Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

Welcome

We are pleased to bring you the third edition of Plugged In @ Hinman Straub. With a new administration and the completion of the budget, Albany has been very busy throughout the past several weeks. Following enactment of the budget, the Legislature will be in recess from April 21 - April 25.

To learn more about Hinman Straub, please visit our website.

Governor David A. Paterson

On March 17, David A. Peterson was sworn in as the 55th Governor of New York State, following just over a year of service as Lieutenant Governor. Prior to becoming Lieutenant Governor, Paterson was elected to represent Harlem in the New York State Senate in 1985, and in 2003 he became the minority leader of the New York State Senate.

Since taking office, Governor Paterson has made a number of key appointments.

Carl Andrews has been named Acting Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, replacing Marty Mack. Mr. Andrews was previously the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the New York City office during the Spitzer Administration.

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William J. Cunningham III has been named Senior Advisor to Gov. David Paterson. Mr. Cunningham served as Counsel to Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi since November 2004. He was the architect of Nassau County’s Fair Housing Law and the facilitator for the County Executive’s Bias Crimes Task Force.

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Risa B. Heller has been named Communications Director, replacing Christine Anderson. Ms. Heller was previously a Senior Vice President at Global Strategy Group in New York City where she advised clients on a diverse range of issues focused around communications and public affairs. Prior to joining Global Strategy Group, Ms. Heller was Communications Director to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer from February 2005 until July of 2007.

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Honorable James A. Yates has been named Counsel to the Governor. Judge Yates has been a New York State Supreme Court Justice in New York County since 1998. Prior to his service as a Supreme Court Justice, he was a judge for the New York State Court of Claims from 1992 to 1998. Judge Yates will be filling a position previously held by David Nocenti.

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Dr. Jon R. Cohen has been named Senior Advisor to Gov. David Paterson. Dr. Cohen was Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for Health Industries Advisory Services. Before joining PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in 2007, he served for six years as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Senior Vice President of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

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Col. Harry Corbitt has been confirmed by the Senate to serve as State Police Superintendent. Colonel Corbitt was a member of the New York State Police for more than 25 years before his retirement in 2004. A life term member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Colonel Corbitt served as the Region One Vice President from 2003 to 2007.

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Budget Developments

The Legislature passed its final budget bills last week. State Operating Funds spending will total $80.5 billion, a 4.5 percent increase from last year. All Funds spending will total $121.7 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent. The Division of Budget will issue an updated Enacted Financial Plan later this month.

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New Faces

Judicial

Justice E. Michael Kavanagh, Justice Bernard J. Malone, Jr. and Justice Leslie E. Stein have been appointed to fill three vacancies in the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department.

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New Assembly Committee Appointments

M.A. Kevin Cahill, Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee

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M.A. William Magnarelli, Ethics and Guidance Committee Chair

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New Senate Committee Appointments

George Maziarz, Chair of Energy Committee

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Andrew Lanza, Chair of Civil Service And Pensions Committee.

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Regents

Legislature Elects Dr. Lester Young, Dr. Betty Rosa And Re-Elects Dr. Geraldine Chapey to Board of Regents.

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Economic Development

Governor David A. Paterson announced that the 2008-09 Enacted Budget includes a $700 million Upstate Revitalization Fund that will promote economic growth and opportunity throughout Upstate New York, as part of a statewide $1.6 billion economic development capital plan.

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Rules on Gifts

The Commission on Public Integrity has just finished reviewing the opinions issued under the previous Lobbying and Ethics Commissions. They found that with the exception of "gifts", opinions issued by the Temporary Commission on Lobbying and the State Ethics Commission do not conflict with the new lobbying and ethics law passed last year, which means those opinions are still binding.

The Commission on Public Integrity has issued a new opinion about the rules on gifts to elected officials and state employees. Under the law, a prohibited gift is anything of more than "nominal" value, including but not limited to, money, service, loans, travel, lodging, meals, refreshments, entertainment, discount, forbearance or promise, having a monetary value.

In its new opinion on gifts, the Commission interpreted "nominal value" to mean such a small amount that acceptance of an item of nominal value could not be reasonably interpreted or construed as attempting to influence an elected official or state employee. In practical terms, items considered to be of a nominal value include a regular cup of coffee or a soft drink. Meals and alcoholic beverages would not be considered nominal value, and, as such would be a violation of the lobbying law.

The entire opinion can be found at: http://www.nyintegrity.org/advisory/cpi/

Please contact Sean Doolan or Janet Silver if you have any questions or need further clarification.