Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ 2020 Legislative Session Opening Remarks
January 08, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ 2020 Legislative Session Prepared Opening Remarks
Thank you, Madame President, for being here and presiding over the kickoff to another eventful session.
Thank you to Governor Cuomo, we accomplished so much together and there are more victories on the horizon.
I also want to thank my partner in the other House, my wonder twin, Speaker Carl Heastie. I know without him, we wouldn’t have had so many great accomplishments.
I also want to thank the Minority Leader, John Flanagan. We may not always agree, but I always enjoy working with you and your conference.
And of course, thank you to my wonderful conference for representing what is great about New York, the American dream and American values.
But right now, I want to take a special moment and thank Rabbi Horowitz from Monsey for joining us today. Just last week, I traveled to Monsey to be with you and your community. And today I want to reiterate what I said that day— In the face of this ugly, hateful, and horrific tragedy, the entire Senate stands with you and your community as you heal and pray.
There is no place for hate in this State!
Let’s all stand together and give Rabbi Horowitz some applause and love to bring back to Monsey. Thank you, Rabbi.
Well, here we are again at the beginning of another session. I think back to last year at this time as history was made. As our Lieutenant Governor pointed out 2020, is the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment! Look how far we have come. Now women are not only voting we are leading in all segments of society and we are going to continue that leadership.
Getting back to last year, I think of all the victories along the way and all the hugging, all the cheering. I think back to when we gaveled out in mid-June after months and months of non-stop action. We gaveled out ready to be refreshed, renewed, but mostly to go back to our districts to serve our constituents. Last session was busy, tiring and historic with a record number of hearings and a record number of new laws passed.
Let’s take a look at just some of the amazing things we accomplished last year.
The permanent property tax cap
The lowest middle-class tax rates in generations
Finally, standing up for women’s choice, and while the federal government looked to take away women’s rights, we said no!
We held groundbreaking hearings on sexual harassment and passed legislation saying that this scourge has no place in New York.
Standing up for our immigrant brothers and sisters during a scary time
Standing up for the LGBTQ community and saying we are with you
Passing laws that recognize the real dangers of climate change
Passing the Child victims act and delivering justice to so many abuse survivors
Passing groundbreaking affordable housing and rent control laws
Passing common-sense gun laws, working toward reforming our justice system and improving the voting process.
These are big, historic changes. They are changes that have created a more affordable New York for working families, and a fairer, safer and more just New York for so many of our neighbors who were denied basic rights and equal treatment under the law for years.
And while many of us celebrated these accomplishments, change can be scary to some. Change can cause discomfort. It can lead people down a path where fearmongering, and sowing division, and spinning a false narrative, seem attractive. But we must reject this path.
When given the choice, we must always create opportunities for progress rather than build barriers that prevent it.
We can do so much more to create more opportunities for New Yorkers whose pathways to a better future are blocked by the same old barriers we’ve been dealing with for generations: barriers to being able to stay in your home, barriers to getting a quality education, barriers to accessing decent child care or treatment for an addiction. These are barriers that shouldn't exist in New York State in the year 2020.
So today, we renew our commitment to creating opportunities – to leveling the playing field for children living in poverty in rural villages and inner cities; for homeowners and tenants struggling to pay their property taxes or make rent, from downstate to upstate. For longtime New Yorkers and new arrivals excited to experience the promise of our great state firsthand.
This next session, we have to continue to be bold. We have to continue to embrace change.
This is not going to be easy. We are facing a larger than expected deficit and we have working and middle-class residents of our state who cannot shoulder any more of the tax burden than they already do. But even with these challenges, we must rise to the occasion and meet the needs of our state.
We are going to look for ways to fund our education system in a fair manner and make sure all students get the proper resources.
We are going to fully fund health care.
We are going to make college more affordable so our children can stay in the community and thrive.
We are going to make child care more affordable so parents can continue to work and provide for their families.
We are going to continue to grow our economy in all parts of the state and make sure we create more and more jobs.
We are going to ensure our small businesses thrive.
