Senecas push for new compact

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Tuesday May 30,2023 09:33 pm

May 30, 2023

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Tina Abrams, a council member for the Seneca Nation of Indians, speaks at a news conference May 30, 2023, on the Western New York tribe's push for a new gaming compact with the state.

Tina Abrams, a council member for the Seneca Nation of Indians, speaks at a news conference May 30, 2023, on the Western New York tribe's push for a new gaming compact with the state. | Joseph Spector/POLITICO

The Seneca Nation of Indians continued its push Tuesday to land a new gaming compact with the state, urging the Legislature to pass a bill before session ends to allow the Hochul administration to negotiate a new agreement.

The Western New York tribe, which owns three casinos, delivered 1,500 petition signatures to Hochul’s office at the state Capitol in a bid to get the bill passed before the session ends on June 8.

The compact is set to expire at year’s end. The tribe’s relationship with the state has long been contentious — whether it is about a stretch of the state Thruway that the tribe owns or its five-year fight over paying casino revenue to the state. The casino dispute ended with the Senecas agreeing to pay the state $566 million — which is now being used to pay for the new Buffalo Bills stadium.

Members of the tribe spoke at the Capitol and urged Hochul to negotiate in good faith, saying the bill allows the tribe to keep its exclusivity agreement for casinos west of Route 14.

“This legislation, the compact, will mirror a reflecting of what New York actually values,” said Tina Abrams, a member of the Seneca Nation Tribal Council. “It will be a clear indication of where you stand for the future. For the future of our people, we hope that you stand with Seneca. Our compact cannot be ignored.”

Neither of the bill’s Democratic sponsors, Sen. Tim Kennedy and Assemblymember Gary Pretlow, attended the press conference at the Million Dollar Staircase.

Instead, Republican lawmakers were there, urging the Democratic-led Legislature to pass the bill and Hochul to stay clear of the negotiations, which she has vowed to do because her husband is an executive at Delaware North.

"I'm not involved. That is something I set up long ago," Hochul said Tuesday in Buffalo of recusing herself of any state business that deals with the company.

She added, "I feel comfortable that it is being managed by other people."

The Buffalo-based hospitality company owns Finger Lakes Gaming and Racing in Ontario County — a competitor to the Seneca operations. So if the boundaries of the Senecas’ gambling exclusivity were moved, it could open the door for Finger Lakes to go from a track with video-lottery terminals to a full-scale casino.

Republican Sen. George Borrello, who represents the region, said he plans to submit a bill that would require the state Comptroller’s Office to review a new compact before it is approved.

“We know that what the Seneca Nation wants is in direct conflict with what some big supporters like Delaware North want. And I have a lot of concerns about that,” Borrello said.

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From the Capitol

Assemblymember Eric Dilan (D-Brooklyn) speaks at a news conference May 30, 2023, at the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y. in support of a bill that would tax health insurers from out of state.

Assemblymember Eric Dilan (D-Brooklyn) speaks at a news conference May 30, 2023, at the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y. in support of a bill that would tax health insurers from out of state. | Joseph Spector/POLITICO

HEALTH INSURANCE: Lawmakers and 1199SEIU rallied Tuesday for a bill that would tax out-of-state health insurers and use the money to help certain struggling hospitals, generally in underserved communities.

The measure, called the Reinvest in New York Healthcare Act, would hit major health insurers, such as Indianapolis-based Anthem and Hartford-based Aetna, with a 9.63 percent tax on out-of-state transfers and drop the revenue into the state’s Distressed Provider Assistance Account, which was set up in 2020 as a way to help financially distressed hospitals.

Supporters are hoping to get the bill passed before the legislative session concludes at the end of next week, saying New York's lucrative health insurance marketplace is increasingly controlled by publicly traded companies outside of the state. The union contended that New York's top 10 insurers made more than $40 billion in profits last year.

Insurers and business groups are opposed to the bill.

The New York Health Plan Association, which represents insurers, contends that the tax is unconstitutional and unfairly targets one specific industry, as well as raises costs on the sector.

“This legislation is unconstitutional, violating the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and due process provisions of the State Constitution,” the group’s president, Eric Linzer, said in a statement. “It would also establish an anti-business precedent by double-taxing earnings after an entity has already paid taxes on its revenues, which will discourage innovation and investments in New York.”

But Senate sponsor Tim Kennedy and Assembly sponsor Erik Martin Dilan said it would provide needed revenue for the state and its hospitals.

