Latest news with #CarlHeastie
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State lawmakers pass budget
May 8—ALBANY — The New York state budget has passed — lawmakers in the state Assembly and Senate wrapped up voting on the $254 billion state spending plan late Thursday night. In a series of nine bills, the state legislature and Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul agreed on a wide-ranging array of policy and spending goals, putting a billion dollars into environmental issues and funding public school districts at a record-high level, while also expanding the use of involuntary commitment to mental hospitals for people living on the streets and adjusting the rules around discovery in criminal trials. The legislature also moved to give Hochul near-unilateral power to cut up to $2 billion from the spending plan, with the legislature retaining the option to come back to Albany and reverse the cuts if they so choose. Albany flaks and lawmakers widely agreed — this year's budget process was a weird one. Speaker of the Assembly Carl E. Heastie said in February that the budget was among the best executive budgets he had ever seen, although he was only cautiously optimistic about negotiations on the final product. "The hell is in the details," the speaker said at the time. The state budget in Albany is frequently critiqued for being negotiated largely in private, between essentially three people; the governor, the Senate majority leader and the speaker. Sen. Mark C. Walczyk, R-Sackets Harbor, calls it "three Democrats in a room," frequently on social media. And for months, those three people and their staff members debated a handful of policy issues to be included in the state spending plan. Because the state budget requires that the governor initiate the legislation and court decisions have given the executive significant power over the budget, governor's for years have pushed their policy agendas mainly through the state budget process. Hochul has chosen to fight, this year, for changes to discovery rules, involuntary commitment to mental hospitals, a cell phone ban in schools, a criminal face mask ban, and an "inflation refund check," as well as a late-introduction ask for power to choose her lieutenant governor pick for the party primaries and an adjustment to the rules around hiring state prison security staff and early release for a limited group of incarcerated people. She was largely successful on those goals, although Hochul's efforts to get changes to the discovery rules was watered down by lawmakers last-minute, even as Hochul and her chief counsel outlined the final agreement as a win on her terms. That wasn't apparently the whole picture, and the ultimate legislation now in place falls far short of where Hochul and her team had outlined it on April 28. Hochul outlined a plan that would have essentially taken the dismissal of a case off the table as a penalty for when prosecutors failed to turn over evidence in a timely manner, and state rules on speedy trials were also being violated. But the language now in law keeps dismissal on the table in those cases — when a judge finds the prosecutors did fail to turn over evidence. But lawmakers did agree to language that would expand the use of involuntary commitment for people deemed unable or unwilling, because of mental illness, to provide for their own shelter, food, clothing or medical care. The state will also send $200 to $400 checks to about 8.2 million New Yorkers, a slightly watered down version of Hochul's "inflation refund checks" plan outlined in January. Her ask to cut the middle-class tax rate has also been deferred by a year. Democrats lauded the budget after it passed as a commitment to families and average New Yorkers. Heastie pointed to the inclusion, last minute and after Gov. Hochul had said it wouldn't happen, to pay off the state's roughly $7 billion debt to the federal unemployment system, largely left over from the pandemic which resulted in higher costs for businesses who pay into the unemployment system. "This budget invests in our people and in our state," Heastie said in a statement. "While the federal government proposes policies that are causing economic insecurity and worries about the future, we are fighting to support our small businesses, put money back into the pockets of hardworking families and invest in programs that will allow our children to reach their full potential. After it passed, state Republicans largely hammered the budget plan for its size, the policy inclusions and its tardyness. Assembly Minority Leader William A. Barclay, R-Pulaski, hammered the agreement in a statement. "Most of the policies that held up budget talks for more than a month represent small steps when comprehensive action was needed. Actions to address involuntary commitment, discovery reform and the statewide mask ban could have gone further, and hopefully they will do so in the future," he said. Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, had a more bipartisan take on the budget; he voted in favor of most of the appropriations bills and two of the policy-laden bills. He approved of the bills that increased school funding and enacted universal free school meals for legislators, as well as the bill that included a move to allow some school districts to delay the 2032 deadline to fully electrify their school bus fleets. Gray also said he approved of the discovery changes, which he said will help to streamline criminal cases and reduce the number of cases dismissed based on technical mistakes. He voted down on four of the nine budget bills, including the bill that allows for the closure of 3 state prisons next year, the mental hygiene law that expanded involuntary commitment, and the transportation, economic development and environmental protection. "While the overall budget is larger than I'd like, I won't vote 'no' just because my job is to do a deeper dive into these bills and see what they deliver for the north country and all New Yorkers," Gray said. "This budget is imperfect, but it includes important initiatives that benefit our communities. I supported the measures that responsibly invest in our future and opposed those that went beyond what I believe is prudent."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie makes bombshell bid to reduce Gov. Hochul's power in NY budget negotiations
It's Heastie versus Hochul. State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is going to war with Gov. Kathy Hochul, pushing a bombshell bill Wednesday to curtail her leverage in high-stakes New York budget talks — as disagreements over her policy demands stymie the negotiations. The Bronx Democrat introduced a bill that would allow lawmakers to continue getting paid if state budget talks drag on with no end in sight past the annual April 1 deadline to pass a spending plan. The legislation was not introduced in the state Senate, where Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) — who hadn't yet reviewed Heastie's bill — said tensions were growing over Hochul's asks, including those concerning involuntary commitment and discovery law. 'I think it's born out of the frustration we all share about the continued insistence on non-budgetary policy into this budget conversation,' Gianaris said. 'We're now a week-and-a-half late and we're still getting new things dropped on the table that have nothing to do with funding the government and keeping it operative.' Negotiations over Hochul's proposed $252 billion budget breezed past the April 1 deadline as the governor stood her ground on her bids to tweak mandates governing discovery evidence-sharing in criminal cases and to make it easier to force mentally ill people into psychiatric care. Hochul smiled last week as she told reporters she's willing to hold up budget talks for months unless lawmakers fall in line with her demands. And this week, Heastie's counterpart in the state Senate — Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) — deemed budget talks at an impasse. 'I wish I could say we're further along, but I think we are stuck at where we were last week,' Stewart-Cousins told reporters Tuesday. Hochul's spokesperson Avi Small argued the issues holding up the budget — including tough-on-crime and mental health measures — have the overwhelming support of New Yorkers. 'If the highest-paid State Legislators in America are worried about their paychecks, there's a much easier solution: come to the table and pass a budget that includes Governor Hochul's common-sense agenda,' Small said. The biggest policy issue causing the legislative logjam continues to be Hochul's pitch to reform the 2019 discovery law – signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo – setting strict timeframes for when prosecutors are required to turn over masses of evidence to the defense in criminal cases. City district attorneys and across the state argue the law has caused a wave of cases to be tossed over technicalities, arguing judges can be overzealous in applying a court decision that governs how evidence-sharing should work and when charges should be dismissed due to non-compliance. Hochul wants to limit how and when cases can be tossed over a discovery violation, but lawmakers argue such changes are unnecessary because judges already have leeway to opt not to dismiss. But another possible stumbling block in the budget negotiations — Hochul's pitch to make it easier to commit violently mentally ill people — appears to be clearing. Heastie told reporters Tuesday that negotiators are 'close' to an agreement, which would tack on priorities from the legislature to Hochul's plan, including enhancing planning for when a person is discharged from a hospital after being committed. The snags still evidently frustrated Heastie, whose budget delay bill – first reported by Gothamist — tries to land a punch against Hochul by effectively removing a potential pressure point on legislators. Under the would-be law, legislators would continue pocketing a paycheck if the the budget is late and policy items have been included in the governor's proposal. Unlike lawmakers, Empire State governors keep getting paid if the budget is late. Hochul has held up budget talks every year since taking office in 2021 by including policy asks in her spending plan. Heastie's bill could face a largely unprecedented uphill battle in Albany's recent memory. The assembly has enough Democrats to pass it on its own, assuming there are no defections. The Senate, however, would need Republicans to get on board. A two-thirds majority in both houses would be needed to override Hochul's likely veto of the bill. Democrats have not overridden a governor's veto since the party reclaimed the majority in both houses in 2019. Lawmakers who spoke with The Post had mixed reactions to the seriousness of Heastie's bid to get them paid during the stalemate. Some said it was unnecessary because they're willing to forgo pay. 