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You can now find our bigger, better blog, “Of Substance and Justice,” on the Legal Action Center Web site.
Need-to-Know News: May 17-21, 2010
Updates from Us
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Need-to-Know News: May 10 – 14, 2010
Updates from Us
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LAC Applauds National Drug Strategy, Urges Sufficient Funding
NEW YORK, May 12, 2010 – The Legal Action Center commends President Obama, Director Kerlikowske and the Office of National Drug Control Policy on its new strategy released yesterday. With an admirable goal of reducing illicit drug use by 15 percent in five years, the strategy wisely focuses on preventing and treating addiction and promoting recovery after decades of an ineffectual “war on drugs.”
“President Obama’s first national drug strategy charts a new – and most welcome – course that for the first time in decades places major emphasis on preventing and treating drug and alcohol problems and helping people with substance use disorders recover,” said Paul N. Samuels, director and president of LAC.
“Heads Up!” Budget Blame, Legal Rights for the Poor, and More
Mayor’s Budget Would Cut Teaching Jobs, Fire Companies and Senior Centers (The New York Times)
Bloomberg vs. Paterson, Budget War (Capital Tonight)
Suit Challenging New York’s Public Defense System Can Proceed (The New York Times)
A Night Out With the H.I.V. Positive (The New York Times)
“Heads Up!” Paterson Offers Choice: Furloughs or Shutdown
Gov. David A. Paterson said today that he would include his plan for furloughs for more than 100,000 state employees in his next emergency budget bill, The New York Times reported today:
By adding the furlough language to an emergency budget bill, he has raised the stakes considerably: Because New York’s Constitution severely limits the ability of the Legislature to amend budget bills, lawmakers may face a choice between approving the furloughs or rejecting the emergency bill and shutting down the state government.
“Heads Up!” Budget Tug of War Continues
Empire Center and lawyers: Pay freeze would be legal (Albany Times Union)
Gov sticking with furlough (New York Post)
City Budget News
Schumer wants federal security funds for NYC (The Hill)
“Heads Up!” Furlough Plan Dominates Talk on Budget
“Motorists might face slightly longer lines at DMV offices, or at highway tolls,” Rick Karlin writes in the Albany Times Union, but Gov. Paterson’s plan for state workers to take a furlough day each week as budget negotiations drag on ” also appears to be designed to avoid major disruptions.”
Read the full story here.
Lt. Gov. Weighs in on Budget Negotiations – “We’re Not Even Close”
Speaking to several radio shows today, Governor David Paterson indicated that he plans to keep the recently announced furlough bill separate from the spending bill. This comes as concerns rose about the possibility that lumping the two together would result in a showdown with state legislators.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch spoke about the budget stalemate at an On/Off The Record breakfast hosted by The Capitol in Albany on Wednesday:
Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch said he saw little hope for a budget deal in the near future, painted a grim picture of school districts in crisis if no resolution is reached by the time the state is expected to run out of cash in June, and pushed back on the idea that there is any distance between him and Paterson on these issues.
“[Paterson’s] primary concern, as is mine, is that we’re several weeks into a new fiscal year and we’re not even close to an agreement,” Ravitch said.
More State Budget News
Ravitch on the Budget: ‘We’re Not Even Close’ (The Wall Street Journal)
Governor criticized over plan to cut business tax credits (The Business Review (Albany))
Assembly Leader: No Vote on Paterson’s Budget
New York state legislators are rejecting Gov. David Paterson’s demands and refusing to vote on his budget proposal, the Business Review reported today:
The state Assembly will not vote on Paterson’s budget today, said Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari (D-Cohoes). The Assembly will hold session today, and then adjourn until May 3, as scheduled.
When asked if Paterson’s demanded budget vote is dead on arrival, Canestrari replied: “Yes.”
Meanwhile, the governor said he planned to put his plan for state employees to take a one-day furlough into the next budget extension bill. “Implementing a temporary furlough of unioned non-essential employees would realize an immediate cash savings” of $30 million a day, the governor wrote in a memo accompanying his bill, “and should not jeopardize public health and safety.”
Amid the Albany stalemate, Paterson also outlined a plan to save $620 million.
More State Budget News
Paterson Raises the Prospect of Furloughs (The New York Times)
Budget Director Explains Furlough Plan (Albany Times Union)
