New York lawmaker seeks salary hike, longer terms in new pair of bills
And the Trump administration is eyeing an appeal of Tuesday's court decision on congestion pricing.
Good afternoon — It’s Tuesday and Mulled Wine Day.
In today’s CapCon:
State lawmakers would get a nearly $40,000 pay hike and members of the Senate would have longer terms under a newly introduced pair of bills.
After a federal judge upheld New York’s congestion pricing toll Tuesday, the Trump administration says it’s considering an appeal.
Republicans cheered the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to pause the redrawing of NY-11 while opponents called it a “dangerous and extraordinary escalation.”
A new bill seeks to prevent landlords from purchasing new properties if those they already own are considered dangerous to tenants.
Here’s what’s on deck at the state Capitol this week, including a hearing on white-collar crime.
Names in today’s CapCon: Joseph R. Biden, Donald J. Trump, Lewis J. Liman, Sean Duffy, Kathy Hochul, James Sanders, Jr., Sepulveda, Nicole Malliotakis, Edward P. Ra, Chris Alexander
🚗 Trump administration mulls appeal of congestion pricing court decision
A federal judge has sided with New York in its challenge against the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision to rescind federal approval for the state’s congestion pricing toll.
That toll, which is paid by drivers who enter the busiest areas of Manhattan, took effect in January of last year. It required approval from the federal government, which was granted under the administration of former President Joseph R. Biden.
After President Donald J. Trump took office, the U.S. Department of Transportation rescinded the federal government’s approval of the program.
That prompted a lawsuit from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates mass transit in and around New York City and receives revenue from the toll.
The state had argued in its lawsuit that the Trump administration didn’t have the authority to rescind federal approval of the program. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York agreed.
“It is difficult to imagine more arbitrary and capricious decision-making than that at issue here,” Liman wrote, saying that the federal government misinterpreted the law that allowed congestion pricing to move forward in the first place.
The agreement that was approved by the Biden administration didn’t include a clause that would’ve allowed that termination, he wrote.
Liman also said in the decision that the Trump administration didn’t follow the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act — a federal law that governs how agencies can adjust regulations and policy.
“The fact that it does not accord with the current (U.S. secretary of transportation’s) priorities and goals does not mean that his immediate predecessor lacked authority to permit it any more than the fact that a future secretary might not like the current secretary’s goals and priorities would mean that the current secretary lacks congressional authority to pursue those goals and priorities,” Liman wrote.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a statement that the agency disagreed with the decision and is not planning to abandon its challenge to the congestion pricing program.
“Once again, working-class Americans are being sidelined under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s policies, which impose a massive tax on every New Yorker,” the statement said. “These Green New Scam policies have made federally funded roads inaccessible to commuters without providing a toll-free alternative. We are reviewing all legal options — including an appeal — with the Justice Department.”
Hochul lauded the results of the toll in her own statement in response to Liman’s decision, saying it has reduced gridlock and generated critical revenue for the MTA.
“The judge’s decision is clear: Donald Trump’s unlawful attempts to trample on the self-governance of his home state have failed spectacularly,” Hochul said. “Congestion pricing is legal, it works, and it is here to stay. The cameras are staying on.”
💰 Sanders wants longer terms for state Senate, higher pay for state lawmakers
When the state Senate was founded in New York, members served four-year terms. That was in 1777. More than four decades later, they began to be paid $3 per day.
The state Legislature has come a long way since then. Members of the state Senate serve two-year terms and lawmakers in both chambers earn $142,000.
State Sen. James Sanders, Jr., a Democrat from Queens, is seeking to change both of those things.
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