Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that New York Assembly lawmakers will return to Albany June 20 for two days of legislative work, a source familiar with the discussion said on June 13. Several bills were passed by the state Senate in the legislative session, but not voted on by the Assembly, such as a ban on releasing radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. The Assembly could vote on these bills, and send them to the governor for a signature or a veto. The Assembly is also looking at finalizing a deal for a casino for Seneca Nation near Rochester. Another bill being considered would extend state subsidized health care coverage to New Yorkers without legal status living in the state. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Noah Zweifel reports in the Altamont Enterprise that Rensselaerville’s 2022 drinking-water-quality report shows high levels of TTHMs and HAA5, two chemical byproducts of the disinfection process and that may cause health issues. The Rensselaerville water averaged a 69.9 micrograms per liter for TTHMS, or trihalomethanes, just below the state limit of 80 micrograms per liter. But the average reading for HAA5, or haloacetic acids five, was 77.2, above the state limit of 60 micrograms per liter. The report also said that the Rensselaerville filtration system was not working effectively as the average water turbidity also exceeded state limits during an August test period. The good news is that these bad numbers were worse in 2021, when the town averaged 101.15 micrograms per liter for TTHMs and 136.9 for HAA5. Ed Csukas recently took over the town’s water committee, and is looking for grant money to overhaul the Rensselaerville water treatment facility. The town's water is drawn from Lake Myosotis, which is susceptible to algal blooms. Read more about this story in the Altamont Enterprise.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that the New York State Bar Association on June 12 recommended that the state no longer allow non-attorneys to be local justices, and that town and village courts should be consolidated into district courts. Sherry Levin Wallach, who was the association’s immediate past president, said, "All judges must have a legal education and at least five years of experience practicing law before taking the bench.” Richard Lewis, the president of the New York State Bar Association, said, “We need to continue to adapt to our changing society and improve our system so that all stakeholders, plaintiffs’ attorneys, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and of course, the parties can achieve justice." The state legislature would have to pass a law to make the bar association's changes. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

On June 12 the Summit Lake Conservation Group filed a second Article 78 lawsuit against the Philmont Planning Board, the Board of Trustees, and Clover Reach Partners LLC, developers of “The Woods,” a 22-acre subdivision of luxury homes proposed in the town. Last year the group successfully overturned the Planning Board’s first approval of “The Woods” with an Article 78 lawsuit. Then, the Planning Board again approved the large development without adding much oversight, and so the group is suing again. According to the group's statement, "The Woods luxury development is wildly unpopular in Philmont. Lawn signs around town display the slogans “Save Summit Lake/Stop Clover Reach” and “Save the woods/Stop ‘The Woods.’” Many residents see houses speculatively priced at three-quarters of a million dollars and up as a sign of gentrification and an attack on a beloved natural asset. Summit Lake’s wooded viewshed has been prized by residents and visitors for generations." The group says the only change the developers promised the planning board at their second go-round was to increase the right-of-way around the loop road from 33 to 50 feet to accommodate a full-width road, should the village eventually decide one is needed. "This essentially kicks the cost of widening the road onto village taxpayers, and skirts the responsibility of supplying accurate visual simulations to reflect the increased grading and added tree removal required to accommodate a road safe enough for multiple emergency vehicles,"the group says.

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Rick Karlin reports in the Times Union that this week the state Senate declined to take a vote on Gov. Kathy Hochul's nomination of New York Power Authority acting President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll to permanently take over the position. For now, Driscoll will remain in the position in an acting role. This is the second major nomination defeat for Hochul this year as the Senate voted 39-20 against her nomination of Appellate Justice Hector D. LaSalle to lead the state Court of Appeals. In this case, progressive senators, backed by climate activists and the SEIU 1199 labor union, said they thought Driscoll was too close to the fossil fuel industry to become the chief of the state's largest power producer. PublicPowerNY, an activist group that opposed Driscoll's nomination, in a statement said, "New Yorkers realized we need far more visionary leadership to pave the way. Justin Driscoll is not that nominee to lead NYPA.... For the good and future of NYPA, Justin Driscoll must resign immediately as we search in earnest for a leader who has a history of negotiating in good faith with labor, fighting for environmental justice.” Activists did not like that Driscoll previously worked as a lobbyist at Brown & Weinraub, which has relationships with fossil fuel companies, and also did not like Driscoll’s campaign contributions to Republicans, and NYPA’s sale of discounted power to companies such as Amazon. NYPA was mandated by lawmakers earlier this year to go completely fossil-free by 2030. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman reports that Ulster County could raise its occupancy tax on hotel, motel, and short-term rental stays from 2 percent to 4 percent if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs a bill approved by the State Legislature. State Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha sponsored the bill, that was voted on June 8. Dutchess County has had a 4 percent occupancy tax rate since 2005, while Orange and Sullivan counties each have a 5 percent occupancy tax and Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, “We are long past due for a sensible tax rate that better aligns with our neighbors, and keeps money in the pockets of our local taxpayers while providing revenue to tackle urgent priorities, like the housing crisis." If Hochul signs the bill, the Ulster County Legislature would have to pass a bill to raise the tax rate. Metzger previously said that a portion of the new occupancy tax could be directed to expand Ulster County Area Transit bus service, with the remaining 50 percent of revenues divided between tourism and offsetting costs for those who pay property taxes. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Kate Lisa at New York State of Politics that in the final hours of the state legislature this past weekend, lawmakers approved a bill that would automatically seal criminal records three years after sentencing for a misdemeanor, and eight years after a person is released from prison for a felony conviction. The Clean Slate Act, which Gov. Kathy Hochul needs to sign to become a law, does not apply to class A felonies or crimes that required a person to register as a sex offender. Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, who sponsored the bill, said, "People can change.... People can get better. People can repent. People can be forgiven. Our society should not be judged on the behavior of one member at its worst moment, but on our ability to forgive them and to grant them the ability to move forward and heal and to become productive members of our society." The bill was approved June 9 by the Assembly 83-64 and by the Senate 38-25. Republicans, such as Assemblyman John McGowan, opposed the bill saying, "People are entitled to a second chance, they certainly are, but what this legislation does is it creates a blanket opportunity for certain offenses that should not qualify for automatic sealing." Assemblyperson Eddie Gibbs is the first formerly incarcerated member of the state Legislature, and he voted for the bill, saying, "There's the conversation throughout the chambers regarding me, so I felt like a prop.... But I'm proud to be a prop. If it's going to help these 2.3 million New Yorkers come home and re-enter society and do something good in their communities, use me." Kate Lisa at New York State of Politics

