June 15, 2007
Governor and Leaders announce Wicks Law reform
The Governor and legislative leaders announced this week they have agreed to legislation that will reform the Wicks law, the statute that governs most public works projects.
Under the legislation, the thresholds for triggering Wicks Law mandates will be increased to $3 million for New York City, $1.5 million for Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk Counties and $500,000 the rest of the State. Municipalities will be able to avoid Wicks Law requirements through the use of a Project Labor Agreement. Additionally any municipality with a population of less than fifty-thousand may use labor from a county-established list of pre-qualified bidders.
Senate and Assembly leaders agreed to pass the final reform proposal next week.
NYSAC is working on a handful of critical issues as the session winds down toward its scheduled June 21st close, including Paid Family Leave, Article X Siting and a handful of mandate relief measures. We will provide a full report on the legislative session in next week’s Weekly Wire. (Pete Savage)
New Children’s Cabinet: By Executive Order
On Thursday, Governor Spitzer announced an Executive Order creating “The Governor’s Children’s Cabinet.” This task force, which held its first meeting this week, is comprised of high level state officials and is charged with advancing programs and policies to benefit children. The Director of State Operations, Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services and Deputy Secretary for Education all chair the Cabinet. The Deputy Secretary for the Environment and Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs also serve in the Cabinet. In addition, 19 heads of various state agencies will serve on the Children’s Cabinet.
The first two priorities of the Children’s Cabinet are to:
- help ensure the successful implementation of the Governor’s plan for providing health insurance coverage for currently uninsured children, and
- offer quality pre-kindergarten programs to young children.
Specifically, the Cabinet is tasked with developing and implementing a plan to ensure that the state’s 400,000 uninsured children receive Child Health Plus. The enacted state budget extended the Child Health Plus eligibility to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Secondly, the Cabinet will identify strategies for ensuring that high quality early learning opportunities (i.e. pre-k) are available and accessible to all children in New York State. (Jessica Morelli)
State Board of Elections Predicts More Delays in Implementing HAVA
The company hired to test the New York State’s electronic voting machines, CIBER Inc., is no longer eligible to test and certify voting machines, according to the State Board of Elections. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which oversees voting machine testers, rejected CIBER’s bid to become an accredited voting machine laboratory.
This week’s move means it is likely that the lever-style voting machines that have been in place for most of the past century in New York State will be used in next year’s presidential primary.
In 2005, the New York State enacted election reform legislation designed to bring the State into compliance with the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed in June of 2005. The new law required counties to take over the management of local elections and to purchase new voting machines that will replace the lever machines. A series of delays at the State level have halted counties’ plans to pick and roll out the new machines.
The Board of Elections is now reviewing bids from two other testing labs. State officials hope to hire a new lab by late summer. NYSAC will continue to track HAVA-related decisions and activities and will forward updates as they become available. (Adriano Bongiorno)
The 2007 County Directory is now available
The 2007 County Directory—the only up-to-date comprehensive listing for elected and appointed county officials across the state—is now available through NYSAC. This easy to use, county-by-county reference also has separate listings of county executives, county board chairs and more than 20 affiliated county associations.
To order your directory, visit http://www.nysac.org/About/County_Directory.php .
NYSAC sets Fall Seminar dates!
The 2007 NYSAC Annual Fall Seminar will be held September 19-21, 2007 at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany. The NYSAC staff is in the process of putting together a top-notch program of standing committee meetings, educational sessions and plenary activities designed to support the ongoing efforts of today's county officials.
Check our website for updates at http://www.nysac.org/Conferences/Fall_Seminar.php .
State Schedules Free Water and Sewer Project Workshops
The New York State Water & Sewer Infrastructure Co-funding Initiative has scheduled its 2007 Co-funding Workshop and Individual Project Consultations in four locations this fall. The free full-day workshops will include information on various public funding programs, application processes and procedures and project planning and development. The workshops will give communities an opportunity to discuss their particular water or sewer project with agency funding experts.
The program is specifically developed for local officials, county planners, economic developers, consulting engineers and fiscal advisors. Approval is pending for training contact hours for Drinking Water and Wastewater Operators.
The schedule includes:
- Rochester: Tuesday, September 11, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 70 State St.
- Painted Post: Wednesday, September 26, Corning/Painted Post Holiday Inn, 304 South Hamilton St.
- Watertown: Tuesday, October 2, Ramada Inn, 6800 Arsenal St.
- Kingston: Tuesday, October 16, Quality Inn, Rt. 28
For additional information visit the Environmental Facilities Corporation website at www.nysefc.org or call 1-800-882-9721.
Next Week
- The Assembly and Senate are scheduled to be in Albany for the last scheduled week of the Legislative Session from Monday through Thursday.
