REFUGEE SERVICES: State Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nader Sayegh want to codify the “I Heart Refugees Act” to protect refugee services from being cut by future presidential administrations. The bill would establish the refugee resettlement program with a goal of delivering economic stability and social self-sufficiency to refugees. “We've seen efforts from the prior administration to dismantle refugee resettlement programs. We've seen severely curtailing refugees being accepted into this country under the prior administration. And we don't want to face those risks again,” Gounardes said at a news conference in the Capitol. “So the ‘I Heart Refugees Act’ would essentially codify New York's incredibly successful refugee resettlement program once and for all.” The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which oversees most of the state’s refugee programs, provides mental health, resettlement and educational services to over 40,000 refugees across the state with various programs. One of the bill’s goals is to achieve economic and social self-sufficiency for refugees. “And I gotta tell you in reaching out and looking at cases in Buffalo and Yonkers and Syracuse and across our state where there's been a refugee resettlement project, individuals brought with them skills and passion and hard work and commitment, and have revitalized the economies of those communities. So it's a win-win,” Sayegh, the Assemby’s bill sponsor said. — Shawn Ness CONGESTION PRICING: The MTA formally approved new tolls for drivers coming into Manhattan’s central business district south of 60th Street. The 11-1 vote today is as anticlimactic as it is historic. The future of the tolling program is being challenged in court and remains uncertain. Following decades of debate and years of planning, congestion pricing — daytime tolls of $15 for many cars and more for trucks — is meant to attack traffic and pollution in New York City and raise billions to invest in the region’s bus and subway system. Transit authority CEO Janno Lieber said the board's action was a “big day for the MTA, huge day for the region.” But there are five federal lawsuits trying to undo the day's accomplishment. Federal judges in New Jersey and New York are expected to hear arguments in those cases and rule on them before mid-June, when the MTA hopes to start charging tolls. Ironically, the lawsuits, including one brought by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, allege the tolls will increase local air pollution in some neighborhoods as trucks clog certain roads to avoid tolls. The MTA expects air pollution to decline overall. The tolling plan also still needs perfunctory approval from the Biden administration. — Ry Rivard BUDGET WATCH: The Democratic-led chambers of the Legislature on Thursday will vote on the first of 10 budget bills, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters this morning. The debt service bill is a key albeit pro forma portion of the budget. Passing it by Thursday would mean the measure is in place by the time the state’s fiscal year changes next Tuesday. But a full budget deal by early next week is increasingly unlikely: Lawmakers will leave Albany after Thursday for the Good Friday and Easter holiday weekend. New York lawmakers will also likely approve a temporary budget stop-gap bill when they return to the Capitol that day. — Nick Reisman NEW UTILITY REGULATORS CONFIRMED: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first nominees for the state’s powerful utility regulator are set to be confirmed during the Senate session on Wednesday. They are Uchenna Bright, the Democratic nominee who has previously worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Denise Sheehan, a Republican who was previously commissioner at the Department of Environmental Conservation. Bright will take former Gov. Andrew Cuomo aide John Howard’s seat, while Sheehan will fill Republican Diane Burman’s seat. Bright during her confirmation hearing emphasized the costs of climate change and the benefits of taking action to fight it. “We are giving New Yorkers more options, not less when we’re thinking about this transition we’re expanding the options for people to choose equipment,” Bright said. Sheehan expressed confidence that the state can meet its near-term energy and climate goals, but said the long term ones are more challenging. Sheehan, who has consulted for the battery storage industry’s main state trade group, noted major decisions facing the commission about the 2040 “zero emissions” goal for the electric sector. The annual salary for a member of the PSC is $170,000 and it is statutorily a full time position. A previous commissioner and current chair of the Long Island Power Authority, Tracey Edwards, made more than $250,000 from consulting work while on the PSC. Asked whether there should be limits on outside income for the commissioners, Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger said she’d have to look at the current rules. “I think there should be some, I just don’t know if there are, and if there aren’t, what we should do about it,” she said. — Marie J. French RAP LEGENDS VISIT ALBANY: Kurtis Blow, who became the first rapper signed to a major label in 1979 and formerly chaired the Bronx’s Hip Hop Museum, visited the halls of the Capitol this week. Blow spent time with lawmakers like Speaker Carl Heastie (“a good friend of mine”). He’s “trying to stop the violence of our youth” and hoping to win Albany’s support for a new holiday in August. “One thing we’re trying to do is a special holiday called the No Profanity Day,” Blow said in an interview. “For 24 hours, the whole city does not use profanity.” Rapper Nas was also in the Capitol today, where he met with legislators and was introduced on the chamber floors. Nas has been working with Resorts World Casino in Queens as it hopes to speed up the process of licensing new casinos. — Bill Mahoney
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