Legislative Year Is Coming to an End, Likely With A Whimper

ALBANY, N.Y. — It has been an eventful six months in New York’s state capital, to say the least.

Since the legislative session began in January, there have been political clashes, surprise reconciliations, corruption convictions, sexual abuse revelations — and even some legislating. The Senate is having a hard time establishing a majority and Gov. Andrew Cuomo basically declared most of the state’s business done in April. Now less than a week remains until lawmakers head home for the year, to turn their attention to the jostling and schmoozing of this fall’s elections.

Before they adjourn Wednesday, lawmakers have the chance to address several outstanding bills, including on such hot-button topics like school desegregation and sports betting. But between the looming elections, the Senate stalemate and the usual partisan intrigue, it seems increasingly likely that Albany empties out with a number of high-profile issues unresolved.

Here is what could — but probably won’t — get done this week.

With Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recommending the elimination of a long-standing admissions exam to the city’s elite specialized high schools, he plunged the city into a raging debate over school segregation. But he also punted the bulk of the fight to Albany, arguing that the state Legislature had to repeal a 1971 law mandating the use of the test (even though legal experts suggest that de Blasio could act on his own to change policy at five of the eight specialized schools that grant admission based on the results of a single test.)

On June 6, a bill to draw students from every middle school in the city based on overall academic performance, rather than on test scores alone, narrowly passed the Assembly’s Education Committee. But Carl E. Heastie, the Democratic speaker of the Assembly who had initially called the committee vote a “first step,” later said he would table the issue. He cited some legislators’ concerns that the test’s elimination would disadvantage Asian-Americans.

Separately, the Assembly passed a bill to decouple teacher evaluations from students’ standardized test performance. Senate Republicans support the idea — but want to yoke it to an increase in the number of charter schools and relaxing state oversight of religious schools such as yeshivas, a compromise Heastie likened to “cyanide.”

Sen. John J. Flanagan, the Republican leader, dismissed such criticism. “If somebody doesn’t like what we’re offering,” he told Spectrum News of the omnibus education push, “come back with something else.”

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in May to strike down a federal ban on sports betting in most states — long the domain of Las Vegas casinos and the illegal underground — set off a flurry of lawmaking in New Jersey to allow wagering on all kinds of games. But in neighboring New York, the outlook for a quick installation of such betting seems less and less likely despite a flurry of legislative discussions and backroom lobbying by the major casino companies and the sports leagues. (New York Yankee-loving lawmakers were treated to visits by two former managers, Joe Torre and Joe Girardi, who came to Albany to discuss the issue and take selfies with fans.)

Two major points of contention seem to be the amount of money that will be funneled back to sports leagues — a so-called “royalty fee” or “integrity fee” — as well as possible caps on the total amount of those fees. Another point of disagreement revolves around online platforms, a potentially popular way to place a bet but not specifically allowed by state law, which had considered the possibility of sports betting even before the Supreme Court did.

Then, there are the political concerns: The Senate seems more bullish on betting than the Assembly, where some Democrats have questioned whether allowing more betting — which was expanded in the state in 2013 — is a good idea, given that some consider it a regressive tax on poorer residents.

Democrats made bail reform a central plank of their criminal justice goals this year, with Cuomo and Democrats in both chambers proposing to end cash bail for low-level offenses or eliminate it altogether. But Senate Republicans have refused to take up the issue and pushed instead to tighten parole regulations, citing concerns about putting dangerous criminals on the streets.

One issue that touches on criminal justice, but has yet to truly emerge for debate, is recreational marijuana, which neighboring states are pursuing and is still apparently being considered by a panel at the state Department of Health. A month ago, Cuomo said he anticipated the report “within days”, but it remains elusive. So, too, are any hopes of legislation on such an idea in 2018, despite the governor being pressed from the left — and a primary challenge from Cynthia Nixon, who has embraced legalization and noted that the state’s black residents are disproportionately targeted for drug prosecution.

A somewhat surprising issue that has taken hold late in the session is the creation of a commission to look into complaints about prosecutorial misconduct, which caused a spirited debate on the Senate floor last week, winning bipartisan passage. The bill also seems to have some traction in the Assembly, which may take it up as soon as Monday.

After horrifying school shootings in Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe, Texas, both chambers introduced legislation to bolster school security — but with vastly different approaches.

The Senate has refused to debate the Assembly’s bills, which would ban bump stocks, establish a waiting period for gun buyers who have not passed a background check and empower school officials to ask a judge to block at-risk students from purchasing guns. The Assembly, meanwhile, has ignored the Senate’s attempts to install armed guards and new safety technology at schools.

Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, a Democrat who caucuses with the Republicans, has also pushed to tie the armed-guards provision to the reauthorization of speed-safety cameras outside scores of New York City schools. If the cameras are not reauthorized, the program will expire in July.

“This is not about police officers,” said Sen. Jose Peralta, a Democrat who has sponsored a bill to expand the program. “This is about speed cameras. This is about saving lives.”

And while Cuomo has largely been absent from Albany in recent weeks, he has been rallying elsewhere for a so-called “red flag” legislation that would allow a court to prohibit people — including disgruntled or troubled students — from buying or possessing firearms. Cuomo, a Democrat and the father of three daughters, has spoken passionately about the need for action on the issue of guns. But Flanagan, in a recent sharply worded statement, blamed the governor for not consulting with his majority before introducing the bill, which does not bode well for its success before the session ends Wednesday.