Alliance Note: NYS Lawmakers are back in Albany today to continue their work during the last few weeks of this year’s session. Now that the budget is finalized, our legislators look to pass non-budget related legislation, including a bill aimed at regulating social media for children. While funding outside of the budget is limited, the Alliance will continue to advocate for policies which support people living with mental health, substance use, and trauma related challenges. This includes focusing on implementation of critical budget items such as the COLA and funding for alternative responses to mental health and substance use crisis calls. See below to learn more about what is in store for the last month of session.
A Month Left in NY’s Legislative Session. Here’s What’s on Deck.
By Dan Clark | Times Union | May 6, 2024
ALBANY — A big question will be on the minds of state lawmakers as they return to the Capitol Monday after a two-week break: what’s next?
After several grueling months negotiating this year’s now-passed $237 billion state budget, that could be a difficult query to complete.
There’s a month left of the legislative session, which is scheduled to end on June 6. That’s not a lot of time to take on issues that may be divisive.
But Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrats who control both chambers of the Legislature tend to agree on most policy issues. It’s the road to addressing those measures where they sometimes differ.
When asked what she would seek to accomplish in the final month of this year’s session, Hochul said in April she wanted to focus on legislation to regulate how social media companies interact with children.
That issue was part of negotiations on the state budget, but Hochul and lawmakers couldn’t reach a deal before the spending plan was done.
“I want to focus on these social media elements we spoke about but were not able to get through,” she said. “I believe we’ll have a good package by the end of session. Our teams are still working together.”
Social media regulation
One of those bills is the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act. It would require social media companies to serve children chronological feeds on their websites versus an algorithmic feed that pulls in content they haven’t sought out.
Tech companies have lobbied against the bill, arguing that algorithms can also filter out harmful content before it reaches children.
They’ve also said if regulations are passed at the state level, there will be a patchwork of laws across the country that may be difficult to accommodate.
But support for the bill has continued to grow in the Legislature since the start of this year’s session in January.
There are now 91 members of the state Assembly who either sponsor or cosponsor the bill and, importantly, 77 of them are Democrats. A bill isn’t usually brought to the floor unless more than 75 Democrats support it in the 150-member chamber.
A related bill — the Child Data Protection Act — has also garnered more support, with 81 Democrats listed as sponsors in the Assembly. That bill would bolster data privacy protections for children online.
Its fate in the Senate is less clear in the immediate future, but Democrats have continued to build support in that chamber as well.
Wrongful death cases
Lawmakers are also expecting to take a third shot at a bill that’s been vetoed twice by Hochul: the Grieving Families Act.
The bill would allow families to seek damages for emotional loss in wrongful death lawsuits. Right now, damages can only be sought for financial loss, like income the family expected from the deceased.
The legislation has some hefty opposition. It’s opposed by the New York State Association of Counties, the New York Conference of Mayors, organizations representing schools and health care trade groups.
That hasn’t curbed the near-unanimous support for it in both chambers. The bill is largely supported by Republicans, most of whom have voted with Democrats in favor of the measure when it’s come to the floor.
Despite having well over the amount of members needed to override Hochul’s veto, lawmakers have opted to leave it alone. That could change this year, said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, D-Westchester County.
“Veto overrides are always on the table,” she said.
Medical aid in dying
Legislation is also up for consideration that would allow terminally ill patients to be prescribed medication they could use to end their life before their illness takes them.
It’s a bill that’s struggled to gain support in the Legislature, but that may change because of a key endorsement of the legislation this year.
The Medical Society of the State of New York had opposed the bill, but reversed that position in April after an internal vote.
“(The Medical Society) supports legislation such as the Medical Aid in Dying Act and supports physicians’ choice to opt-in or decline to engage in the processes and procedures as outlined in any proposed medical aid in dying legislation,” the group said.
Advocates for the bill have been a consistent presence at the Capitol this year, usually on Tuesdays. They approach lawmakers and try to convince them to sign on to the bill.
Opponents of the legislation refer to the practice as “assisted suicide,” though some have different reasons for why they’re against it.
Some religious groups, for example, are morally against it. Some disability advocates, but not all, see it as a slippery slope that could lead to similar legislation aimed at people with chronic conditions.
Environmental measures
Hochul and lawmakers were close to striking a deal last month on the New York Home Energy Affordable Transition — or NY HEAT — Act.
That bill would end what’s called the “100-foot rule,” which requires utilities to connect gas hookups to customers who don’t already have them. The companies pay for the first 100 feet of a utility line needed to service a building. The intent of the bill is to wean consumers off fossil fuels to help lower carbon emissions.
Another part of the bill, as originally proposed by its sponsors this year, would cap utility bills at 6 percent of the ratepayer’s income.
State Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan who carries the bill, said in March she didn’t want to water down the legislation in order to reach a deal that could be tucked into the state budget.
“We have to get the full act,” Krueger said. “We can also just do it the old-fashioned way, where two houses pass the bill and you ask the governor to sign it.”
That’s a riskier strategy than reaching an agreement between the Legislature and the governor, but not one that lawmakers are unfamiliar with.
The Legislature may also consider the Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability Act, a new version of a bill Hochul vetoed last year.
It’s a broad bill, but the intent is to require companies to adjust their supply chains so they’re not purchasing or using products that contribute to tropical degradation or deforestation.
Hochul wrote in her veto message last year that she was concerned about the cost of the bill to commerce, a top concern for the governor as the state’s economy continues to recover from the pandemic.
A month left in NY’s legislative session. Here’s what’s on deck. (timesunion.com)