Latest news with #HansPennink
New York Post
4 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
NYS lawmakers set vote to make assisted suicide legal despite controversy
ALBANY – State lawmakers are 'likely' to pass a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide next week –despite controversy over the legislation, the Senate Democratic leader said Thursday. The measure — which would allow people with six months or less to live to be prescribed a cocktail of drugs to end their lives — would be sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk after approval by the state legislature in a vote that could come as soon as Monday. 'I do believe there are the votes and it is likely it will come to the floor,' Senate Democratic Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins told reporters. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) said the Medical Aid in Dying Act will likely be brought up for a vote before the end of session next week. Hans Pennink 'Ultimately, the majority of the conference felt comfortable with providing options for people during difficult end of life times,' the Westchester County legislator said. A source familiar said the vote is likely to be scheduled for Monday and Stewart-Cousins' acknowledgement it is set for a vote indicates wide support in the Democratic caucus, which controls both houses of the legislature. Critics of the legislation – which include the Catholic church and disability rights groups, amongst others – argue the bill doesn't have adequate safeguards against abuse. 'We appreciate the Senator's desire to have a conversation about end of life care, but handing sick people a suicide cocktail is not compassion nor is it healthcare,' Bob Bellafiore, spokesperson for the New York State Catholic Conference told The Post. 'We know many Democratic senators have very deep reservations about this bill and they should be allowed to vote their conscience instead of toeing a party line,' he added. State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, one of the Senators driving the effort to pass the bill, said the legislation is about 'honoring choice.' A source said Stewart-Cousins' acknowledgement the measure is set for a vote indicates wide support for it in the Democratic caucus. Hans Pennink 'Passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act affirms New Yorkers' right to make deeply personal end-of-life decisions. This legislation offers terminally ill individuals the autonomy to choose a peaceful and dignified passing, surrounded by loved ones,' Scarcella-Spanton said. 'It's about honoring choice, alleviating suffering, and treating people with the compassion they deserve. I'm proud to see that we have the support to get this landmark piece of legislation done,' Scarcella-Spanton added.
New York Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Kathy Hochul's poll numbers underwater as more than half of New Yorkers are ready for new gov: poll
ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul's favorability numbers plunged back underwater as more than half of New Yorkers would vote for someone else to lead the state, a new poll released Tuesday found. Only 44% of New Yorkers view Hochul favorably compared with 46% who view her unfavorably — giving her an underwater -2% favorability rating as she gears up for a 2026 reelection bid, according to the Siena College poll. 'After hitting year-long highs in both Hochul's favorability and job approval ratings last month, those numbers largely held constant this month, although Republicans, already very negative toward Hochul, turned even more so on both measurements,' Siena poll spokesperson Steven Greenberg said in a statement. Advertisement 4 Kathy Hochul talks with reporters after legislative leaders agreed on a state budget during a news event in the Red Room at the state Capitol Monday, April 28, 2025, in Albany, N.Y. Hans Pennink for NY Post Last month, Hochul's net favorability rating had bumped up slightly into positive territory with 44% of voters rating her favorably compared with 43% who rated her unfavorably. That short lived blip was the first time her rating wasn't underwater since January 2024, according to polls. Siena also asked voters if they would prefer to reelect Hochul or go with 'someone else' — only 36% said they would give the governor a second full term compared with 55% who said they wanted a new leader for the Empire State. Advertisement 4 Just 15% of individuals polled said that they believe Hochul would make New York a lot more affordable. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design And only 51% of Democrats polled said they would want to re-elect Hochul, according to the poll. The survey also dipped into a range of policy issues and asked respondents how school districts should handle female trans athletes participating on sports teams. Advertisement Almost half of those surveyed, 46% said all districts should ban transgender girls from playing on female sports teams. Almost a third of Dems agreed, per the survey. 4 According to the poll, just 51% of Democrats sad that they would like to reelect Hochul. Hans Pennink 4 New York state correctional officers protest unsafe working conditions during a rally at the State Capitol Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Albany, N.Y. Hans Pennink Advertisement 'Democrats are closely divided on the question of transgender girls playing on girls school sports teams – 32% want it banned in all districts and 31% want it allowed in all districts,' Greenberg wrote. The remaining half was almost evenly split indicating that schools should be required to allow trans girls to play on female teams or that individual districts should get a say over their policy.
New York Post
09-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
New York legislature passes long-delayed state budget — including provision for AG Letitia James' legal defense
It's about time. Both houses of the state legislature passed Gov. Kathy Hochul's massive $254 billion state budget package Thursday night following days of debate and over a month delay past the April 1 deadline. Lawmakers made the final votes on the spending plan Thursday evening after fierce debate over a provision slipped into the budget — first revealed by The Post — that could leave state taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars of legal fees for Attorney General Letitia James. Advertisement 3 New York Senate lawmakers debated budget bills during Wednesday's legislative session in the Senate Chamber. Hans Pennink 'This certainly is the height of hypocrisy,' state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) said during debate on the Senate floor. The provision tucked into the budget would allow a state employee to be reimbursed for legal bills if they face 'discriminatory or retaliatory treatment' from the federal government as a result of their employment. Advertisement The revelation came a day before sources confirmed the FBI has opened an investigation into an allegation that the attorney general committed mortgage fraud by misrepresenting her primary residency on paperwork. 'I can't imagine a majority of New Yorkers not being outraged that their hard-earned dollars that go to the government are now being used or can be used to pay for private attorneys to defend public officials against charges of crimes that they committed having nothing to do with their elected position,' Lanza said. However, Deputy State Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) argued that the law is needed 'because we are currently in an environment politically where the legal system, the prosecutorial system, investigative bodies of government are being used to target political enemies.' Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seemed to express more exuberance about the budget's passage than its actual contents. Advertisement 3 A provision included in the budget could cost state taxpayers millions in legal fees for Attorney General Letitia James. Stephen Yang 3 Gov. Hochul is expected to sign the bills. Hans Pennink for the NY Post The 10 individual bills that constitute the massive spending package passed largely along party lines. Advertisement Under state law, legislators do not get paid while the state budget is delayed, prompting lawmakers to line up in soup kitchen fashion to receive paper checks with their roughly five weeks of back pay. Hochul is expected to sign the bills.
