State Relations Update - June 16, 2009

June 16, 2009

Senate Majority Update The decision leaves intact Sen. Pedro Espada as Senate president and Sen. Dean Skelos as majority leader. Judge McNamara wrote "The court is aware that the inability of the Senate to resolve these issues has had, and may well continue to have, a profound affect on the ability of the government to address many issues which are of vital importance to the citizens of the State. Courts may well be suited to analyzing such a question and providing a reasoned objective conclusion. Nonetheless, a judicially imposed resolution would be an improvident intrusion into the internal workings of a co-equal branch of government. The practical effect of having a court decide this issue would be that its decision, if only by perception, would have an influence on the internal workings of the Senate, including the setting of the Senate agenda…..Absent circumstances, not shown to exist here, a court should not impose a legal solution. Accordingly, the motion is granted and the complaint is dismissed." It is expected that the Democrats will appeal this decision. Senate Democrat Leadership - The 31 member democrat conference has elected Senator John Sampson from Brooklyn as their conference chairman who will be responsible for the day to day operations in the Senate. SUNY Downstate is located in Senator Sampson's 19th Senate District. Unlocking the 31-31 - The Senate Democrats have proposed a series of suggestions for "power-sharing" in order to permit the Senate to carry out it's legislative responsibilities. To date, the Senate GOP has rejected these proposals: - rotate the position of temporary president between two the parties on a daily basis - floor leader of the day from alternative party of the temporary president - bipartisan committee of 6 senators, three from each party, to set the session agenda Government Relations Personnel - Over the past year, several campuses have hired new individuals responsible for government relations. John D'Agati has joined Empire State College as the Director of Government Relations. John was the former Senate Higher Education Committee Director under Chairman Senator LaValle. Mary Anne Condon is responsible for government relations at Alfred State. Joseph Cutshall-King at Adirondack CC, C.W.Estoff at Erie CC and Amy Pauley at Finger Lakes CC are all charged with governmental relations responsibilities. Legislative Activity - Only 4 session days remain according to the 2009 Session Calendar……to date the Assembly has passed 813 bills….the Senate has passed 243 bills…..and together 166 bills have passed both houses……. Legislation of Interest - The following bills have been passed by either the Assembly or Senate: A.356 Magnarelli S.2293 Stavisky Creates the technology employment community hub (TECH) centers program to award grants of up to $100,000 to community colleges to upgrade their educational, occupational, and training services including their facilities, labs, and high technology equipment. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Finance Committee A.428 Kavanagh S.2832 Krueger Relates to food service waste reduction which prohibits the use of polystyrene foam by contractors and lessees who deal with the state through state and municipal contracts. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Finance Committee A.470 John No same as Provides that every contract entered into by a state agency for the procurement of equipment, materials or supplies shall contain a statement in which the contractor attests that no foreign made equipment, materials or supplies furnished to the state pursuant to the contract have been produced in whole or in part by forced labor, convict labor or indentured servitude; provides sanctions for violations. Status: Passed Assembly A.1130-A Dinowitz S.1928 Espada Provides for limited dental instruction for dentists licensed in another state or country at accredited schools or residency programs approved by the department of education. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Calendar 631 A.1138 Gottfried S.4529 Krueger Authorizes the provision of optometric services, provided by college of optometry of the state university of New York, to recipients of medical assistance for the needy and provides for annual reports by diagnostic and treatment centers by such clinic to the governor and legislature containing certain specified elements. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Health Committee A.4294 Abbate S.3165 Savino Makes it an improper employer practice for a county legislature which has allocated funds to reject an agreement negotiated by an employee organization which has been certified to represent employees of a community college when such agreement can be implemented within available funds. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Civil Service and Pensions Committee A.4395 Canestrari No same as Includes state university of New York police in provisions permitting transfer of police officers to certain police employers. Status: Passed Assembly A.5343-A Koon S.5298-A Squadron Provides for the development of an environmental health tracking system within the department of health with cooperation from the departments of environmental conservation and labor and requires the cooperation of the state university of New York school of public health at Albany and Buffalo. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Finance Committee A.5726 Galef S.3659 Oppenheimer Waives the ability of government agencies in New York to claim copyright protection except where the record reflects artistic creation, or scientific or academic research. Status: Passed Senate; Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee A.7229 Schimminger S.5419 Stachowski Enacts the academic research information access act to provide public and private academic and research libraries of New York access to information resources at institutions of higher education and within the entrepreneurial community. Status: Passed Assembly; Senate Finance Committee S.1550 Stavisky A.5014 Parment Provides a program fee option to allow graduate students who have taken at least 30 credits towards the completion of a degree to maintain access to certain facilities within the state university in order to continue a research project or to pursue other academic requirements. Status: Passed Senate; Assembly Higher Education Committee S.1736-A Stavisky A.1249-B Lancman Relates to qualifications for certain appointed positions with the board of trustees for SUNY and CUNY which prohibits trustees from being employees of the appointing authority. Status: Passed Senate; Assembly Higher Education Committee S.2020-C Stachowski A.2020-B Schimminger Enacts UB2020 which relates to tuition increases, leasing, contracting, and the overall daily operation at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Status: Passed Senate; Assembly Higher Education Committee *Jim Campbell* Director of Legislative Relations Office of University Relations State University of New York

SUNY is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. SUNY External Site Disclaimer.


	Email
	Share on:
	Facebook LinkedIn	Twitter Digg
	Other Media Options:
		Google