Dear Neighbor,

The Legislative session came to an end last Friday, in some of the strangest and most chaotic circumstances in my two decades in Albany - and that's saying something. Obviously, the final days were dominated by the massive crisis that Governor Hochul created by attempting to unilaterally override the law that created congestion pricing, and the massive $15 billion hole she opened in the MTA capital budget – with no plan to fill it.

I have been very clear for many years that I support congestion pricing, though I know that many of my constituents disagree with that position. However, after the governor's announcement last week, my office received more calls and emails from district residents in support of congestion pricing than we have ever had on any other issue.

Last week I took to the pages of the Daily News to explain my opposition to the governor's decision, and why I believe it is not legal:

This morning, I spoke to Brian Lehrer about the issue:

The question is, what happens now? The most obvious route out of the crisis is the way we came in – the governor can simply reverse course and follow the lead of the governor we had two weeks ago, who was a proud and vocal supporter of congestion pricing. Failing that, I honestly don’t know, but we’d better figure it out soon - we cannot let the MTA's capital plan fall apart, and lose the benefits to all 12 MTA counties that this plan would support, including 2nd Avenue line expansion, ADA accessible elevators, improved bus service, and many more.

As all-encompassing as the governor's congestion crisis was, the Legislature did manage to move several important bills last week, although many critical pieces of legislation were also left on the table.

Below is a brief overview of what happened in the last week. For information on the action of the prior month, click here to read my Legislative Update that came out on May 30th.

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, please email or call my office at lkrueger@nysenate.gov or 212-490-9535.

Best,

Liz Krueger

State Senator

The Climate Change Superfund Act - S.2129

Early this month the State Senate passed the Climate Change Superfund Act (S.2129), nation-leading legislation that will use the polluter-pays model exemplified by existing federal and state superfund laws to collect $75 billion over twenty-five years for climate change adaptation from the parties most responsible for causing the climate crisis - the biggest multinational oil, gas, and coal companies.

Then, last Friday night, in the very last hours of session, the Assembly passed the bill as well. If Governor Hochul signs it, New York will follow our neighbors in Vermont in taking critical action to address the impacts of the climate crisis.

Click here to read my recent Letter to the Editor in the Mid-Hudson News explaining the need for the Superfund.

By passing the Climate Change Superfund Act, the Legislature has demonstrated that we have taxpayers' backs, making it clear that when it comes to the hundreds of billions of dollars our state will have to spend to repair from and prepare for climate change-driven extreme weather, we don't believe New Yorkers should be left holding the bag and paying those costs alone. The companies that made the mess - Big Oil and Gas - should help clean it up. Now it's up to the Governor to decide if she wants to continue to burden New Yorkers with these costs.

Tackling Unregistered Mopeds - S.7860, S.7703

Last month the Senate passed my bill (S.7860) to require dealers of limited use motorcycles, which includes mopeds, to register with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and requires that any vehicles they sell must have VIN numbers. This bill works in tandem with one carried by Senator Hoylman-Sigal (S.7703) to require all limited used motorcycles to be registered before they leave the dealer. Both bills are carried in the Assembly by Assembly Member Bores.

Fortunately, last week Sen. Hoylman-Sigal's bill passed both houses. Unfortunately, my bill did not pass in the Assembly. So, although (if the governor signs S.7703) we have made progress on this issue, the lack of registration for dealers means that bad actors will continue to have an easier time selling unlicensed and untraceable vehicles.

In recent years, many bike shops, motorcycle dealerships, and other unregistered businesses have begun to sell mopeds without registering with the DMV. This has created an environment where individuals can purchase mopeds without the required license and insurance, and an increasing number of mopeds are leaving businesses without valid license plates or registrations. One of the first steps to cutting down on the amount of mopeds not abiding by the State's traffic laws is to make sure that when people are purchasing a moped, they are doing so at an approved location where salespeople will abide by other State laws related to ensuring that the vehicle is appropriately registered and the purchaser has the required license and insurance.

These two bills will protect everyone involved in these transactions. Right now, buyers may not know that they are supposed to register their mopeds, particularly if dealers are incorrectly describing them as e-bikes. That leaves the buyers vulnerable to having their mopeds impounded. At the same time, it may provide some additional level of protection against the spate of crimes committed by people who use unregistered mopeds to quickly escape the scene.

