direct action in the derailment of session. Someone needs to explain to the Democrats that there can be an independent caucus in the Senate, and that they are just going to have to deal with it.

Pot, Meet Kettle

Today the man, the myth, the one and only, Senator Ruben Diaz is accusing Governor Andrew Cuomo of blackmail.

Earlier today a story broke that Cuomo has told his top staffers that if the legislature is not able to complete an on time budget (by April 1st) than he will shut down government. This story has not been confirmed by the Cuomo administration thus far.

However, in response to the possibility of Cuomo actually taking that action, Diaz says Cuomo is only offering an ultimatum and holding the legislative process hostage. It should be noted that Diaz was one of the four amigos that perpetuated the inevitable coup of 2008.

Diaz makes the argument that Cuomo wants the legislature to cut programs that will “hurt the poor, our children’s education, New York’s Health Care system, and our senior citizens.” In truth, Cuomo has made suggestions that make cuts across the board in the NYS Budget. However, he has also suggested an entire re-development and re-design of all the aforementioned programs making them more efficient and more useful.

This is in comparison to the four amigos approach which included defection and rules manipulation that ultimately stopped government in its tracks for an entire month. It is completely unfounded to say that Cuomo is hijacking the system. It is common knowledge that NYS needs to change its budget allocation process. Diaz, stop fighting the inevitable and work towards a more efficient and stable New York….and for the love of god, stop accusing people of the very same actions you, yourself, have taken. Furthermore, stop being a general pain in the ass in the legislature. Thanks!

Dissident Dems Denied

Earlier this week committee assignments were made for both parties. However, the self-declared IDC (Independent Democratic Caucus) members were left out of the committee assignment process.

Being placed on powerful committees, (such as Finance, Ways and Means, and Rules) puts legislators in a powerful position allowing them the opportunity to affect changes to legislation before it gets to the floor for a vote. Furthermore, it offers the opportunity to receive attention from lobbyists and the monetary contributions that are too often associated with the pay to play culture in Albany.

Members of the newly created IDC have been cut out entirely from this process, minimizing their power in the Senate chamber. Without committee posts, IDC members will only be able to vote on legislation that reaches the floor and makes passing their own legislation nearly impossible.

However, I believe that IDC members are not interested in being placed on a committee by either party. Since the schism with the democratic party, it has been reported that they are in the process of re-writing the Senate rules so that an independent party can be apart of the legislative process. IF these new rules are adopted than IDC members will be able to pick the committees they would like to be on, giving them significant power in the committee process.

However, until the IDC rules are adopted, Senators Valesky, Carlucci, Savino, and Klein are limited to only their floor vote. However, I would not count them out of this process yet. The IDC is hell-bent on changing Albany for the better, and if their new rules get adopted, they will.

For a full listing of the committee posts, visit the New York State Senate Page

State of the State 2011 Post-Analysis

One sentence said it all…”The Empire State Strikes Back”

There was A LOT to this year State of the State, so lets take it one piece at a time:

This was the first year in a very long time that the State of the State was not given in the Assembly Chamber and the very first time the public has been allowed to attend. Governor Cuomo came out and stated that this was done in order to highlight the importance of change that New York is in dire need of. Also, this was the first time that the leaders, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Speaker Sheldon Silver were allowed to speak as well.

It should be noted that Shelly is the most boring man alive and there is a good chance anyone watching either fell asleep or died of boredom. Essentially Shelly stated that New York is in need of change and that his conference is ready to get on board with that. Then, he invoked a metaphor that went something like this…”the pessimist see the wind blowing a certain direction and accepts it, the optimist believes it can be changed, and the realist moves the sail.” I think he was trying to say the legislature is ready to move the sails in line with the voters wind. However, knowing Shelly it could also mean I’m going with the status quo since you can’t change the wind. Good luck with that Shelly.

Majority leader Skelos decided to take possession of every success and advancement made in the last two years by the legislature that was NOT under his control and simultaneously blame the democrats for getting New York into this mess. It should be noted that a state is a lot like an aircraft carrier, it takes a long time to turn and change. The democrats had two years of control (albeit poor control by a bad leader). The Republicans had 40 years in the legislature and 20 years in the Governor’s Mansion. So, what Skelos should have been saying is, we are stupid and we apologize for this mess…we will work on it. Good luck New York with this clown running the Senate.

Now, on to Cuomo’s speech, or was it a college lecture? For the first time technology was utilized (power point) to highlight the important sections of the speech. First, Cuomo highlighted the areas of out of control spending that New York is practicing (Medicaid, education, and government). Then he highlighted his ideas on how to fix them. He wants to create public/private partnerships that will force organizations to compete for grant money, allowing the best programs and ideas to be funded rather than funding them all. This idea of enhancing competition was central to almost all of his economic re-structuring. For example, he would like to change the public school funding system to incorporate competition for better results in the classroom. If you achieve higher and function more efficiently, you get more money.