We are going to help bridge the technology gap and bring broadband to rural areas.
We are going to continue to reform our voting system.
We are going to say to the LGBTQ community…we are with you.
We are going to stand up for our brothers and sisters in the labor movement.
We are going to continue to look to stop the horrors of gun violence.
We are going to look to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and transportation system.
We are going to continue to take on the opioid crisis that is facing this state and country.
We are going to continue to recognize the dangers of climate change and pass real reforms to clean up our environment.
And we are going to stand up to hate! We are going to say that there is no place for it in our great state!
I think we all understand that we have a lot of work to get done. But I know together we can deliver for the people of New York.
So Madame President, Thank you for this opportunity and let’s get to work.
****
CONTACT: Kerri Biché
(518) 455-3888
bichek@nyassembly.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 9, 2020
The Remarks of Speaker Carl E. Heastie Opening the 243rd Legislative Session
January 9, 2020
Assembly Chamber
Albany
_____________________________________
[as prepared]
Good afternoon members, staff, interns and guests. Welcome to the New York State Assembly Chamber – the People’s House of the New York State Legislature. Before we begin, I’d like to wish you all a healthy and happy new year.
Please join me in welcoming Rabbi Matthew Cutler from Congregation Gates of Heaven.
I would also like to thank Reverend Naomi Tyler-Lloyd, Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church from my assembly district in the Bronx for being here with us today.
And of course, I want to thank my princess, Taylor, for being here with me today.
I also want to extend a warm welcome to my constituents that traveled from the Bronx to be here with me today. As I have always said, I’m truly blessed to have the support of the best constituents this country has to offer.
And of course, welcome to all my colleagues no matter what side of the aisle you call home.
To my colleagues in the majority, we have accomplished much together, and I know working together we will continue to accomplish great things. More on that in a moment.
I’d like to welcome my friend and colleague the new Minority Leader Will Barclay. Congratulations – I look forward to working with you. To my good friends on the other side of the aisle, your input and contributions to the political discourse are important. I’m extremely grateful for our ability to avoid the rancor we see in the national discourse. Welcome back and I look forward to a productive legislative session.
Last year, so many of the ideas that started many years ago right here in the People’s House finally became law. Each of you was sent here to improve the lives of New Yorkers, and last year we truly delivered. It was all of you that crafted the legislation and cast your votes. We are the parents of these transformational changes, and I am confident in the year ahead we will deliver once again. I want to congratulate the members, particularly in the majority, for a job well done. You deserve a standing ovation because these laws started with you before they became a Twitter theme.
No doubt – our successes reaffirmed our status as progressive leaders and helped us fulfill our promise to put families first at a critical time for our nation.
After many years of advocating for tenants’ rights, we delivered the strongest protections for tenants in history so that hardworking New Yorkers can continue to live in the neighborhoods they helped to build. And these new laws are working – in just six months, evictions in New York City have dropped about 20 percent.
As states across the nation passed legislation to restrict or eliminate women’s access to reproductive health care and autonomy over their bodies, we guaranteed those rights for women by passing the Reproductive Health Act and the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act.
After years of passage in the Assembly, transgender New Yorkers finally have the statutory protections of GENDA, and our youth will never again be subject to the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy.
We know climate change and its consequences are real. Wildfires are ravaging California and Australia. Hurricanes have grown stronger and more devastating, including in the birthplace of my grandparents in the Bahamas. Here in New York, we are taking action. Last year, we passed the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to put us on a path to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and banned single use plastic bags. We will continue to find meaningful ways to address this global crisis.
We made the City of New York the first American city to implement congestion pricing, and in doing so, we developed a sustainable revenue stream for the MTA to help keep New Yorkers and our statewide economy moving.
While the administration in Washington tears families apart and fights to build walls, we passed the Senator Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act and the Greenlight bill to ensure our friends and neighbors have the resources they need to continue to make meaningful contributions to their communities and our state.
