NYS Seeks Spin Doctor To Fight Climate Law Critics
Empire Center
by Ken Girardin
1d ago
New York state energy officials are taking the exceptional step of hiring a public relations outfit, using $500,000 per year of public money, to “maintain a positive narrative” and “respond to negative viewpoints” about the state’s 2019 climate law. The just-released request for proposal from the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) seeks:  public relations professionals or public relations firms interested in providing public relations/communications services to advance the goals of NYSERDA and the Climate Leadership Community and Protection Act (Climate Act ..read more
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Slowdown in outflow, but no robust rebound in latest NY population estimates
Empire Center
by E.J. McMahon
3d ago
The pace of population change in most New York counties slowed during the 12 months ending July 1, 2023, the third annual period measured by U.S. Census estimates since the disruption of the 2020 pandemic. Accounting for most of the state’s previously reported loss of 101,984 residents during the period was a further decline of 77,763 in New York City’s population, according to the Census Bureau’s just-released Vintage 2023 data. The negative number was smaller than the exceptionally large drops experienced by the city in each of the previous two years—but the numbers don’t suggest a strong co ..read more
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Empire Center Releases First “Empire Index” Poll
Empire Center
by Ken Girardin
3d ago
The Empire Center for Public Policy today announced the results of its first statewide “Empire Index” poll, examining public sentiment and awareness of major policy issues. The poll, conducted in late January and early February by Morning Consult, surveyed 959 registered voters in New York. The toplines and crosstabs can be viewed here. “The most surprising finding in this poll was that most people think New York spends less than one-third of what it actually does on public schools,” said Tim Hoefer, president & CEO. “This poll helps us understand how public policy is affecting people, how ..read more
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Albany Lawmakers Push a $4 Billion Tax on Health Insurance
Empire Center
by Bill Hammond
4d ago
Legislative leaders are proposing an additional $4 billion tax on health insurance plans in the upcoming state budget – but withholding specifics of how it would work. The concept emerged Tuesday in the Assembly’s draft of the state budget for fiscal 2025, which is due by the end of this month. The health-care portions of the Assembly’s so-called one-house budget called for raising $4 billion from a “tax on managed care organizations” – and using the money to increase Medicaid spending – but said nothing about how the tax would be collected. [The Senate did not specifically mention the proposa ..read more
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ThinkNY: Taylor Law
Empire Center
by Kyle Davis
4d ago
Join us Friday at 11am for our next ThinkNY webinar. This month, we’ll dive into the Taylor Law, New York’s public-sector collective bargaining law. The Taylor Law plays a huge role in how state agencies, local governments and school districts operate, with union contracts influencing not only the cost of government services but also how those services are delivered. Participants will learn about the law’s origins, how it functions and how New York’s system compares to other states. Presenter: Ken Girardin, Director of Research, Empire Center Date: 11:00 AM, March ..read more
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The Urgent Need to Fortify Student Data Security
Empire Center
by Kyle Davis
4d ago
While New York Attorney General Letitia James’s name has dominated much of the news in 2024 already, one of the most noteworthy instances did not garner nearly enough attention. In mid-February, Ms. James announced that the College Board—which many parents know as the company that administers the PSAT, SAT, and AP exams—would pay New York state $750,000 for violating students’ privacy, and it would agree to halt its practice of selling student data. According to the complaint, the College Board sold the data of the students taking these tests to colleges, scholarship programs, and other custom ..read more
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Loss of Patients and Revenue Foreshadowed Downsizing for SUNY Downstate
Empire Center
by Bill Hammond
1w ago
The SUNY-owned hospital in Brooklyn facing a newly announced downsizing plan has seen its patient volume and revenue plunge over the past decade, according to a review of its financial reports. Inpatient discharges at University Hospital at Downstate dropped 72 percent from 2012 to 2022, and income dropped 46 percent, the reports show (see charts).   The hospital, commonly known as SUNY Downstate, lost money in eight of the past 11 years, and its net assets sank to a new low of minus $330 million in 2022. These trends help to explain why SUNY Chancellor John King recently announced plans ..read more
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The FOIL Record: State Agencies, Tech and How To Make It Better
Empire Center
by Cam Macdonald
1w ago
Governor Hochul’s office days ago posted updated transparency plans for executive agencies. It’s just in time for Sunshine Week—an annual event to promote open government and access to public information—beginning Monday. They show some improvements since Hochul announced her transparency initiative in October 2021. But there is work left to be done. Proactive disclosure and improved Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) responsiveness were themes that ran through agency transparency plans in 2021. The Executive Chamber acknowledged then that multiple state agencies had technology needs or staffin ..read more
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Despite governor’s boast, NY’s post-pandemic recovery hasn’t been “full”
Empire Center
by E.J. McMahon
1w ago
Nearly four full years since the COVID-19 lockdown of March 2020, statewide private employment in New York has finally (barely) returned to pre-pandemic levels—but it’s hardly the “full economic recovery” touted by Governor Hochul in a self-congratulatory “New York is Back” press release. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the latest state Labor Department data pegged New York’s total private employment at 8.34 million jobs in January—slightly above the 8.33 million level of February 2020. However, job gains over early 2020 levels have been far from evenly distributed around the state. All of the ..read more
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New York’s post-pandemic Medicaid binge
Empire Center
by Bill Hammond
1w ago
As state budget preparations head into their final weeks, a confrontation is brewing over Medicaid, the state-run health plan for the low-income and disabled. Governor Hochul has proposed holding the state’s $36 billion share of Medicaid funding essentially flat, arguing for restraint after three years of double-digit growth. Yet hospitals, nursing homes and other provider groups are clamoring for further increases to address what they portray as a broad crisis in the health-care system. Judging by the large and rapidly increasing expense of New York’s Medicaid program, Hochul’s concerns about ..read more
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