News from STATE SENATOR Liz Krueger
New York State Senate, 26th District

COMMUNITY BULLETIN - July 2002

Message from Liz . . .
Session has now reached its end, with only a few major items issues on the agenda having been dealt with. Among the items the legislature failed to address are an Extension of Rent Protections, Rockefeller Drug Law Reform, the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, extending unemployment benefits, increasing the Minimum Wage, funding environmental cleanup through Superfund...well, as you can see the list goes on and on. We did pass some meaningful legislation in the last weeks of session, including the Women's Health and Wellness Act, school governance reform, and stricter laws against predatory lending. I'll talk more about some of this legislation below, but in keeping with tradition I will use this message to share some details on the unique nature of the legislative process in Albany.

The rhythms of Albany change with the seasons. During the Winter and Spring, Joe Bruno doesn't like to make his legislators work too hard, so sessions rarely last more that two hours with usually about ten or twenty bills coming up for a vote. But come the end of Spring and the end of Session, the leadership finally realizes how little they have accomplished. On June 20, the last official day of session, we put in a full twelve-hour day, and passed an amazing 196 bills. Of course the vast majority of these bills had little to do with the major issues facing our state, so we were called back to session on July 2nd, and managed to pass another 83 bills in about five hours. The incredible productivity demonstrated in these two days resulted in passage of over 20% of the 1319 bills passed during the entire six-month session.

There are obvious disadvantages to this model of lawmaking, in that it undermines any semblance of a deliberative process, as bills are rushed to the floor and passed literally hot off the presses. In my efforts to debate legislation during this rushed process, or just to ask questions so I know what it is I will be voting on, it has become clear to me that often even the sponsor of legislation has little or no idea what is in their bill. As you are probably aware, there is no real requirement that members know the contents of their bills, since content is often determined through negotiations between Joe Bruno, Governor Pataki, and Assembly Speaker Silver.

Experiences like this reinforce my belief that the legislative process is in need of a major overhaul. There is no excuse for wasting so much time during the session and then rushing through legislation in a manner that limits the involvement of both individual legislators and the public at large. Fighting the culture of Albany that creates this kind of dysfunctional process is one of my main goals.

District Office: 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 1300, New York NY 10017 (212) 490-9535 Fax: (212) 490-2151
Albany Office: Room 302, Legislative Office Bldg., Albany NY 12247 (518) 455-2297 Fax: (518) 426-6874

Community Spotlight

Meeting With The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Regarding East Side Transportation Issues:
Last month I joined other elected officials and representatives of Community Boards 6 and 8 in a meeting with MTA/New York City Transit President Lawrence Reuter to discuss transportation issues on the East Side. Based on comments that my office had received from the members of the East 79th Street Neighborhood Association as well as many other community representatives, we raised several issues of specific concern to the East 79th Street area at the meeting. Among the issues discussed was the bus layover on East 79th Street, and the MTA committed to using quieter electric starters on the M79. I was also pleased to hear that the Second Avenue Subway Draft Environmental Impact Statement should be completed later this month, and I raised the issue of the importance of an additional subway stop between 72nd and 86th Street. I stressed the importance of an extensive public review process for the Second Avenue Subway, which the MTA expects to commence construction on by the end of 2004. At the meeting we also raised a number of issues regarding the M15 and M31 bus lines, including bunching, insufficient service, and signage issues. In addition, we discussed many of the problems with articulated buses, including safety, service and environmental concerns. Since the meeting, I have sent a letter to the MTA to follow up on these and other issues raised at the meeting. I am hopeful that this will be the first of many discussions with the MTA that will serve to improve public transportation on the East Side.

Testifying before the Rent Guidelines Board in Opposition to Rent Increases:
Last month, I testified at the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) in opposition to proposed rent increases for rent-stabilized tenants. Unfortunately, the board broke with precendent, ignored the research of RGB staff, which found a decrease in operating costs for landlords, and approved increases of 2 and 4 percent on one and two year leases, respectively. I strenuously opposed these increases at the RGB, and believe they set an extremely dangerous precedent. The RGB seems committed to always giving landlords some rent increases, even when economic conditions clearly do not warrant them.