“Our hope is to get it over the finish line, but we want to see this through,” Kennedy said at a news conference. “There's a financial component to this. It would help benefit the health care institutions, the distressed hospitals across New York state and the front-line workers that work there to take care of our communities.” — Joseph Spector

From City Hall

DAY IN COURT: The City Council is trying to get more inmates to show up for their day in court.

Under a new bill introduced by Council Members Gale Brewer and Carlina Rivera, the Department of Correction would be required to record audio and video of inmates every time they refuse to come to court. It would also mandate that defense attorneys have access to those recordings, and require the department to give monthly updates on how many inmates are getting to court on time.

Supporters of the legislation say it would help address a long-standing problem at a time when the city’s jails are in crisis — as a federal monitor concluded in a bombshell report released last week — and as the timeline for closing Rikers Island becomes increasingly unrealistic.

“Our obligation to close Rikers by 2027 compels us to ask why so many defendants are failing to make the essential journey from jail to court,” Brewer said.

In February, a review of city statistics by Gothamist found the city was failing miserably at getting inmates to court on time. More than a quarter of inmates were missing their dates at the time, the worst track record in decades.

Paul Shechtman, DOC’s general counsel, said Tuesday that the number has improved in recent months, largely due to a decrease in the number of people refusing to go to court. He said the department has had a roughly 96 percent success rate this month, up from about 87 percent in March.

“Until recently, it has not been the department’s strong suit,” he said.

But according to the Council, the numbers reported by DOC differ, sometimes significantly, from similar data out of the Office of Court Administration. In some months, Brewer said, the discrepancies could be as much as 20 percent apart.

“We need to have the data,” she said. — Zachary Schermele

RIGHT TO SHELTER: The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless released a letter Tuesday opposing Mayor Eric Adams’ attempt to end a blanket right to shelter in New York City.

The missive, sent to a Manhattan judge last week, marks the outset of a court battle that could decide the future of the 40-year-old legal framework, which guarantees a bed for anyone in need.

“The Adams administration must not use temporary difficulties to justify the erasure of a law that has protected New Yorkers for decades from immeasurable harm and prevented our city from experiencing dangerous mass street homelessness,” Adriene Holder, Legal Aid’s chief attorney of the civil practice, said in a statement.

Adams, however, said that the law never envisioned the influx of asylum-seekers — more than 70,000 who have passed through the city and more than 44,000 who are currently in its care — who have strained the shelter system to its breaking point. — Joe Anuta

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On The Beats

CUOMO BOOK: There are new details that aides to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo helped him in writing his Covid-19 book, which remains at the center of an ethics probe.

Two of Cuomo’s former speechwriters were outlining and drafting details of the preface of the book, which landed Cuomo a $5 million deal, as early as late March 2020 — right during the first wave of the pandemic, when hundreds of New Yorkers were dying daily, according to emails obtained by the Empire Center.

The fiscally conservative Albany-based think tank published emails from the two speechwriters, Jamie Malanowski and Tom Topousis, that showed they were discussing the book plans on March 30 and March 31 of that year, just weeks after Covid hit the state.

Cuomo faced criticism for profiting off the pandemic and for using state resources to craft the book. The newly established Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government is believed to be investigating the book deal after its predecessor, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, unsuccessfully tried to claw back the money.

Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the emails indicate only that the two staffers were asked to “develop and preserve a timeline of what happened during this significant time in our history that would aid our media responses, press briefings and provide a record for future generations.”

He said it wasn’t until mid-July 2020 that Cuomo talked to a publisher about a daily account of the pandemic response.

“To be clear, this work product was never viewed by the Governor nor was it used in ‘American Crisis,’ as much as the Empire Center wants to believe that,” Azzopardi said.

Malanowski said in a separate statement: “I want to be clear: I had nothing to do with the writing of 'An American Crisis.'” — Joseph Spector

EDUCATION: The state Education Department is hosting the inaugural multidisciplinary School Safety Summit in partnership with the New York State Center for School Safety. More than 900 school administrators and staff school resource officers are expected to attend, according to the department.

The two-day summit will take place at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany on Wednesday and Thursday. The goal, the department said, is to look at ways to create “safe, supportive learning environments” for school communities statewide. Education Commissioner Betty Rosa will deliver welcome remarks.

This comes as advocates urge state lawmakers to pass the Solutions Not Suspensions Act, which would limit suspensions from 180 days to 20 days, restrict the use of suspensions for kids in pre-kindergarten through third grade and ban suspensions for minor infractions such as dress code violations. — Madina Touré

Around New York

— There has been a fair share of turnover in the mayor's office.

– A former executive at Western OTB is suing to force board members to pay back the public for expenses related to entertainment, health insurance and contractors.

— The Albany Power 100 list is out.

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