Votes in the NYS Senate for the Week of March 31, 2019

The bills listed below were voted on this week in the New York State Senate.  The legislation is listed by bill number and includes a short description, followed by Senator Gallivan's vote.  You can access each bill individually at the links provided below.

#S1500D  State operations budget.

NAY

#S1501A  Legislature and judiciary budget.

NAY

#S1502  Debt service fund.

NAY

#S1503D  Budget bill.

NAY

#S1504D  Budget bill.

NAY

#S1505C  Budget bill.

NAY

#S1506C  Budget bill.

NAY

#S1507C   Budget bill.

NAY

#S1508C  Budget bill.

NAY

#S1509C  Budget bill.

NAY

The budget includes billions of dollars in new taxes and spending; a multitude of unfunded mandates and will enact changes to New York’s criminal justice system, which will enhance the rights of criminals over victims and law-abiding citizens.  While Senator Gallivan supports increased aid to education and the decision to make New York’s property tax cap permanent, this budget does not do enough to control spending or reform costly regulations.

#B958  CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY fixing the salaries of the offices of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor pursuant to sections 3 and 6 of article 4 of the Constitution of the State of New York.

NAY   (Inappropriate to consider under the cover of darkness)

#S783A  Creates the Transitional Green Development Grant Program to assist upstate communities with declining industrial bases to identify and coordinate their natural, cultural and historical resources into a strategic, sustainable development plan. Grants not to exceed $150,000.

NAY  (No appropriation included.  This should have been part of the state budget.)

#S3145A  This bill has been recalled from the Assembly and amended to restore language that was struck from the previous version including "voting levers" and the size of the squares to be included on a paper ballot, which is "…at least one-half inch square."

AYE

#S1688  This bill amends pertinent sections of law governing the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act of 2006 and the Distressed Property Consultant Law aimed at preventing the victimization of struggling homeowners by short sale, deed theft and loan modification scams. In particular this bill would extend the timeframes associated with cancellation of a covered contract by the seller; establishes that real property for sale that is collateral for a "distressed home loan" are eligible under the term covered contract; exempts only those attorneys who provide bone fide legal representation to clients pursuant to a retainer agreement from the definition of "distressed property consultant"; and affords a mechanism for a title to be restored to those victimized by deed theft schemes.

AYE

#S4117A  Prohibits the eviction of tenants for using medical marihuana for a certified medical use. NOTE - this bill was drafted as a result of the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Renewal evicting a tenant who was using marihuana for medical purposes due to their strict policy that prohibits the use of marihuana.

AYE

#S2833  This bill makes applicable changes to Article 13-f of the Public Health Law governing the regulation of tobacco products, herbal cigarettes and smoking paraphernalia, to prohibit the use of such products by persons under the age of 21 years. Moreover, a person who sells tobacco in any form to a person less than 21 years of age would be guilty of unlawfully dealing with a child in the 2nd degree, which is a class B misdemeanor.

NAY  (A recent study by the American Journal of Public Healtgh concluded that 'increasing the age did no accelerate reductions in youth tobacco use any more rapidly than declines observed in comparison sites.'  NY continues to have an inconsistent age of consent.