SENATE DEMS OPPOSE ERA LANGUAGE: A group of 32 members of the state Senate’s Democratic conference is asking the state Board of Elections to change draft language describing the Equal Rights Amendment when it appears on November’s ballot. The amendment is the first subject to a new law that aims for amendments to be written at an eighth-grade reading level. An initial draft from Attorney General Tish James’ office came close and was written at a ninth-grade level. That was rewritten by the board, coming in at a 15th-grade level. The senators, led by Liz Krueger, are urging the language to make clearer what the ERA does: “In addition to improving comprehensibility by using everyday language, such as 'LGBT,' the ballot must include the word 'abortion,” Krueger said in a statement. “The Legislature passed the ERA with the express purpose of protecting abortion; that will be its impact, and that must be clear to voters when they read the ballot." The text of the amendment doesn’t actually mention “abortion,” but supporters of plain language initiatives say voters will have an easier time deciphering a word like this rather than the phrase “reproductive healthcare and autonomy” that appears in the proposed constitutional wording. The board will vote to finalize the language as soon as next week. — Bill Mahoney WHY KENNY BURGOS LEFT: Bronx Assemblymember Kenny Burgos’ resignation on Friday came as a shock to fellow state lawmakers. But Burgos assured Playbook there’s no sweet lobbying gig that’s pushing him out; he just really believes it’s the best move for him and his family. “We have long passed that era of lifetime politicians, even in the state government,” Burgos said. “I didn't see my tenure being very long in the Assembly, I also didn't see it this short, if I'm being quite honest. But, what do they say? ‘You plan, and God laughs,' right?” He made the decision to bow out with his wife, who is pregnant with their first child and seven days overdue. “It's been a long discussion with my wife what this career would look like with a new family, we want to have another kid, the travel back and forth to Albany, and it just became very apparent this may not be as easy as we thought,” he said. The lawmaker made a name for himself for his approachable social media videos that often went viral and engaged unlikely audiences into legislative pushes. He also said he was proud of his work to make the E-ZPass system less punitive for those late on paying tolls. He’s the second assemblymember to depart since the end of the legislative session in June, after Rockland County Assemblymember Ken Zebrowski left earlier this month. Assemblymember Latoya Joyner, also from the Bronx, abruptly left the lawmaking body in January and was later revealed to have taken a job with the Montefiore Health System — a role Burgos has ruled out. Burgos said he’d now like to do something adjacent to politics — not a lobbying firm but maybe something in the affordable housing space. It’s not goodbye forever, though. “I tell folks when my children — I say children, because we're going to have more than one — are a bit older I'll come back in the political arena hopefully, if the people will still have me,” he said. — Jason Beeferman ETHICS CHAIR LEAVES: Frederick Davie, the chair of the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, announced at the end of a six-hour meeting today that he’ll be leaving his post in September. The governor’s office has been notified. “Active discussions have been underway with potential appointments for my replacement," Davie said. The commission was created by Hochul in 2022 as her signature reform accomplishment. Its future is uncertain — ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo won a mid-level appellate court decision in May that found it was unconstitutionally structured in a case he brought after it started to probe his $5 million book deal. — Bill Mahoney
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