Sheldon Silver, Andrew Cuomo, Dean Skelos
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, left, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, applaud staff members during a news conference at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Sunday, March 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
(AP)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The 2015 New York legislative session comes down to this: There's an extra $5 billion on the table as important and polarizing policies are about to sunset.
That combination of spending money and urgent deadlines sets the stage for a busy and combative session among legislative leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
First, the money. New York has an extra $5.6 billion in one-time legal settlements from banks and financial companies for their roles in the housing crises and instances of skirting state laws. The settlement money is a one-time influx, like an inheritance, which Cuomo, lawmakers, lobbyists and unions have been circling for months.
"There's going to be a feeding frenzy for that money," said Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.
Next, those important deadlines. Laws governing a lucrative tax credit for developers, New York City rent control rules and the property tax cap (which excludes New York City property owners) all are set to expire in the next year or so.
Combine those issues with rising pressures to boost school funding, reform the criminal justice system, address the minimum wage rate and pay for a new Tappan Zee Bridge - well, it's a recipe made for behind-the-scenes deal-making in a Capitol where trading political chits has become an art.
All this unfolds as Cuomo, who starts his second term this month, mourns the death of his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo. Funeral arrangements took precedence this week; the governor's State of the State address was moved to Jan. 21 from Wednesday's original date.
"I can say I miss him already," Cuomo said Saturday, standing outside a wake for New York City Police Officer Wenjian Liu, one of two officers killed two weeks ago while on duty in Brooklyn. "There is a hole in my heart that I fear is going to be there forever."
At the same time, the younger Cuomo called for New York to reunite in grief, and move on. "We have to stop any fights within the family," the governor said, "and we have to come together as the family of New York and stand strong."
That, as Cuomo learned from his father, is the poetry of politics. Next, comes the prose. Let the frenzy begin.
More money for infrastructure
This year, Cuomo and lawmakers budgeted receiving $275 million from settlements from lawsuits.
Instead, the state is expecting $5.6 billion, according to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office.
Generally, Cuomo and key lawmakers say they want to invest much of that money in rebuilding public infrastructure -- better bridges, water mains and Internet service. There's also general agreement that the $5.6-billion decisions shouldn't add to yearly operational costs. For a homeowner, it's akin to paying cash for new siding on the house instead of upgrading the monthly cable package. That spending strategy, in itself, is a significant agreement among power players in Albany.
That's where the agreement ends, for now.
Some Downstate lawmakers have their eye on the New NY Bridge, the $4 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River north of New York City. No clear plan exists to pay for the entire project. Some of the bridge's users will foot part of the bill in tolls.
Using part of the settlement money on that Downstate bridge would certainly qualify as an investment in infrastructure. And it would prompt a trading war for Upstate improvements - not necessarily a bad thing for lawmakers from more rural regions who want to bring some of that kitty to their districts' roads and bridges.
Wondering what $5.6 billion buys in state government spending? This should put it in perspective.
Competition Upstate for dollars
At the same time, the governor has indicated he'd like some of the settlement money spent on job creation. During the campaign, he proposed putting $1.5 billion into a new, economic development pot that Upstate communities, like Syracuse, would compete for.
Unshackle Upstate, a coalition representing thousands of businesses across New York, likes this idea. Greg Biryla, the executive director for Unshackle Upstate, said he'd like the $1.5 billion parceled out in the same way the governor's Regional Economic Development Councils works. There, committees of local leaders nominate public- and private-sector projects for state grants and tax breaks.
"Bring in the stakeholders," Biryla said. "They know their communities and regions the best."
Lawmakers have other ideas about how to stimulate job growth.
Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, agrees some of the money should go toward infrastructure. But he's less convinced about the new economic development plan, especially if there's an opportunity to use the money to cut more taxes for more people.
"We'll have to see," he said last week. "The best economic development is tax relief."
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner already has submitted her plan, buoyed by a challenge from Cuomo for an ambitious "Syracuse Billion" plan. It includes a $726 million request to rebuild the city's crumbling water system. She believes reliable infrastructure fosters job creation better than picking individual projects for taxpayer-backed benefits.