Thoughts and prayers as a response to gun violence are not enough. Here in New York, we passed common sense gun legislation including the red flag bill and a ban on bump stocks, and we will continue to do what we can. But we can’t keep illegal guns out of New York alone – federal action is needed and long overdue.
By finally passing the Child Victims Act, we gave survivors of childhood sexual abuse an opportunity to seek justice and have their day in court.
We brought our antiquated election laws into the 21st century by giving voters a nine day early voting period and streamlining the registration process because voter participation doesn’t scare us – it’s the foundation of our democracy.
Last year, we took a major step towards fixing the tilted scales of justice by decriminalizing marijuana. We look forward to working with our colleagues to develop a thoughtful approach towards legalization.
For too long, our criminal justice system has allowed those with the means to grease the wheels of justice, leaving those without to languish. Last year, we took much needed steps to reform our broken system by updating our discovery laws and reforming speedy trial provisions. We ended the use of cash bail for lower level offenses because our criminal justice system must work for everyone – not just those who can afford it.
By implementing this system, everyone is treated the same. This removes the potential bias of judges or prosecutors, which could result in defendants being treated unfairly. Along with these changes, we are making sure people get access to critical services.
We adopted laws to protect New Yorkers from harassment and discrimination and expanded civil rights protections in schools because make no mistake – we in the Assembly have no tolerance for hate based on religion, race, gender, sexual orientation or any other form. The recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks in New York is both horrifying and unacceptable.
No doubt, it was a historic year for New York and we have a lot to be proud of, but we know that our work is never done. In the year ahead, our commitment to the issues that matter most to New Yorkers will never waver.
Yesterday, the governor outlined his agenda for the coming year. Many of these ideas began right here in the Assembly, and I am encouraged that many of these issues have the potential to become law this session.
While the administration in Washington has fought endlessly to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, here in New York we have worked to get more people insured, and we are succeeding. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data revealing New York’s insured rate has hit an all-time high of 95 percent.
In the year ahead, we will address the spending imbalance in the Medicaid program while continuing our fight to ensure all New Yorkers have access to high quality, affordable health care. We will protect our safety net facilities, small and rural hospitals, and centers of community-based care throughout the state. And we will ensure that our seniors and the disabled are able to stay in their own homes, in their communities, with dignity, comfort and respect.
Since I became speaker in 2015, we have increased school aid by more than $6 billion because the Assembly Majority has always believed that the best investment in our future is an investment in public education. Let’s keep that momentum this year by providing our school districts with the resources they need to allow our children to succeed, beginning with pre-k.
We know higher education is critical to climbing the economic ladder and ending the cycle of poverty. Since 2015, we have strengthened our commitment to high quality, public education by increasing funding support for opportunity programs by more than 40 percent to help thousands of students attend college and become the middle class of tomorrow. We will continue to work to ensure our SUNY and CUNY campuses have world class infrastructure and facilities to best serve their students.
During my annual statewide tour this summer, I visited local shops and businesses in downtowns all over New York, and the common refrain is that our businesses have the goods and services people need, but they need roads and bridges not only to bring their wares to market, but to access a qualified workforce. We will continue to make strategic investments in infrastructure across the state because successful economies connect workers to jobs and businesses to markets.
Much like we did with our craft beverage industry, we will continue to revitalize our upstate economy with our vast agricultural resources. Over my years as speaker, I have visited many farms and gained a good understanding of the challenges this industry is facing.
Last summer, I learned that New York is considered one of the largest consumer markets for hemp products in the country, attracting processors and manufacturers looking to take advantage of popular hemp products. Over the last four years, hemp production has grown from just 60 acres to over 20,000 acres farmed by 480 growers today. This growing industry presents many opportunities for New York’s agricultural industry, and we will look for other ways to support New York farmers.
We must also ensure that every New Yorker gets counted in the 2020 census. An accurate census count is critical to receiving our fair share of the more than $675 billion in federal funds used for schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs.
In the year ahead, I will work with Assembly committee chairs to develop comprehensive legislation to address the critical issues New Yorkers are facing, including poverty, homelessness and the opioid epidemic.
