The Catholic Conference, which lobbies lawmakers on behalf of Catholic bishops in New York State denounced a bill pushed by Maspeth Assemblywoman Margaret Markey that would make it easier for sexual abuse victims to sue their accusers.

The bill would temporarily lift the statute of limitations on lawsuits alleging the sexual abuse of children, and Ms. Markey has been pushing it for years. The Catholic Conference says carves out public schools, which have been a frequent site of abuse in recent years.  Read More

Earlier today Assembly Speaker Sheldon Speaker officially introduced  a measure that would raise the minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, calling it “absurd to expect anyone to afford the cost of living today and be able to invest in their future on a pay rate of $7.25 an hour.”

The measure is likely to sail through the Assembly, but today the leaders of two business groups urged lawmakers to vote against it.

Arguing that it would put businesses at a competitive disadvantage and do nothing to decrease poverty, Dean Norton, president of the New York Farm Bureau said, ”When the government imposes costs on a business that the market does not dictate, we typically call this a tax. Today’s proposal to increase New York’s minimum wage is a stealth tax for our State’s farmers masquerading as a benefit for workers. In reality, this proposal will hurt the very people that it aims to help, by artificially increasing payroll and forcing farmers to make tough decisions about the size of their workforce and the price of their products.” Read More

Staten Island Councilman Jimmy Oddo plans to introduce a bill at the next City Council stated meeting which would take the power to ceremonially rename streets out of the Council’s power.

The bill would essentially turn the power of ceremonial street-naming over to local community board for the affected area, however it would give the Council the ability to review any street namings that are controversial. Read More

A trio of NYC-area Congressmen introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would amend existing federal law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing or in the credit markets.

“LGBT Americans, non-traditional families, and the disabled should not be subjected to housing discrimination at the hands of the unscrupulous or bigoted,” said west side Congressman Jerry Nadler, who is introducing the bill.  “This legislation will ensure that the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act are actually protecting all Americans and guaranteeing people of any sexual orientation, gender identity, marital and familial status, and source of income the right to the housing they choose.”

Co-sponsors of the bill, called the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act,  include Brooklyn Rep. Ed Towns and Long Island Rep. Steve Israel. Read More