Keeping the Greys In Their Home - S.7212

For several years a local institution, the Knickerbocker Greys, have been facing the threat of eviction from their home of over a century in the 67th Street Armory. Happily, last week both houses passed legislation that I sponsored in the Senate (S.7212) to ensure their ability to stay in the Armory. Assemblymember Bores carries the bill in the Assembly. 

The Greys have a special historical value in the development and expression of New York City's culture and heritage. They have helped bring discipline, comradery, and education to countless generations of New York City's youth with famous alumni including former mayor of New York City John Lindsay and former vice president Nelson Rockefeller.

To learn more about the Greys, go to www.knickerbockergreys.org.

Requiring EV Chargers in New Construction - S.1736

This bill that I carried, along with Assembly Member Pat Fahy, passed both houses and will require the installation of electric vehicle charging stations and EV-ready parking spaces in newly constructed residential and commercial buildings with dedicated off-street parking. The number and type of charger or EV-ready space required various based on building and lot size, and whether the building is commercial or residential.

The presence of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and parking spaces in a community is associated with greater use of EVs. However, the rate of adoption of EV parking spaces has been slow, contributing to the slow adoption of EVs themselves in New York.

In 2021, New York' State took steps to address the slow adoption of EVs by mandating new vehicles in the state to be all-electric by 2035. For this policy to be successful, the installation of the hardware needed to support a large number of EVs on the road should be a priority of the state.

Accordingly, this bill seeks to align New York's construction and building code policy with the goals of the state expressed in the Climate Leadership and

Community Protection Act as well as the 2021 EV sales mandate by requiring the installation of EV infrastructure in certain instances during new construction.

The SAFE for Kids Act - S.7694

Both houses passed groundbreaking legislation to regulate how social media companies use algorithms on children and utilize their data. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, S.7694, sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes, will prevent social media companies from showing algorithmic feeds to minors under the age of 18 and will prohibit overnight push notifications for addictive feeds, unless they receive parental consent. Another measure, the Child Data Protection Act, S.7695B, also sponsored by Senator Gounardes, will limit the personal information that media companies can collect and sell from children that is used to create personalized advertisements and to support the curation of addictive algorithmic feeds.

For far too long, social media companies have preyed on and profited from our children by using algorithms and data collection to methodically curate content without any oversight or consent. By passing these vital pieces of legislation, the Legislature is helping to place power back in the hands of parents and protecting our youth and their mental health from addictive, exploitative practices.

New York City's first-in-the-nation red light camera program, launched in 1994, has been extended by the state legislature eight times, most recently in the FY20 Enacted Budget. Despite the overwhelming margins of support by which this program is regularly extended, it has yet to expand in scope and remains active at only 150 intersections across the City of New York. This leaves the vast majority of New York City intersections, which number 13,250, without any guarantee that drivers are complying with red light camera signals beyond piecemeal stops by police officers.

The intersections which do enjoy automated camera enforcement have seen a 58% decline in the number of severe injuries from collisions compared to three years prior to the camera's installation, according to a 2021 report from the NYC Department of Transportation, as drivers become aware of the cameras and learn to obey them or risk a $50 fine. Furthermore, a 2020 Siena College Research Institute Poll found that 85% of NYC voters, including 84% who own cars, were supportive of the program and willing to expand its reach.

S.2812, carried by Senator Andrew Gounardes which passed both houses last week, will increase the NYC red light camera program to expand the number of authorized intersections from 150 to 600. This commonsense reform will allow the cameras to be placed at significantly more city intersections, helping to arrest a worsening trend of traffic violence in what is the deadliest year for street safety since the launch of the Vision Zero initiative in 2013. Expanding these lifesaving intersection cameras will greatly enhance safety for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians while reducing the number of unnecessary stops by individual police officers. It will provide some peace of mind to low-income families across the City who live disproportionately near wide, speedway-like arterials that generate a high number of traffic infractions and receive no red light camera protection at all.

The expansion of NYC's red light camera program will help to ensure a safer and more equitable streetscape for all road users by reducing fatalities and injuries in all corners.

Unfortunately, there were a significant number of bills, from major policy initiatives to smaller but worthwhile ideas, that passed in the Senate but died in the Assembly.

These included:

• The NY HEAT Act - S.2016
• The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act - S.4246
• The Better Bottle Bill - S.237
• Stopping sovereign debt vultures - S.5623
• Health Data Privacy Protections - S.158
• Electric Landscaping Equipment Rebate Program - S.5853
• Political influencer transparency - S.4733
• Ban on new for-profit hospices - S.6460