In the wealthiest country in world, it is unconscionable that so many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Yet the United Way reported that in 2016, 45 percent of New Yorkers could not afford basic needs such as housing, child care, food or transportation.
The number of New Yorkers who were homeless over a recent 12 month period exceeded 250,000 – more than the populations of every city in the state except for Buffalo and New York.
In New York City, the number of people sleeping each night in municipal shelters is now 59 percent higher than it was 10 years ago. The number of homeless single adults is 142 percent higher than it was 10 years ago. And these are just the people that seek and use shelters. It does not include the invisible homeless, people who are forced to stay with family or friends. It is simply unacceptable that safe, affordable housing is out of reach for so many New Yorkers. We look forward to working with the governor, Mayor de Blasio, county executives and mayors across the state to meet these challenges head on.
Research shows that the primary cause of homelessness, particularly among families, is a lack of affordable housing, while homeless single adults are often homeless due to higher rates of serious mental illness, addiction disorders and other severe health problems. We cannot address these issues in piecemeal fashion – they are all interconnected. It is time, once and for all, that we put an end to the homeless crisis by keeping people in their homes and making continued investments in supportive housing for those who need it.
And after giving massive tax breaks to millionaires, billionaires and corporations, the administration in Washington had the audacity to roll out a plan to eliminate SNAP benefits for nearly 700,000 Americans, with the potential for another 2.3 million to lose their benefits if additional changes are implemented.
Here in New York, we recognize that hunger and food insecurity are not the result of laziness. Every single person struggling to put food on the table is facing a unique set of challenges. Some are full-time caregivers for family members. Some lack access to transportation. Ensuring that people have food to eat does not discourage work – it ends hunger.
Across the nation, communities are still struggling with the consequences of an opioid epidemic that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and devastated families and communities. We all know an individual or a family that has been devastated by the opioid crisis.
In November, the Assembly formed the Task Force on Examining Socio-Economic Responses to People with Substance Use Disorders to find more holistic approaches to ending this epidemic. I am also proud of the work New York is doing to hold unscrupulous opioid manufacturers accountable. I look forward to finding more ways to bring greater transparency and accountability to the industry, while meeting the many needs of the communities impacted by their unethical business practices.
We have fought to support and fund important initiatives to aid those who struggle with substance use disorders and we are making progress. Opioid deaths dropped by 8.7 percent in 2018 from the previous year – the first decrease we’ve seen since 2009. While these numbers outpace the national average, until we no longer see our friends, neighbors and coworkers dealing with a family member caught in the web of addiction or mourning the loss of a loved one to overdose, we have much more work to do.
Too often, people underestimate the role of government in our everyday lives. Here in the People’s House, we are committed to serving as the true, direct voice of the people of New York. I am proud to say that this house has been not only the birthplace of many progressive ideas, but many dedicated public servants.
For the last three years, the administration in Washington has fought endlessly to roll back the safeguards that protect people. They have tried desperately to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Women’s reproductive rights hang in the balance. Hardworking immigrant families are being torn apart. Environmental protections are disappearing as natural disasters become more devastating and frequent. Under this regressive federal administration, New York will remain as progressive as ever. We will not be idle.
Now more than ever, amidst much division and cynicism, we must double down on our commitment to operating an effective government that serves the people. I look forward to building on that commitment in the year ahead.
I now invite everyone to join me in extending a warm welcome to our new intern class of 2020. We look forward to having you here with us this year.
On behalf of all the members, I want to thank Assemblymember Deborah Glick, chair of the intern committee; Kathleen McCarty, our program director; and all of the committee staff for their support.
Welcome back to our returning faculty members, Dr. Janet Penksa leading our graduate interns, Dr. Angela Ledford, Dr. Wesley Nishiyama and Dr. Anthony Maniscalco who will lead our undergraduates.
My Assembly colleagues, once again, welcome back to Albany for the 243rd Legislative Session. I look forward to what we will accomplish in the year ahead.
Now let’s get to work!
-30-
|