'Not getting paid doesn't have the effect of making my colleagues hungry to get a deal,' one Assembly member said. Gianaris said Hochul trying to turn the screws on lawmakers with delays won't work. 'This notion that somehow holding it up will allow any governor to shift blame to the legislature, it never works,' he said. 'Every governor I've served with has tried it, and it's never ever worked.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hochul says lawmakers ‘very, very close' on deal to revamp NY discovery laws in budget breakthrough
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Let's make a whatever-you-call-it. Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged Wednesday that lawmakers had reached a breakthrough in negotiations to revamp the state's discovery laws — even as she insisted it didn't count as a 'deal.' The governor instead opted for wonky jargon, describing the end of a budget stalemate revealed the day before by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) as a 'conceptual agreement' different from a done deal. 'I think we're very, very close to being done and perhaps, today will be the day we say, 'Pens are down,'' Hochul said during a news conference. Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that lawmakers are 'very, very close' on a deal for changing discovery laws. Robert Miller Hochul plans to meet with Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) Wednesday evening. A deal — or a deal by another name — likely will clear a major logjam to passing New York's massive $252 proposed budget, which has been held up for weeks by Hochul refusing to budge on her policy asks, especially changes to discovery Hochul stopped short of voicing support for the plan crafted by Albany Democrats and approved by all five New York City district attorneys. But rumors swirled around Albany after the deal was announced Tuesday that it was falling apart, prompting Heastie to clear the air. 'Everything is still fine conceptually. Staff is going back and forth on drafting,' Heastie told The Post. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie swatted down rumors that the deal was on the ropes. Zuma / While Hochul contended there's no deal over discovery, last year she unveiled the state budget deal by calling it the 'parameters of a conceptual agreement' — almost the exact same term Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez used to describe the state of play on discovery. Changing discovery laws was one of Hochul's big priorities in the budget talks with state lawmakers, along with making it easier to involuntarily commit mentally ill people — a pair of policy pitches that grew from public safety concerns in the Big Apple. The city's DAs, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, argued that the state's 2019 discovery reforms led to a surge in criminal case dismissals based on often-trivial technicalities. Hochul backed their proposal to tweak the laws, narrowing the scope of evidence prosecutors have to turn over to defense attorneys and setting a 35-day time limit to challenge violations. Critics such as The Legal Aid Society, however, pushed lawmakers to stand firm against the changes — contending they'd give prosecutors too much power. They also argued the surge in dismissals is largely seen in New York City and stems from the NYPD failing to share evidence with prosecutors. Despite the pushback, Heastie said Tuesday that Dems had reached a 'framework' over discovery changes. The deal would: Require prosecutors to just turn over evidence 'relevant' to charges, narrowing it from evidence 'related' to the case, Clarify that judges should only dismiss cases in which prosecutors did not exercise 'due diligence,' Require defense attorneys to file discovery challenges within 35 days of prosecutors certifying to the court they've turned over evidence. Three of New York City's district attorneys — Manhattan's Alvin Bragg, Brooklyn's Eric Gonzalez and Staten Island's Michael McMahon — flanked Hochul during Wednesday's news conference. Robert Miller Three of New York City's district attorneys — Gonzalez, Bragg and Staten Island's Michael McMahon — flanked Hochul during her news conference, which was part of a tour pushing for the discovery changes. Gonzalez said the legislative teams from the DAs and Heastie's and Stewart-Cousin's offices were crafting the actual language for changes. 'Every word matters in a statute, because if a word is off or a standard is off, it changes the entire interpretation,' he said. 'We want to make sure that the language is clear that judges will have discretion to independently and individually review each case, and that a judge would not feel that they have to dismiss a case because a document is missing.'