Taxes, as expected were a central component of his economic reform package. He demanded that a property tax cap be passed and that mandate relief be achieved in this legislative session. For the immediate future he has the goal of holding the line on property taxes.

Also, Cuomo went on to demand fundamental reform to State Government. This ran the gambit from Ethics reform, to public financing of campaigns, and budget negotiation reform. At one point he was actually yelling at the public and legislature about how was can not continue to waste time and money on petty differences.

Lastly, Cuomo drove home his central idea that New York must be fundamentally rebuilt from the ground up. Small changes and belt-tightening will not suffice under his administration. He wants to revamp the system so that the government is leaner, and is spending money in a more efficient manner, something we should have been doing for a long time now.

On a personal note, I am encouraged by his speech. It was not the most elegant…at all. But it was the most informative State of the State we have ever had. If you would like more knowledge on his exact plan, he outlines it here on his site.

Fractured Factions

Former Senate Democratic Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein is preparing to announce the creation of his own independent Senate caucus. This comes after Klein publicly declared that he would neither take the role of Deputy Minority Leader or vote for Senator John Sampson as Minority Leader.

Today’s announcement comes just hours before the State of the State where Governor Andrew Cuomo will announce his plans for the upcoming legislative session. It is anticipated that Klein has the support of other like-minded democratic members who are fed up with “business as usual” and Sampson’s thuggish acts as leader.

Possible members include Senator David J. Valesky of Syracuse. He sponsors comprehensive independent redistricting reform and has abstained from voting for Sampson as Minority leader in a back room stick vote. Valesky has consistently voted for reform and is a likely candidate to caucus with Klein. Freshmen Senator David Carlucci also is anticipated to join the allegiance. Carlucci was left out in the cold during the back room stick vote, unaware it was even taking place until it was too late. Lastly, Senator Diane Savino is expected to join the caucus. Savino is a close ally of Klein’s and is unlikely to break with him.

So what does this all mean for the upcoming session? At the moment not much because all the members who are anticipated to caucus with the new alliance are democrats. Without a republican willing to join the independent caucus not much will change. Senator John Sampson still has enough votes to be Minority Leader and Dean Skelos has enough votes to be Majority Leader. However, this does not mean that the caucus will not grow. If it can include other Senators, including Majority members, it would give this “third-party” significant sway on close legislative matters such as, gay marriage, redistricting, ethics reform, medicinal marijuana and others matters.

Looks like another tenuous year in Albany. Get ready, the fun is just beginning.

State of The State 2011 (Pre-Game)

Get your burgers on the grill and a six-pack of the nastiest, cheapest beer you can find…It is time for New York State’s State of the State Address! Kick off will be taking place around 1:00 pm tomorrow and since it always coincides with football BCS games, it will be treated as such.

Keys to the Speech:

This is the Governor Cuomo’s first opportunity to set the pace for the legislative session. Traditionally, the Governor goes out and outlines their legislative agenda for the next year. Therefore, tone is incredibly important. Coming across too strong usually results in a notoriously combative legislature and strained relations throughout the budget. Cuomo, who ran on a change agenda, will have to strike the perfect note to keep the ear of the public and not anger the legislature too early on.

That being said, Cuomo can not come out soft. He ran a campaign focused on change. I would anticipate a large section of his speech to be about redistricting reform, campaign finance reform, and other fundamental reforms in order to create a more honest and accountable government.

Power Plays

Cuomo has some serious power in his corner as we move into the legislative session. He was elected with mandate worthy numbers and, as we saw in the election, New Yorkers are willing to vote people out who do not do what they want. Cuomo’s four-year term is to his advantage. He has four full years to accomplish his plans to rebuild New York. The Assembly and Senate members will be put up on the chopping block again in two years. They MUST accomplish something before then or risk being voted out in close races.

Republicans also have some power to play with this year as well. They were put back in power on the coat tails of the “tea party movement” (aka pissed off voter block). This gives them some ability to negotiate with the Governor on budget matters. However, many republicans, especially new ones, were put into office promising to reform New York. So, they will have to hold to that promise of face the backlash.

Stars of the Speech:

1. Reform
2. Deficit Reduction
3. Small Business Development
4. Property Taxes/ Taxes in General
5. “Bailouts”

For those playing the home game…everytime one of these terms comes up do a shot of something. I promise you will be drinking ALOT! Have fun and the Post-Game will be put up promptly.