Public Hearing on Plans to Privatize Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield:
There will be a public hearing on plans for Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield to convert from a non-profit to a for profit health insurance company. The implications of such a change are complex and should be subject to a serious and comprehensive public review process. I urge all interested parties to join me in testifying at a public hearing of the New York State Department of Insurance on this proposed conversion, which will take place August 6 at 10:00AM at the Metropolitan Hotel, 569 Lexington Avenue at 51st Street. For further information, contact Susan Chamlin in my office at (212) 490-9535.

Expanded Eligibility for Mortgage and Rental Assistance for those Impacted by World Trade Center Attacks:
Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency expanded eligibility for Mortgage and Rental Assistance, which is designed to help people facing eviction or mortgage foreclosure as a result of economic hardships after September 11. Under the new guidelines, residents who worked or lived anywhere in the borough of Manhattan and suffered financially because of the World Trade Center attacks may be eligible. Additionally, people whose employer or business are not located in Manhattan, but had economically dependent business relationships with firms in Manhattan, and consequently suffered financially, may be eligible. Finally, people who live in Manhattan who lost their jobs or significant income because of September 11 attack disruptions to their commute in and out of Manhattan may qualify for assistance. In addition to expanding the eligibility guidelines, FEMA has also extended the disaster application deadline until January 31, 2003. For information on applying for assistance, call 1-800-462-9029, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Spotlight on Policy

School Governance Reform
Late last month, the legislature and governor approved a school governance reform package that I was able to support. While this legislation is not a panacea for our public schools, it at least offers the opportunity to significantly increase accountability in our public school system. The key details of the proposal include:

* Direct appointment of the Schools Chancellor by the Mayor.
* A requirement that New York City maintain or increase its contribution to the education budget unless overall city budget revenues decline
* The transfer of administrative powers from the Board of Education to the Chancellor
* A new 13 member Board of Education with advisory powers on city-wide educational issues. It will consist of the Chancellor, seven mayoral appointees, and one member appointed by each borough president. The borough president appointees would be required to be parents of public school children.
* The abolition of current Community School District boards and establishment of a joint Senate/ Assembly task force to evaluate alternatives to replace these boards.
* Reform of the School Construction Authority to increase its accountability by making the Chancellor chair of a three member board with two mayoral appointees.

It is extremely unfortunate that shortly after we took this modest step forward, two courts issued decisions representing major steps back in the effort to improve public education in New York City. First, a state appellate court overturned a lower court decision declaring that New York State's educational funding formula was inequitable and violated the State Constitution, and in a shocking and outrageous decision, declared that an eighth grade education was all that New York City school children were constitutionally entitled to. Second, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, upheld the use of vouchers for religious schools. This decision already appears to be reigniting debate over the implementation of a voucher system in New York City, which can only detract from the discussion we should be having about improving public education. If we really want to give mayoral control a chance to succeed, we should be finding ways to ensure adequate funding of our public school system, not siphoning funds off to private education.

Predatory Lending
I am pleased that one of the few meaningful pieces of legislation to emerge from the end of session madness was a bill strengthening laws against predatory lending. Predatory lenders often target the financially unsophisticated who have substantial equity in their homes, but may lack adequate day-to-day income. Lenders offer these vulnerable people access to immediate cash, in exchange for high interest loans that they may not have the resources to pay back. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to predatory lenders, since they often have substantial equity in their homes, but have very limited incomes. Victims of predatory lending often end up losing their homes when they are unable to make payments on the loans. The bill passed by the Assembly and Senate strengthens state banking laws to fight these practices, and would makes it more difficult to foreclose on home equity loans. The bill now awaits the governor's signature. However, he is apparently being lobbied heavily by the banking and brokerage industry not to sign the bill, which also holds larger banks and brokerage houses that purchase these loans from the original lender liable for predatory loans. If you support this important legislation, I urge you to write Governor Pataki at 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. 3