Republican State Senator Marty Golden recently teamed up with the Freelancers Union to argue that “coffee is a right.”
In a video posted online, Mr. Golden fields a call from a hypothetical freelancer constituent whose account is overdrawn and is unable to purchase his preferred breakfast beverage. Mr. Golden informs him that there’s legislation out there to solve his woes. Read More
At a press conference earlier today, State Senator David Carlucci banded together with Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski to call for a new exemption for police dogs that bite an individual while on duty.
Currently, New York State law requires dogs to be confined and observed for ten days when they bite someone, but the legislators today argued this creates a disincentive for K-9 units to take down suspects when it’s called for. Read More
The New York League of Conservation Voters laid out their legislative agenda for 2012, calling on lawmakers to address a number of issues they say are vital for the environmental health of the state.
“Today, we are setting the goalpost for environmental progress in Albany,” said Marcia Bystryn, NYLCV’s President. “These four issues consistently rank as top priorities for the state’s leading green groups and the political climate is ripe for action.”
Ms. Bystryn’s agenda comes with a carrot, as she notes that the election season is starting up in earnest and that their groups hopes to be a player. Read More
Nature abhors a vacuum, and politicians abhor letting a news cycle go by without a way to get in the middle of it.
Thus, a day after a Florida jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of the murder of her two-year old daughter Caylee, two New York legislators have proposed bills related to the case. Read More
A bill by Brooklyn Assembly Nick Perry which would weaken the penalities for “sexting”–i.e. sending text messages with explicit photos among minors–has passed both houses of the legislature.
“As a parent, grandparent and elected representative, I could not in good conscience sit back and watch as children who acted with no malice, and without the Read More
The official legislative season is all but done, but that doesn’t mean that the same can be said for any last-minute lobbying.
And amidst all the attention paid to gay marriage, rent regulation and property tax caps, the New York League of Conservation Voters is out with a release this morning urging all environmentalists to contact lawmakers Read More
The loophole in the governor’s ethics bill does not go unnoticed by the spokesman for the Commission on Public Integrity:
“I think anybody who donated to a politician expecting ethics reform that resulted in greater enforcement might be entitled to a refund…I think this could lead to less enforcement – the whole idea that you need two people of the same party to approve an investigation? It’s always been done at the staff level.”
The part of the ethics bill that requires approval from a member of your own party to go forward with an investigation seems to strengthen, not weaken, the hand of legislative leaders in Albany. Who seem pretty powerful as it is.
Assemblyman Rory Lancman’s legislation requiring hotel workers who regularly enter guests rooms to wear “panic buttons” is advancing through Albany.
The Assembly Labor Committee is scheduled to vote on it this Tuesday. The Senate Labor Committee does not have any votes scheduled yet, according to their web site. Read More
Assemblyman Rory Lancman’s legislation requiring hotel staff to wear “panic buttons” while on duty seems slightly less “knee-jerk” following this morning’s allegations that another hotel worker was sexually assaulted.
“Everyone has a right to a safe workplace, and for hotel housekeepers this includes the right to not be sexually assaulted on the job,” Lancman said in a statement to me.
