New York's six-month legislative session is set to wrap up Friday, probably after dark. But there’s plenty of daylight on what will and won’t be approved before lawmakers leave Albany for the year. In a last-ditch effort, state lawmakers tried to reach some type of housing deal that would extend the 421-a tax break for developers, coupled with new rent and eviction protections for tenants. It was unsuccessful, probably a Hail Mary to start with. But it leaves lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul at odds. Legislative leaders released a rare rebuke of Hochul, putting the blame on her for not reaching a housing agreement after efforts to do so first blew up during budget talks last month. But team Hochul fired back that if lawmakers had the votes for a package as they claimed — and it wasn’t certain they did — they should have just passed it and she could have weighed whether to sign. Advocates offered a similar assessment. "There's a lot of finger-pointing happening in Albany today, but one thing there won't be anytime soon is new housing being built,” said Carlo Scissura, the president of the New York Building Congress, which represents the construction industry. So what is destined to pass?
- The Clean Slate Act to seal criminal records in most cases after they serve their sentences, despite opposition from police and Republicans.
- The Grieving Families Act 2.0 to expand the criteria for who can file a wrongful death lawsuit and the damages they can claim. The bill would also lengthen the statute of limitations, which is currently two years. Hochul vetoed a similar measure last year.
- A bill to create a commission to study reparations due to slavery — a bit of a surprise deal, and one that makes New York the second state to do this after California.
There will be hundreds of other bills approved before lawmakers leave town, and there is a list of Hochul nominees yet to be confirmed — although Justin Driscoll’s nomination to become the permanent head of the New York Power Authority is uncertain. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that the session will end on a whimper after a bruising budget fight that went a month longer than usual. The budget delay in a non-election year left little energy or urgency for any major agreements at the end of session, perhaps outside of the Clean Slate Act. Instead, lawmakers will go home and return in January — ready for a new set of debates centered on what wasn’t done to address affordability and the state’s housing needs. And next year, all 213 of them will be up for election. HAPPY FRIDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany, New York City and Washington, D.C., delivering remarks at the NYREC Emerging Leaders and Markets Conference. WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City, delivering remarks at the Black Owner & Women’s (BOW) Collective annual conference. Later, he will deliver remarks at a screening of “The Right to Read” at the Tribeca Festival and at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Gala. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We want to hear from individuals about what we can do to tackle slavery and its legacy,” —Assemblymember Michelle Solages said during the floor debate about having hearings that would be held across the state through a reparations study.
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