The 'Big Ugly' Passes in Late Albany Deal

Six days after the last scheduled day of session, state lawmakers Thursday night voted on an agreement to extend the rent regulation laws, create a new property tax rebate and reform the 421-a tax-abatement program.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie had announced a “framework” deal on Tuesday, but the details we’re not made available until the bill was printed after 6 p.m. on Thursday.

“I am personally very happy and very proud of this legislative package. I think that it is responsive to the problems that are pressing the state right now,” Cuomo said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “I think that it is actually a very robust and extensive legislative package of reforms that goes a long way towards making this state a better state.”

After many long hours of negotiating in Albany, legislative leaders agreed to extend the rent control laws for four years, with some reforms. Most notably, the threshold for vacancy decontrol was increased from $2,500 to $2,700 with some exceptions, and the penalty imposed on landlords who harass tenants was set at $3,000 for each offense and at $11,000 for each offense when a landlord harasses a tenant with the goal of obtaining a vacancy. Cuomo said it was the “best law in the history of New York State.”

“As the governor said, the Assembly has a vision, the Senate has a vision on what they’d like to see and what we always say in Albany: it’s the art of compromise,” said Heastie, whose Democratic conference made rent control laws the No. 1 priority this year.

Tied to the renewed rent regulation laws is the 421-a tax break program for developers and a new property tax cap for upstate New York—a priority for the Republican-controlled state Senate.

The controversial 421-a program was extended for six months. If labor and real estate groups reach an agreement on prevailing wage legislation during that time, the law will be extended to four years. If not, it expires after six months.

The bill includes a $3.1 billion property tax break, which will be spread over four years for some 2.5 million homeowners in upstate New York who have an annual income of $275,000 or less, and are eligible for the state’s School Tax Relief (STAR) program, which provides respite from school taxes. The rebate will be combined with the state’s previously enacted property tax freeze into one check sent to households. The measure also extends the state’s 2 percent property tax cap for an additional four years.

The statewide average rebate would be about $350 for each household, a press release from Flanagan’s office said.

“There are a lot of good things in [the end-of-session bill],” Flanagan said Thursday afternoon, adding that the bill included “real results for real people.”

Additionally, lawmakers agreed to reform testing for grades 3 to 8 for the Common Core standards. The state Education Department will now release results for the English Language Arts and mathematics tests from the previous year before June 1 to allow teachers to better prepare students. By July 1, NYSED must release the general student success rate on the state tests from the previous year.

When evaluating teachers based on the students’ performance on the state tests, student characteristics—such as those living in poverty, with disabilities, and English Language learners—will now be taken into account when determining a teacher’s score.

NYSED is also tasked with establishing a committee to review the Common Core standards and creating tests to determine if they appropriately measure students’ performance.

Not included in the final agreement was the education investment tax credit, although $250 million was provided to reimburse private schools for mandated services.

There was no agreement on several criminal justice reforms Cuomo said he would fight for during his 2015 State of the State address. Instead, he will issue an executive order to appoint state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as a special prosecutor to investigate deaths of unarmed civilians at the hands of police. Cuomo has also ordered that all 16- and 17-year-olds be removed from adult prisons.

Also left out of the deal was a bill to require state legislators to forfeit their pension if convicted of public corruption.

When asked if there were any other issues he would have liked to address this session, Cuomo said, “Yes, I wish they would have cured cancer.”