Dear Neighbor, I hope you are well and enjoying the early days of summer. This email contains several updates about what I have been up to in Albany and the district in recent weeks, as well as some upcoming events and useful information. The New York State Legislative session ended on June 9th, although the Assembly returned to Albany for a few days earlier this week to pass additional bills they didn't get to earlier in the year. Almost 900 bills were passed by both houses of the Legislature, including important legislation on the environment, consumer protections, workers' rights, voter protections, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, public safety and criminal justice reform, and other key issues. Despite the accomplishments of this session, I am deeply disappointed by the failure of the Governor to work with the Legislature to enact desperately needed legislation to protect tenants’ rights and increase housing production. Given that the housing crisis facing all areas of our state only continues to worsen, strengthening tenants’ rights and expanding housing supply must be a top priority when the Legislature reconvenes. Now that the Senate is out of session, I hope to see many of you around the district–or at one of my virtual events–in the coming months. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy. As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, please email or call my office at [email protected] or 212-490-9535. Best, Liz Krueger State Senator End of Session Legislative Update During the final weeks of session the Senate passed hundreds of bills, including several that I carried. Below is a rundown of some of my bills that passed the Senate that may be of interest, as well as a number sponsored by my colleagues. While many of the bills passed both houses and will be sent to the Governor to sign or veto over the coming months, others only passed the Senate and will need to be reconsidered by both houses again when the Legislature reconvenes next year. S.154-C bans the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of lithium-ion batteries and chargers of e-bikes, e-scooters, and other micro-mobility devices that do not meet minimum industry safety standards. This legislation, along with S.157, which outlaws second-use lithium batteries for use on e-bikes and e-scooters, will help us deal with the surge of lithium-battery fires. These bills unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.158-B requires companies to obtain consent prior to tracking, storing, and/or selling sensitive health information. The legislation protects health privacy from third-party purchasers and gives users control over information related to diagnoses or inferred diagnosis pertaining mental or physical health. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.1736 requires all newly constructed buildings that include dedicated off-street parking to provide electric vehicle charging stations and electric vehicle ready parking spaces. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.2016-A, known as the NY HEAT Act, eliminates the unfair 100-foot rule, which forces New York families to subsidize new gas hookups to the tune of $200 million every year and worsens the climate crisis. It also caps energy bills at 6% of household income for low- and middle- income families, saving them up to $75 per month. This bill only unfortunately passed the Senate. S. 2129-A, also referred to as the Climate Superfund, requires fossil-fuel companies to contribute $3 billion to the State to assist in climate resiliency and renewable energy projects. The bill would charge the companies responsible for causing the pollution of our planet so New Yorkers are not solely responsible for paying for the climate crisis. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S. 2773-B prevents the sale of ATVs and dirt bikes anywhere in New York City. Although there are no legal places to operate an ATV or a dirt bike in NYC, we have witnessed a proliferation of them throughout the city. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.6460 prohibits the establishment of new for-profit hospices in New York State. Numerous investigations have documented that for-profit hospices are exponentially more likely than nonprofit ones to provide low quality care, employ less skilled staff, improperly discharge patients, and engage in Medicare fraud. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.7212 puts into the Military Law a guarantee that the Knickerbocker Greys can remain in the Seventh Avenue Armory as they have for over a century. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.1066-B, sponsored by my colleague Senator Mayer, builds upon the package of laws the Legislature passed last year to protect reproductive health services by explicitly covering services provided by licensed New York providers via telehealth. It provides the strongest protections possible for New York providers serving patients in other states via telehealth by ensuring that the state will not cooperate with out-of-state interference as long as the abortion services are lawful in the New York. This bill passed both houses. S.2237-A, sponsored by my colleague Senator Rivera, would help provide healthcare to undocumented immigrants living in New York without burdening our state taxpayers through a Medicaid waiver. This expansion of health coverage to more New Yorkers will benefit public health, enable immigrant families to access preventative healthcare services, and save the state hundreds of millions of dollars yearly by reducing reliance on extraordinarily expensive emergency care services. This bill passed both houses. S.2980, sponsored by my colleague Senator Kavanagh, establishes how the legal regulated rent of an apartment is set when two or more vacant apartments are combined or reconfigured, provides clarity on the definition of fraud and how rent overcharges can be established, and increases the fines for owners who fail to submit timely annual registrations to DHCR for regulated units. This bill passed both houses. S.2422-A, sponsored by my colleague Senator Hoylman-Sigal, known more popularly as “Sammy’s Law,” would permit New York City to lower its speed limit in order to reduce traffic fatalities and increase pedestrian safety. This bill unfortunately only passed the Senate. S.3252-A, sponsored by my colleague Senator Liu, extends the New York City Cooperative and Condominium tax abatement program for four years through 2026. This bill passed both houses. S.4907-A, sponsored by my colleague Senator Rivera, prohibits the reporting of New Yorkers’ medical bills to credit reporting agencies. This bill passed both houses. S.5026, sponsored by my colleague Senator Gounardes, establishes a series of statewide protections in contracting practices and compensation for freelance workers. This bill passed both houses. S.6893, sponsored by my colleague Senator Harckham, prohibits the dumping of radioactive waste from decommissioning nuclear plants into the Hudson River. This bill passed both houses. S.7551-A, sponsored by my colleague Senator Myrie, establishes a process for the automatic sealing of certain criminal convictions after the adjudicated sentence has been served and an additional period of time has lapsed without the individual being charged with another offense. The civil damage a conviction record can inflict is often wide-ranging and enduring—permanently