Trading places: Rent control for property tax relief
Four years ago, Cuomo championed a 2 percent property tax cap. In essence, the law puts pressure on local governments and school districts to keep property tax increases under 2 percent, restraint meant to keep homeowners' tax bills from dramatic yearly increases.
Those caps expire in 2015 for governments, in 2016 for school districts. This summer, New York City's rent control rules also expire. Both policies have similar, if not regional goals: To help New Yorkers with affordable, long-term housing. Both require statewide support from lawmakers in both political parties to survive.
Those parallel expiration dates create major negotiation chips between Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a New York City Democrat concerned with rent control, and the expected Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican from Long Island with many Upstate senators, and homeowners, to please.
DeFrancisco said he believes the 2 percent cap will be renewed, especially because Cuomo continued to campaign on its passage during his re-election campaign this fall. "I would be shocked if it was not continued as the same rate," he said.
Still, that will involve trades and favors on other issues to secure support from both sides. What else is at stake? This trading list is as complex as the state budget and could include issues ranging from a new minimum wage rate to public financing for campaigns to teacher evaluations to benefits for immigrants. Watch for heightened debate - and finally some decisions - about recurring issues: the state's Brownfield Tax Credit program, justice reforms (see below), renewing the New York City mayor's power over its massive school district, and, of course, school funding.
A change in school aid
This comes with a caveat: No deal is done in Albany until all the deals are done.
Still, advocates for a better school aid distribution formula believe 2015 could be their year.
"We're more hopeful now because the state is in a better financial situation," said Rick Timbs, executive director of the East Syracuse-based Statewide School Finance Consortium.
Timbs and others, including some lawmakers, are advocating for restoration of school aid that was cut in the 2009-10 budget (before Cuomo took office) to help close the state's $10 billion budget gap at that time. Part of those cuts - technically called a Gap Elimination Adjustment - remains, despite increases in state aid to schools in more recent years.
The bottom line? Districts statewide are still short about $1 billion when compared to what they would have received without the GEA cuts, education advocates say. (Overall, however, state aid to schools has risen from $21.5 billion to $22.2 billion over the same period.)
Nozzolio and DeFrancisco believe this year the state could make up the difference.
"I know it's a Senate priority," DeFrancisco said. "I feel confident that the Assembly agrees."
Police, justice reforms
The decision by a Staten Island jury to not indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner prompted calls for reforms and reviews. Cuomo responded almost immediately, announcing a full review of police and grand jury procedures throughout the state. He said it would be a priority for 2015.
"I don't think there's going to be any one answer," Cuomo said in early December. "I think we should look at the whole system."
Just two weeks later, two New York City police officers were shot and killed by a person who threatened retaliation in Garner's name. Now the conversation has evolved to include better protection of police officers.
"This was totally pointless," Cuomo said Saturday. "They did nothing wrong. It wasn't about them. It was purely, random hatred."
In nearly the same breath, Cuomo evoked the names of all three men who died: Liu, Garner and Officer Rafael Ramos. "There's a lot of pain, there's been a lot of anguish," he said.
Already, state lawmakers are setting up public hearings in New York City and Albany to discuss a full breadth of criminal justice issues.
"We are going to be taking a comprehensive approach," said Nozzolio, whose district includes West Webster, where two first responders were killed two years ago when responding to a fire.
Nozzolio, for his part, is most concerned with protecting first responders. He's also worried about state parole officers, who've told him their caseloads are growing too large.
Other lawmakers have other ideas. The Senate's Democratic leader, Sen. Andrew Stewart-Cousins, already has introduced legislation to put the state attorney general in charge of investigating the deaths of unarmed people during interactions with police.
The juxtaposition of the two views puts talk about criminal justice reform in a precarious spot. Look for Cuomo, who called for a "societal deep breath" after the police officers' deaths, to navigate carefully to keep all legislative talks going.
"Sometimes in high emotion, you stop hearing and processing," Cuomo said in late December. "It's potentially destructive."
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