New York Post
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
New York inches closer to legal-suicide madness — gov, you gotta stop it!
Albany's progressives have taken one step closer to utterly surrendering what little remains of their moral center: The Assembly, as threatened by Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), passed a monstrous bill legalizing assisted suicide. As it stands, the bill is restricted to mentally competent adults with a terminal diagnosis and six months or less to live, allowing them to ask for and be prescribed drugs that will kill them. Proponents sell such bills with pablum, such as: Who are we to interfere with anyone's choices? And it's the compassionate thing to do! Never mind that suicide just isn't that hard to do, that no one needs an MD's help to do it, nor that such laws inevitably pressure doctors to ignore their own ethics, including the Hippocratic oath. But the biggest lie of all is: It's limited in scope to those already dying. Why do you even care? Because the suicide enthusiasts inevitably move on from these laws to campaigning to extend 'voluntary' euthanasia to others. Like Zoraya ter Beek, a physically healthy young woman in the Netherlands, who was allowed to kill herself because of depression. Sometimes, the enthusiasm of the state to 'assist' people into suicide takes on fiscal-savings overtones, as with the case of Canadian paralympian Christine Gauthier: The government tried to get her to kill herself after she asked for a wheelchair ramp to be installed at her house. In America, advocates have gotten bills into various state legislatures meant to expand the range of people allowed to prescribe the deadly drugs (in the case of Vermont, they want some non-doctors to be able to do it). Happily, the New York bill saw significant Dem breakaway during Assembly passage, with around 20 crossing the aisle to vote 'nay,' including Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Erie). And Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousin is being coy about the bill's prospects in her house. Gov. Hochul, your path is clear. If the bill reaches your desk, veto it; there's plenty of opposition even within your own party. Don't let another exercise in faux compassion devalue human life in the Empire State even more.
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Gov. Hochul, make sure New York's assisted suicide bill NEVER becomes law
New York's progressive legislators have reportedly gotten behind what may be their most morally disgraceful bill yet: an assisted-suicide legalization push. Worse, per Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), the bill has the votes to pass, which may happen as early as next week. This must. Not. Happen. Assisted suicide is sold to the public as a form of compassion — yet another inversion of reality. In practice, it is anything but. The trouble is, the promised reservation of assisted suicide to the chronically ill and elderly seems somehow always to get expanded. Until it encompasses young, physically healthy people like Zoraya ter Beek, whom the Dutch state permitted to take her own life because she was depressed. Or, as is the case with Canada, the poor, the disabled and the marginalized. Like Alan Nichols, a down-on-his-luck man with a history of mental illness who listed 'hearing loss' as the only health reason for his own euthanasia — which, shockingly, was then granted. The Trudeau government even tried to sell veteran and paralympian Christine Gauthier on suicide, simply because she fought to have the Veterans' Affairs department install a wheelchair ramp at her house. The idea that fiscal calculations, i.e. that it's cheaper simply to kill people like Nichols and Gauthier than to help them, didn't play some role here is dubious, at best. In the US, Oregon — the pioneer on OKing this insanity — is already mulling the idea of expanding the class of people authorized to prescribe suicide drugs to include nurse practitioners and vastly shortening the wait time from 15 to two days. Vermont might include literal quacks on the list of people allowed to help people kill themselves. It's the slipperiest of slippery slopes, in other words. And a slap in the face to the nearly 3 million Catholics in the state who oppose assisted suicide on religious grounds. And this is New York, remember, where the state couldn't even manage to roll out a legal cannabis initiative without turning it into a complete disaster. And where within recent memory, a governor shoved old people with COVID into nursing homes to die and kill others just to make himself look better on television and earn $5 million from a book. Even under the sanest and stablest of governments, state-sanctioned euthanasia is obscene. Here, it would be a Boschian nightmare. Gov. Hochul, this issue is an easy win: Keep fighting the good fight, stand up to the extremists in your own party and stop this madness if and when it reaches your desk.
