Albany Just Blew it on Climate, Again
Only big, strong, mean grassroots campaigns can turn this around
New Yorkers for Local Businesses has spent half a million dollars trying to kill a bill to help workers recover stolen wages. Almost all its backers appear to own McDonald’s franchises.
In New York, unemployment recipients can be found guilty of fraud even if they thought their information was true. The state demands repayment at the highest rate in the country.
New York’s Equal Rights Amendment would enshrine the right to abortion in the state. A judge threw it off the ballot for the fall, but an appeal is expected.
The Assembly rejected legislation that would have sped up New York’s transition away from gas.
The Assembly and Senate want to beef up labor standards and farmland protections for clean energy projects. Developers say that would slow down the energy transition.
State investigators accused the gas utility of “sloppiness” in managing customer funds, but took a light touch in enforcement.
A quarter of lawmakers in Albany are landlords. Almost none of them are covered by the most significant tenant protection law in years.
It’s the first step New York has taken to address its housing shortage in years — but tenant groups are fuming and real estate wants more.
As real estate developers resist wage guarantees and try to roll back tenants’ rights, a potential budget deal is at an impasse.