A.9953/S.7919 gives the governor the authority to issue directives in response to a disaster. The bill’s text defines disaster as an occurrence or imminent, impending or threat of widespread or severe damage, injury or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man-made causes. It also gives the governor the ability to temporarily suspend any statute, local law or ordinance, or orders, rules or regulations. Prior law required specific provisions of laws to be referenced in a suspension order. The legislature would be allowed to convene and revoke a directive legislators agree is too broad.

The amendment, proposed by Assemblyman Michael Reilly, R-Staten Island, would have required Gov. Andrew Cuomo to provide 30-day updates to the state legislative leadership on how the $40 million was being spent. Reilly said the periodic updates on how the money is being spent were the least the governor could do given the emergency nature of the funding and the expansion of the governor’s powers the legislation granted. The amendment was defeated, 78-44, but not before a debate between Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo, and state Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown and minority leader pro tempore.

Peoples-Stokes accused Republicans of trying to delay legislation that was going to easily pass the Assembly over concerns that would be addressed by the state Comptroller’s Office or the state Division of Budget.

“While I want to applaud my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for attempting to further delay a process that we have been going through literally all day today, I would suggest that this amendment is not necessary,” Peoples-Stokes said. “We have been discussing this issue for the entire day. If there were thoughts of amendments or additions that should have been attached, it should have been brought to the attention of people prior to now. Not only that, Mr. Speaker, this legislation has already been passed in the Senate, so we’re here at this late hour in an effort to try to protect New Yorkers. I think that we should proceed in that direction. We should proceed with some swiftness and we should remember, and remind ourselves, that all expenditures are reviewed in detail through the Budget Office and quite honestly through the Comptroller’s Office, which is his job and his duty to follow up on how dollars are expended through the state.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Goodell then gave a lengthy defense of Reilly’s amendment and blamed Democrats for the fact that the legislation was being debated so late Monday night. The fact that Democrats had been discussing the coronavirus funding bill all day was their fault, not Republicans, Goodell said.

“We had sessions scheduled today for 2 p.m.,” Goodell said. “The Republican conference was here at 2 p.m. and we sat around for 3¢ hours while our colleagues met behind closed doors to discuss whatever they were discussing. We were not invited. We were not advised. We had no idea of what was being discussed behind closed doors. It wasn’t until 7 p.m. that we first received a copy of this bill — 7 p.m. Now we were scheduled to have a briefing with the health commissioner tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon. So we found ourselves faced with a bill that the governor claims needs immediate attention and we are being asked to review it, evaluate it and vote on it the day before the governor is scheduled for a briefing. Now I hope it doesn’t matter which side of the aisle that you’re on, that you understand that that is not a process that in any shape or form is appropriate. Now we’re told after we’ve cooled our heels all day long and, by the way, the only reason we knew this might be coming is because we saw some tweets — yeah, tweets. They weren’t from Governor Cuomo, by the way. As far as I know they weren’t from President Trump. They were from random people who are tweeting that something was in the works.”

While Peoples-Stokes called the amendment a delay tactic and asked for a quick vote, Goodell asked if legislators who had just received a pay raise had a better place to be than debating a $40 million spending bill.

“Is there anyone at quarter after 10 that has a date that is so important that we don’t have time to protect the taxpayers for $40 million?” Goodell asked. “Let me know what that is because I want to know what your $40 million appointment is. So this is just a very simple, straightforward amendment asking the governor, who apparently can’t find $40 million in an $88 billion Health Department budget, to explain to us and to the public why he needs the $40 million and how he’s spending it so that we can do our fiduciary duty to the taxpayers to make sure that money is being spent wisely. I hope that all of us have the time to consider an amendment to protect the taxpayers for $40 million. So I urge your positive vote on this. Let’s bring some transparency into a process which, to this point, has been remarkably obscured. At least moving forward we can be open and transparent with what’s going on in government.”