barring many individuals from basic opportunities like stable jobs, licenses to practice trades, and safe, secure housing. This bill passed both houses. Press Conference on Enforcement Actions Against Unlicensed Cannabis Businesses On June 22, I joined Governor Kathy Hochul to announce the results of initial enforcement actions against unlicensed cannabis businesses by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF). I worked closely with my legislative colleagues and the Governor to significantly expand the authority of OCM and DTF to take action against unlicensed commercial cannabis sellers as part of this year's state budget. OCM is now authorized to conduct searches of unlicensed businesses, seize cannabis found in unlicensed businesses, assess penalties starting at $10,000 per day, and seek court orders to padlock businesses repeatedly breaking the law. DTF is empowered to conduct inspections of businesses selling cannabis to determine if taxes have been paid, and levy civil and criminal penalties if they have not. The budget also increased OCM’s enforcement budget by $5 million to enable the agency to hire 37 additional enforcement staff. During the first two weeks that OCM and DTF utilized their newly expanded enforcement authority, the agencies conducted joint inspections at 33 storefront businesses, issued Notices of Violation to 31 of these businesses, seized and catalogued a minimum of 1000 pounds of illicit cannabis with an estimated value of nearly $11 million, and with more still to be tabulated. While enforcement efforts are just beginning, I am extremely pleased that state agencies finally have tools needed to shut down unlicensed cannabis operators and protect the growing, equity-focused licensed market. Unlicensed operators endanger public health, are a blight on local communities, sell untested and sometimes dangerous products, frequently sell to minors, open in locations close to schools and religious institutions, don’t contribute tax revenue, and damage the legal regulated operators just beginning to open. Complaints about businesses selling cannabis without a license should be submitted to OCM at [link removed] or by email to [email protected]. A list of all regulated, licensed cannabis dispensaries is available on OCM’s website at [link removed]. Click Here to Watch My Remarks at the Press Conference Upcoming Off-Site Constituent Service Hours Our on-location constituent services team will be out and about this June. Please stop by with questions, concerns or just to say hi! June 26 (Monday) 3pm to 5pm Chelsea Green (140 W 20th Street) **Please note that since the Chelsea Green event taking place outdoors, it will be rescheduled if it's raining. June 28 (Wednesday) 10:30am to 12:30pm Carter Burden Senior Center on Roosevelt Island Additional dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks. Rent Guidelines Board Increases for 2023-2024 On June 21, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board held its final meeting this year and approved the following rent increases for rent stabilized leases that are renewed between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024: For a one-year lease commencing on or after October 1, 2023 and on or before September 30, 2024: 3% increase For a two-year lease commencing on or after October 1, 2023 and on or before September 30, 2024: 2.75% in year one of lease and 3.2% in year two Given the rent burdens already faced by all too many stabilized tenants, I fear such large increases will lead to further hardships and even evictions for tenants who are already struggling to pay their rents. I submitted testimony to the Rent Guidelines Board earlier this month urging the Board to reconsider its preliminary proposals and enact significantly lower guidelines than those proposed. As a reminder, rent regulated tenants who participate in the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) or the Disabled Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs will have their rent increases covered by New York City. To see if you are eligible for either program, or to apply, visit [link removed]. Read My Testimony Here Testimony Before the NYC Planning Commission on Madison Square Garden's Special Permit Application Earlier this month, I submitted joint testimony with Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Tony Simone regarding Madison Square Garden's application to continue operating its arena in its current location. Given the arena's incompatibility with the planned reconstruction of Penn Station and negative impacts on the surrounding community, we urged the City Planning Commission to reject the Special Permit. However, if New York City ultimately decides to renew the permit, we called for the renewal to be for a maximum of three years. Any renewal must also be contingent on Madison Square Garden agreeing to make itself fully compatible with the Penn Station reconstruction, transforming how it handles its loading operations, and improving access to above and below ground public spaces. Read Our Testimony Here Primary Day June 27th and Early Voting New York City's Primary Election Day is Tuesday, June 27th. Poll sites will be open from 6am-9pm. You can also vote early at your early voting poll site (which is likely different from your Election Day site) through Sunday, June 25th. Please note that there aren't primaries in many areas of New York City (including many communities I represent) because there aren't contested City Council primary elections. Visit the New York City Board of Elections website at [link removed] to find out if there is a primary in your area, who is on the ballot, and your voting sites for Election Day and early voting. You can learn more about local candidates and your City Council district at [link removed]. Isaacs Center Community Fair June 26th Important Info for New Yorkers Covered by Medicaid, Child Health Plus, or the Essential Plan Free Summer Meals Starting June 29th The New York City Public Schools focus on the health and well-being of young people continues throughout the summer months, and they provide free meals to children across the City during the summer. Starting June 29, 2023, all children will be eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch meals at sites across the City, including schools, parks and pools, in all five boroughs. No identification or application is required and meals will be available Monday through Friday. Breakfast will be served from 8:00am to 9:15am and lunch will be served from 11:00am to 1:15pm at designated sites. For more details and a list of locations, please go to the DOE Summer Meals Website. NYC Pride March June 25th The NYC Pride March will begin at noon on June 25th from 25th Street and 5th Avenue. Click on the map below for more details on the March, related events and street closures. Check out the Official Guide to Pride for more pride events across NYC this month! Brooklyn Legal Services Workshop June 27th Summer Events In Union Square District Office: 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 2000 | New York, NY 10017 | (212) 490-9535 | Fax: (212) 499-2558 Albany Office: Legislative Office Building, Room 808 | Albany, NY 12247 | (518) 455-2297 | Fax: (518) 426-6874 Email: [email protected] | On the Web: krueger.nysenate.gov   Senator Liz Krueger | 211 E 43rd St, #2000, New York, NY 10017 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!