New York Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYS Dems pack budget full of ‘self-serving' perks, watchdog group has ‘nothing positive to say' about it
Democratic leaders packed the long-overdue state budget with policy measures that will benefit themselves including changes that can help bolster their reelection bids with taxpayer dough. The massive budget package that was set to be voted on beginning Wednesday includes measures to tweak the public campaign financing system, allow lawmakers to keep collecting salaries from side jobs — and even help Gov. Kathy Hochul ward off a challenge from her estranged lieutenant governor. 'All in all, it's a generally bad Albany at its cynical worst, and we have nothing positive to say about this and how they've done this just underlines that these are self-serving changes Democratic incumbents,' John Kaehny, executive rirector of Reinvent Albany, told The Post Wednesday. Advertisement 3 Democratic leaders have finalized the long-overdue New York state budget. Hans Pennink The budget deal will delay a cap on lawmakers' outside income — pushing it out until at least 2027. The ban was supposed to go into effect this year, but has been held up due to a court challenge brought by Republican lawmakers. Advertisement A lower court ruled earlier this year that the cap was constitutional. Democrats in the legislature also secured a measure jacking up the limit on donations to be eligible for public funds. Previously, candidates could have donations up to $250 matched by taxpayer funds provided the individual contributing doesn't go over that amount. The limit is now being raised to $1,050, though the state will still only pony up a max $250 match. Advertisement 3 Policy measures were put into place that will help them individually, along with changes made that can help bolster their reelection campaigns. Hans Pennink for the NY Post The program's original stated intent was to incentivize candidates who were seeking contributions from normal working people instead of the fat cat donor class. Critics of the change, like Kaehny, argue it will run against the matching program's original intent by extending those incentives to wealthy donors as well. 'They're weakening a landmark campaign finance bill that was passed in broad daylight after eight all-day public hearings and dozens of other consultative meetings and an enormous amount of public debate in daylight,' Kaehny railed. Advertisement Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) tried defending the cynical move by arguing that it has caused headaches for campaigns when people accidentally give slightly more than the $250 limit. 3 The budget will also delay a cap on lawmakers' outside income for at least another 2 years. Hans Pennink 'It's just a way to just allow people to be supportive of you,' Heastie said. 'It's not undoing the essence of the program. It's just making a modification that the 251st dollar doesn't disqualify you from getting a match if a constituent wants to support you,' the speaker claimed. Another provision tucked into the deal would require governors and lieutenant governors to run on the same ticket during the primary, instead of separately as elections work now. This would benefit Hochul if Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado runs against her for the governor seat next year, because he would need to rally someone to share the ticket to challenge an influential incumbent, insiders said. Delgado has already said he won't run to be Hochul's lieutenant governor again. Advertisement It wasn't an entirely new proposal, and has netted bipartisan support. State Sen. Joe Griffo (R-Onedia) has sponsored legislation to do the same thing for years, but he said the change to elections should've been done outside the undemocratic backroom budget process. 'While this type of good government reform deserves a full public discussion outside the budget process, this change will help ensure voters elect leadership teams that share a common vision and are prepared to govern effectively,' Griffo wrote in a joint statement with Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Taxpayers — and politicians — will have just hours to review Hochul's $254 billion NY state budget before voting begins
ALBANY – State lawmakers will finally begin voting on New York's massive budget package Wednesday, but the public and even politicians themselves aren't sure what the spending bills will say. Thousands of pages of text that make up the budget bill were scheduled to be released starting on Tuesday night, meaning the public and even rank-and-file lawmakers would only have hours to review the package before voting on it. Some sources are even casting doubt on the $254 billion figure that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week. Thousands of pages of bill language that make up the budget will be released beginning Tuesday evening, meaning the public and even rank-and-file lawmakers themselves will only have mere hours to study the package before voting on it. Hans Pennink 'The senators have not seen a budget bill, we are told they are on their way, and we're gonna begin voting this week, we haven't seen one,' State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Niagara) said. 'Let these bills age. Let us dig in. Let us know what we're voting for for the people of New York,' Ortt added. Under the state constitution, the legislature must wait three calendar days before voting on a newly introduced bill, such as the state budget. But that will be bypassed with a 'message of necessity' from Hochul that will allow an early vote on the budget. Multiple sources have already cast doubt on Gov. Kathy Hochul's $254 billion figure she announced last week. Hans Pennink for NY Post 'The governor has taken and abused what should be used only for emergencies and done that to jam budget bills through,' North Country state Sen. Mark Walczyk (R-Jefferson) said. Walczyk sponsored a bill that would prohibit messages of necessity from being used for the state budget. The state budget process is infamously opaque, with the majority of negotiations conducted behind closed doors with the governor and legislative leaders. State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Niagara) said, 'The senators have not seen a budget bill, we are told they are on their way, and we're gonna begin voting this week, we haven't seen one.' Houston Chronicle via Getty Images Last year, state lawmakers and the governor emerged from backroom talks with a surprise decision to overhaul a Medicaid homecare program, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. The proposal they enacted had never been previously revealed or openly discussed. The overhaul they approved has been fraught with accusations of bid rigging, lawsuits and now has led to homecare workers going without pay.
