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Fighting Off Progeny
of the Judicial Compensation Statute --
& Securing a Functioning
Legislative Process
click here for
Senate bill S-2953
click here for
Assembly bill A-246
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CJA's July 9, 2013 letter to All Senators & Assembly Members --
"RE: (1) Status of A.246
(establishing a special commission on compensation of managerial and
confidential state employees); (2) Securing legislative oversight of the statute upon which
A.246 was modeled: Chapter 567 of the Laws of 2010 (establishing a
special commission on judicial compensation)
transmitting e-mail
CJA's July 12, 2013 e-mail to
Senate Minority Leader Stewart-Cousins
CJA's June 25, 2013 letter to Governor
Cuomo --
"RE:
Your Duty to Disapprove A.246 (establishing a special commission on
compensation of managerial and confidential state employees) and to
Use its Return to the Legislature, Pursuant to Article IV, §7 of the
New York State Constitution, to Advance the Non-Partisan,
Good-Government Legislative Rules Reforms of the 2004, 2006, and
2008 Brennan Center Reports
click here for
Rules Reform
Resource Page
click here for "Reformer
who called NY's Legislature 'dysfunctional' will be Gov. Andrew
Cuomo's ethics czar"
CJA's September 25, 2013 e-mail to Governor
--
"NOTICE: The Governor Must NOT Sign A.246
(establishing a special commission on compensation
of managerial
& confidential state employees)
CJA's June 4, 2013 letter to Senate Committee on Investigations &
Governmental Operations
& Assembly Committee on Oversight, Analysis & Investigation
--
"RE: ... Request for
Legislative Oversight, Analysis and Investigation and, specifically:
(1) of Chapter 567 of the Laws of 2010,
as written and applied – as
to which, to date, there has been no oversight, analysis, & investigation..."
2012 Annual Report of Senate Committee on Investigations
& Governmental Operations
2012 Annual Report of Assembly Committee on Oversight,
Analysis & Investigation
February 2005: "A
Guide to Legislative Oversight":
Report from Commitee on Oversight, Analysis &
Investigation
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THE VOTES ON THE
ASSEMBLY & SENATE FLOOR
A.246: passed by Assembly: 6:52 pm on June
20, 2013 --
no discussion, no debate: (93 for; 2 against).
Official vote:
141-for, 1-against (Assemblyman Nojay)
S.2953:
substituted by Senate with A.246 after midnight on June 21, 2013;
passed & returned to Assembly:
no discussion, no debate: 62 for; 1 against (Sen. Ball)
Senator DeFrancisco explaining his
vote "...very important bill...just like the judicial
commission..." (at 4:20:00 minutes)
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Correspondence to Senate & Assembly Oversight Committees
CJA's June 20, 2013 e-mail to
Senate
Committee on Investigations & Government Operations
Assembly
Committee on Oversight, Analysis & Investigation
--
"Subject: Why the Members of the
Senate & Assembly Oversight Committees
Must Vote AGAINST
S.2953/A.246 Establishing a Special Commission on Compensation of
Managerial & Confidential State Employees
CJA's June 4, 2013 letter to
Senate & Assembly Oversight Committees (at p. 5)
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Correspondence to the Assembly
CJA's June 20, 2013 e-mail to All Assembly Members --
"Subject: Why You Must Vote AGAINST
A.246 Establishing a Special Commission on Compensation of
Managerial & Confidential State Employees"
CJA's June 19, 2013 e-mail to Assembly Rules Committee --
"Subject: Why You Must Vote
AGAINST A.246 Establishing a Special Commission on Compensation of
Managerial & Confidential State Employees"
CJA's April 26, 2013 memorandum to Assembly Ways & Means
Committee
--
"RE: (1)
Constitutional, statutory, & other infirmities of A.246 establishing 'a
special commission on compensation for state employees designated
managerial or confidential, and providing for its powers and duties';
(2) Request that the Assembly Ways and Means Committee hold a hearing on
A.246 as to its purported 'Justification', as set forth in its sponsor
memo, and to secure expert testimony on its constitutionality"
CJA's April 20, 2013 memorandum to Assembly Committee on
Governmental Employees --
"RE: (1) Constitutional, statutory, & other infirmities of A.246
establishing 'a special commission on compensation for state employees
designated managerial or confidential, and providing for its powers and
duties'; (2) Request that the Assembly Committee on Governmental
Employees hold a hearing on A.246 as to its purported 'Justification',
as set forth in its sponsor memo, and to secure expert testimony on its
constitutionality"
CJA, et al v. Cuomo, et al
click here for
Rules Reform
Resource Page
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Correspondence to the Senate
CJA's June 19, 2013 e-mail to All Senators
--
"Subject: Why You Must Vote AGAINST
S.2953
Establishing a Special Commission on Compensation of
Managerial & Confidential State Employees"
CJA's April 26, 2013 memorandum to All Senators
--
"RE: WHY YOU MUST VOTE AGAINST S.2953
establishing 'a special commission on compensation for state employees
designated managerial or confidential, and providing for its powers and
duties'"
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*
click here
for:
September 26, 2007 motion by the Association of the Bar
of the City of New York in the NY Court of Appeals to file an
amicus curiae
brief in
support of appeal in
McKinney v. NYS Dept of Health
-- moving affirmation: see para 2:
"...The
question for which plaintiffs-appellants seek leave to
appeal...is an important one...to our democratic institutions
generally. The 'legislation by inaction' model created by
the Enabling Legislation L.2005, ch.63, Part E..., and the
embedded potential for error or abuse in that paradigm, should
not be allowed to supplant constitutionally mandated decision
making by the Legislature.