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Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that the legislative session may have seemed to end on June 10, but assembly members, not senators, are expected back in the “near future” to finish work, according to spokespersons for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Solomon says Republican lawmakers walking down the hall in the state Capitol were overheard chatting about returning in “two weeks.” Assembly spokespersons did not give a definite date. The legislative session was scheduled to conclude on June 8, but lasted two more days, with more work, at least by the Assembly, to be done. The Assembly will discuss a casino deal with the Seneca Nation, and an amended version of a “wrongful conviction” bill, when they return. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the state legislature adjourned on June 10 without passing a measure to ban the dumping of radioactive water into the Hudson River. The bill unanimously passed the Senate, but failed to reach a vote in the Assembly. The Assembly is going to return shortly to address some uncompleted work, and could pass the bill then. For years, the now-closed Indian Point nuclear plant has discharged diluted radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. Holtec International Decommissioning, the company overseeing the dismantling of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, wants to release more into the river this year. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently allows, “the controlled releases of effluent at nuclear power plants, within specified regulatory limits designed to ensure protection of the public health and safety and the environment, is an activity that occurs throughout the operation and decommissioning of a facility.” The activist groups Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club support the ban on releasing radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Liz Montgomery at Porcupine Soup reports that New York's Department of Environmental Conservation is reminding New Yorkers that while newborn fawns and other young wildlife wander the area this spring, it is best not to touch or pick them up. DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "This is the time of year New Yorkers are more likely to see young or newborn animals in their yards and mistakenly think these animals need help.... The recently fledged birds or baby rabbits in your yard likely have parents hiding nearby keeping an eye on their offspring. Please resist the urge to touch these wild animals and instead enjoy the encounter from a safe distance. Remember―if you care, leave it there." The DEC says, "White-tailed deer fawns are born during late May and early June. Although fawns can walk shortly after birth, they spend most of their first several days lying still in tall grass, leaf litter, or sometimes relatively unconcealed. During this period, a fawn is usually left alone by the adult female (doe), except when nursing. People occasionally find a lone fawn and mistakenly assume it has been abandoned, which is rare. Fawns should be left alone." Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Congressional seats in New York. Democrat Pat Ryan is representing the 18th Congressional District, Republican Marc Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko represents the 20th District, and Republican Elise Stefanik represents the 21st District. Click here to listen to this report.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that three of the last four 19th Congressional District representatives are lobbying for a bill that would allow the adult children of service members to stay on their parent’s health insurance until age 26. Current 18th Congressional District Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat, and Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro and former Rep. Chris Gibson, also a Republican, were in Saugerties on June 3, saying the bill would create fairness between insurance coverage for military families and the rest of Americans, who have been able to stay on their parent’s insurance until 26 since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Ryan called the disparity between coverage for armed services families and civilian families “a grave injustice” and said the kids of soldiers “really, really bear a tremendous burden.” He asked, “If we can’t solve something like this, what are we doing?" Molinaro, the current 19th Congressional District representative, said the bill, “will expand health care coverage for military families who have made tremendous sacrifices in protection of our nation, freedoms and way of life.” Gibson said his 21-year-old son was kicked off his plan when he graduated college early and he said that the current structure of the law did not “incentivize productivity.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Austin Jefferson reports in the Daily Freeman that Rep. Pat Ryan held a town hall gathering at Congregation Emanuel in Kingston on June 4, said he is concerned that fellow lawmakers are pushing back on “common sense” gun legislation and fact-finding efforts targeting antisemitism and hate groups. Ryan, a Democrate who represents the 18th Congressional District, is part of an antisemitism task force that has requested funding from the Department of Homeland Security to begin a study of Holocaust education’s prevalence in the nation’s public schools after Republican lawmakers blocked funding from other sources. Ryan said, “I risked my life for this country for fundamental rights and freedoms that we just cannot let be taken away from us.... Those are red lines.” On migrants arriving in the Hudson Valley Ryan said, “We need real federal resources to deal with a federal problem,” adding that the federal government should declare a state of emergency to free up resources to combat the crisis. Ryan also said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is blocking gun legislation. Ryan said, “No Republicans are speaking out and saying we want a vote on this. There’s not a small extreme sector, it’s the entire group, unfortunately. I think it’s a real shame.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

