Not a time for boldness in Albany as State Legislature session winds down

June 16--ALBANY -- For weeks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and lawmakers have sought to downplay expectations about many bold initiatives coming out of this year's end of the legislative session.

It turns out that they were telling the truth.

With lawmakers pressing to get out of Albany for good this year as they all face re-election in the fall, the final days of the 2016 session have produced little in the way of real drama for members of Albany's fraternity.

While the halls at the State Capitol are packed with lobbyists and representatives of special interests, the largest and most vocal gatherings had nothing to do with end-of-session issues: One group marched on the Governor's Office to protest his recent order saying New York State would halt doing business with organizations that boycott Israel, while another demanded more state action to deal with their polluted drinking water supplies in a Rensselaer County town.

The strangest route was the ride this week for a plan to legalize daily fantasy sports. It has been alive, dead, linked with an online poker legalization effort before that died, and back to life Tuesday evening when two key members of the Senate and Assembly introduced a new version seeking to allay concerns raised by Cuomo and some lawmakers.

The new measure would legalize the contests, but now money the state gets from the industry would go toward public education instead of the state's general fund; increase the regulatory role of the state Gaming Commission; and make taxes and rules apply to both seasonlong and daily fantasy sports contests.

The new bill led the committee chairmen of the two houses to declare the issue settled.

But the Cuomo administration said that there was no final deal. And later in the day, upon emerging from a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, of the Bronx, said he did not know whether the bill will pass. "We're still trying to poll (to determine) if it has support of most of the members," he said.

Wednesday was a day for some measures to advance, others to die and still others to be placed on life support. Here's a look at some of the major ones:

--Ethics and campaign finance -- In the wake of the convictions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and former Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, 2016 was to be the year of major improvements in state ethics and campaign finance laws. Yet the sides have been split for months, and negotiators appear focused on just two main areas: a constitutional amendment to permit the forfeiture of pensions for officials convicted in corruption cases and tightening of laws pertaining to independent expenditure committees that critics say often act in coordination with political candidates' campaigns.

"We're very close to an agreement on pension forfeiture," Sen. Jeffrey D. Klein, D-Bronx, leader of the Senate Independent Democratic Conference, said Wednesday after a meeting with Cuomo and two other legislative leaders.

Klein said he believes that the Assembly is going to pass a measure -- already agreed to last year but never acted on by the Assembly -- to strip public officials of their state pensions if they are convicted of corruption.

"Once you're in a position of authority and you've committed an act that violated the public trust, you should absolutely lose that benefit," said Sen. Thomas D. Croci, R-Sayville, chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

Heastie said it was his "intention" that the Assembly will pass the pension bill.

--Ride-hailing -- Lawmakers appear ready to throw in the towel on a plan to permit ride-hailing services, such as through Uber and Lyft, in upstate and on Long Island. The sponsor of the Senate bill to let upstate localities regulate ride-hailing, Sen. James L. Seward, R-Milford, said demands for higher insurance liabilities by Assembly Democrats "did, in fact, doom the legislation."

But the bill's Assembly sponsor said the Senate hasn't been willing to budge on its insurance counterproposal. "We've expressed a willingness but we've been told the Senate insists on this minimal level of coverage that doesn't really protect people in New York State," said Assemblyman Kevin A. Cahill, D-Kingston.

Taxi companies have opposed allowing the companies to operate upstate. They believe that Uber and Lyft would wipe out their business, especially in small cities with little demand for taxis.

--Mandatory lead testing in schools -- A bill requiring schools to test for detectable levels of lead is not expected to pass this session. Assemblywoman Catherine T. Nolan, D-Queens, chairwoman of the Assembly's Education Committee, said she wants more clarity on the issue. "My recommendation at this time would be to take a step back for the very short moment, perhaps have a roundtable and come up with something comprehensive as we move forward," she said.

Nolan and the New York State School Boards Association are concerned about whether schools would be reimbursed by the state for the testing. "We support lead testing in schools," said David Albert, spokesman for the School Boards Association. "We're not lobbying against it; we're working with the sponsors and basically trying to make the bill workable for school districts."

Jaqi Cohen, a senior legislative associate with the New York Public Interest Research Group, said, "There's two ways I see this playing out: The Legislature can decide not to poison children for another year or we can just sit on our hands as a state and do nothing."

--Buffalo parking -- Lawmakers are confident that a plan to begin a residential permit parking program in the city's Fruit Belt neighborhood will be given final passage. The bill, permitting the city to proceed with setting aside half the on-street parking for residents of the neighborhood near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, has passed the Assembly and is expected to be approved in the Senate as soon as Thursday.

The bill is in response to parking problems caused by an overflow from the Medical Campus. Permits will be free for residents who register with the city. The program is expected to roll out later this summer or early fall.

Lawmakers are uncertain when the session will end this week.

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