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Floor News
Motion to Discharge
• Assembly Republicans, led by Assemblyman Tague, attempted to discharge an important piece of legislation from the Education Committee and bring it to the Floor for a vote. The motion to discharge for the following bill was blocked by Assembly Democrats:
~A.2321 (Tague) – Permits schools located within the State to purchase whole and 2% New York milk (vote: 51-94).
Emergency Appropriation Extender
• The Assembly and Senate passed a bill this week (A.6595) to provide emergency appropriations for the support of the government through April 28th (vote: 145-0).
Redistricting for Assembly
• The Assembly and Senate passed, and the Governor signed (Chapter 127), a bill (A.6586) that repeals and re-enacts Article 8 of the State Law to establish new Assembly district lines (vote 132-13).
Birds and Bees Protection Act
• The Assembly passed a bill (A.3226) which enacts the Birds and Bees Protection Act to prohibit the sale or use of corn, soybean, or wheat seed treated with neonicotinoid pesticides beginning January 1, 2026, and to phase out by July 1, 2025 the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids for outdoor ornamental plants and turf (vote: 100–49).
Prohibition of Lead Ammunition
• The Assembly passed a bill (A.2084-A) that prohibits the taking of wildlife with lead ammunition on any State-owned land that is open for hunting and on any land area contributing surface water to the New York City water supply. The bill defines lead ammunition as any ammunition containing one or more percent of lead by weight (vote: 92–56).
Committee News
Transportation
• Despite unanimous Republican support, the Transportation Committee blocked the following bills:
~A.1538 (Blankenbush) – Creates distinctive license plates for members and supporters of the United States Army 10th Mountain Division.
~A.2062 (Hawley) – Provides for the issuance of distinctive license plates for Gold Star Family members. Makes the issuance of Gold Star Family distinctive plates free of any charge and eliminates the registration fee for Gold Star Mother distinctive plates.
~A.3477 (DeStefano) – Requires a person to be disqualified from receiving a permit to drive for companies such as Uber and Lyft if that driver has been convicted of a sex offense and keeps this disqualification in place for the entire period that driver is required to register as a sex offender.
~A.4075 (Ra) – Allows for individuals to enroll in the National Bone Marrow Donor Program at the time of application for or renewal of a driver’s license or non-driver identification card.
~A.4147 (Durso) – Creates distinctive license plates honoring Eagle Scouts.
~A.4437 (Durso) – Creates distinctive license plates honoring recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award.
~A.4588 (McGowan) – Renames the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge as the Tappan Zee Bridge.
~A.4660 (McGowan) – Repeals congestion pricing.
~A.4939 (E. Brown) – Allows the spouse of a volunteer firefighter to be issued a distinctive license plate bearing the Maltese Cross and the letters V.F. even if his or her spouse has already been issued such a distinctive plate.
~A.5313 (Chang) – Directs the New York State and New York City Departments of Transportation to conduct a study on parking availability along the portion of 8th Avenue between 39th Street and 73rd Street in the borough of Brooklyn.
~A.5352 (Gray) – Allows those who engage in the purchase or sale of milk and farm food products to transport such products on the Thruway free of charge.
Codes
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Codes Committee reported the following bills:
~A.2882 – Requires licensed gunsmiths, firearms dealers, and county licensing officers to post or provide a written warning on the hazards of gun ownership to gun purchasers and to individuals being issued or amending their firearm or weapon license/permit. Failure to comply would constitute a violation punishable by imprisonment of not more than 15 days and/or a fine of not more than $1,000.
▪ This bill was reported to the Floor.
~A.5343 – Requires every law enforcement agency to keep all physical or other evidence it maintains within a fireproof container or within a fireproof storage area located within a state-of-the-art facility utilizing modern and advanced technology. Prior to storing such evidence, directs every law enforcement agency to photograph and document this evidence and store such photographs and documentation in a location separate from where the evidence is being stored.
▪ This bill was reported to Ways and Means.
Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
• Despite unanimous Republican opposition, the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee reported the following bills:
~A.343 – Directs the Public Service Commission to require, in addition to existing maintenance, vine trimming on utility poles by the utility or cable television company owning said pole.
▪ This bill was reported to the Floor.
~A.5981-A – Directs the Secretary of State to publicize the data that particular corporations and LLCs are required to submit on the gender, race, and ethnicity of their employees to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Such entities are ones that submit EEO-1 reports and are, in short, private sector employers with 100 or more employees, or federal contractors with 50 or more employees.
▪ This bill was reported to the Floor.
Week In Focus
• On Wednesday, Members of both the Assembly and Senate Republican Conferences urged Gov. Hochul and the legislative majorities not to use so-called “messages of necessity” to bypass the constitutionally required three-day aging process once budget bills are introduced. To view the press conference,
Also on Wednesday, the Assembly passed a resolution (K.360) proclaiming April 26, 2023 as West Point Day.