WPDH reports that Rep. Marc Molinaro has listed his Dutchess County home for sale. On June 5, Molinaro's Red Hook home appeared on Relator.com. The Republican did not announce the sale, but he currently represents New York's 19th congressional district but does not live within that district, after redistricting changed the lines in 2022. Molinaro is selling a 2,600-square-foot home with four bedrooms and 2.5 baths, on five acres with a wooded backyard. The home is currently listed for $625,000, with estimated property taxes of $9,500 a year. Read more about this story on the WPDH website.

The Daily Freeman compares the votes this week in Congress of Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Marc Molinaro. On June 5 Molinaro and Republican Elise Stefanik did not join the eleven members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus voting with Democrats on a procedural vote, House Resolution 463, to protest the debt ceiling compromise negotiated by Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden. After the Republican revolt, the usually routine measure failed 206-to-220. So McCarthy then shut down all legislative business for the week to deal with the revolt, and no other votes or legislative action happened. Republicans were set to vote on easing the regulation of gas stoves and stovetops and to empower Congress to veto major federal regulations before they take effect, but those votes are now delayed by at least a week because of Republican infighting. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

WWNYTV reports that Rep. Elise Stefanik, the Republican who represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District, came out with full support of former President Donald Trump after he was indicted on 37 charges, including 31 counts of violations of the Espionage Act, as part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents from his time in the White House. Stefanik said, "The American people are smart and understand this is the epitome of the illegal and unprecedented weaponization of the federal government against Joe Biden’s leading opponent, President Donald J. Trump." Stefanik's statement failed to address anything about the allegations of the former president's mishandling of top secret government documents. Read the full story at WWNYTV.

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Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that the Albany legislature has failed to pass any significant legislation this year to address the large affordable housing crisis in the state. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie released a joint statement on June 8 to blame Gov. Kathy Hochul for their failure to pass any legislation. “Unfortunately, it was clear that we could not come to an agreement with the governor on this plan,” Stewart-Cousins and Heastie said. “All three chambers must immediately redouble our efforts and come up with a plan that the governor will sign into law.” But the legislative session ends this week, so there will not be any help to renters and buyers across New York any time soon. Hochul’s spokesperson, Julie Wood, blamed the legislature. Hochul originally proposed building 800,000 housing units across the state over the next ten years. Other bills have proposed converting commercial buildings into housing, and to give tenants more rights. None of it passed. Open New York, a group that supports both good cause legislation and housing development, denounced both the governor and the legislature, with Annemarie Gray, the group’s executive director, saying in a statement, “While Albany is spending the day finger-pointing their way through failure, it is beyond clear that there is more than enough blame to be spread around.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Kate Lisa reports at New York State of Politics that as the legislature in Albany comes to a close, lawmakers are expected to approve a last minute bill to move most town and county elections to even-numbered years. Bill sponsor Sen. James Skoufis says the idea is to get more people voting. He said, "As it stands right now, in a lot of these local, town and county elections, you have 20 or so percent of voters deciding the outcome for the entire jurisdiction.... Why are you so afraid of 50, 60, 70 percent of voters determining who should hold these local positions?" But the bill is only a half-measure, as it would not apply to city or village elections, nor for county clerk, sheriff, district attorneys, and elections for local judges protected in the state Constitution to be held in odd-numbered years. Michael Zurlo, president of the state Association of Counties and the Clinton County Administrator, said, "In local elections forced to be with state and national elections, it's going to suck up the media time — it's going to take the air out of the room.... How is that a town board member or a county legislator or supervisor is going to have the opportunity in the platform to discuss real issues — issues that affect the day-to-day concerns of their communities? Are they going to be able to afford a 6 p.m. news slot? Probably not." Gov. Kathy Hochul seemed to be leaning in favor of the bill, saying on June 7 that, "If you're talking about turnout I would say having a year when there's more people turning out for a presidential or gubernatorial race, it's an increase in turnout, and more people voting in these elections is always better for democracy," the governor said. "But I've not had a chance to look at the details." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Andrea Macko from Porcupine Soup reports that the State and National Registers of Historic Places nominated two local properties this week. Fairview Manor in Columbia County and The Alpine in Greene County were nominated. Getting nominated makes properties eligible for various public preservation programs and incentives, such as matching state grants and federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits. Fairview Manor in Claverack is also known as the Alonzo & Mary E. Flack House. The house was damaged by a fire in 1998. The Alpine, meanwhile, is a summer lodging house in Haines Falls. It could host up to thirty-five guests, and was open through 1963. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.