The question for which
plaintiffs-appellants seek leave to appeal must be carefully
reviewed now because it will recur in other contexts if approved
here."
--
City Bar's
amicus curiae
brief, October 3, 2007
"...the courts below failed to
appreciate the extraordinarily broad lawmaking
powers that were granted to the Berger Commission..and created
dangerous precedent that allows legislators to relinquish their
constitutional responsibilities to enact laws and institute
policies on behalf of the voters to whom they must be
politically-accountable..." (at p. 11)
"It is no coincidence that the
parties have been unable to cite to New York precedent that
analyzes the delegations of legislative authority in a form
similar to the Berger Commission. The truth is that
the Enabling Legislation created a process of lawmaking
never before seen in the State of New York, whereby an
unelected commission was granted broad discretion to restructure
the state's delivery of services to its constituents, and whose
final recommendations have been thrust upon state residents with
the force of law without legislative review, approval or
accountability...
This novel form
of legislation is in direct conflict with representative
democracy and cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.
By failing to appreciate the breadth of authority granted to the
Berger Commission...the courts below ignored New York's
established non-delegation doctrine.
If this
legislation is allowed to stand, it will mean that lawmaking can
be shielded from public scrutiny and state policy without
accountability to New Yorkers..." (at pp. 24-5)
"One of the most unusual
features of the Enabling Legislation -- not acknowledged by the
courts below -- is the 'self-executing' mechanism by which the
recommendations formulated by an unelected commission
automatically become law...without any legislative action.
The significance of this aspect of the Enabling Legislation
cannot be overstated....
...the
Appellate Division fail[ed] to identify this key difference
between the Enabling Legislation and any other known law..."
(at pp. 28-9)
"...should this Court [of Appeals] deny Appellants' motion for
leave to appeal, and thereby permit the Enabling Legislation and
the Berger Commission's Final Report to stand, it will
set the stage for the arbitrary handling of public resources
under the guise of future temporary commissions that are not
subject to public scrutiny or accountability."
(at p. 36).
see
pages 9-10:
May 2007 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON STATE AFFAIRS OF THE
ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK:
"Supporting
Legislative Rules Reform: The Fundamentals" --
identifying the health care facilities statute as the product of a
dsyfunctional Legislature, that it intended to file amicus curiae
brief, etc., and that
--
"... no less than seven lawsuits have been filed seeking to
enjoin and/or invalidate the commission and/or its
recommendations.
... the triggering provision of the enabling
legislation required the Governor or the Legislature to
specifically negate the recommendations ... in order to prevent
them from taking effect."
Bronx
Supreme Court Justice Brigantti-Hughes' March 8, 2007 decision
in
Mary McKinney v NYS Dept of Health
Appellate Division, Fourth Department's
July 18, 2007 decision in St. Joseph Hospital v Novello, NYS Dept of Health
Commissioner -- with dissent by Justice Fahey,
who would have held the statute unconstitutional
click
here for more on:
the unprecedented health facilities statute
challenged
in the McKinney & St. Joseph Hospital cases,
covered up by the courts
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CJA's June 19, 2013 request to Assembly Public Information Office
for Records Pertaining to Committee Action on
A.246
June 26, 2013 response from Assembly
Public Information Office
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--
click here for:
website
of Organization of NYS Management
Confidential Employees
July 1, 2013: "Breaking News"
July 8, 2013: "Breaking News"
July 19, 2013: "Breaking News"
July 30, 2013: "Breaking News"
August 15, 2013: "Breaking News"
August 20, 2013: "Breaking News"
September 5, 2013: "Breaking News"
September 17, 2013: "Breaking News", updated 9/25/13
November 16, 2013: homepage, with attached letter from Sen.
Maziarz
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September 16, 2013 letter to
Governor from AFL-CIO
2011 bulletin from Division of Budget
February 27, 2015
Press In Action
Albany Times Union
April 16, 2013: "Raising
the salary bar for some state workers:
Pending bill establishes panel to study, mandate certain pay
increases", Albany Times Union, Rick
Karlin
April 22,
2013: "Step
raises coming for some: Many midlevel staff to get step raises or longevity
bonuses", Albany Times Union, Rick Karlin
April 29, 2013:
"An
unfair pay impasse",
Albany Times-Union
editorial
CJA's April 30, 2013 email to Editorial Page Editor Jay
Jochnowitz -- "Subject: Clarifying &/or Retracting Your
Albany Times Union Editorial -- 'An unfair pay impasse',
4/29/13"
Jay Jochnowitz' April 30, 2013 e-mail -- "Subject: Re:
Clarifying &/or Retracting Your Albany Times-Union
Editorial -- 'An unfair pay impasse', 4/29/13"
CJA's April 30, 2013 e-mail
-- "Subject: Thanks --
Re:
Clarifying &/or Retracting Your Albany Times Union
Editorial -- 'An unfair pay impasse', 4/29/13"
June 12, 2013:
"MC's
put their stock in a pay commission", Albany Times
Union, Rick Karlin
June 13, 2013: "State
managers push for raises: Five years with no raises,
non-union mix seeks action in bill",
Albany Times Union, Rick Karlin
June 21, 2013: "M/C
pay bill heads to Cuomo's desk", Albany Times
Union, Casey Seiler
CJA's
June 21, 2013 e-mail --
"Subject: Times-Union coverage of the bill creating a special
commission on compensation of managerial and confidential state
employees"
June
28, 2013: "Letter:
Restore raises,
payments due to state employees"
September 18, 2013: "Cuomo
weighs pay panel for M/C jobs", Rick Karlin
September 24, 2013: "Unfreeze
pay for managers"
September 27, 2013: "If
it's Friday night; Cuomo's signing/vetoing bills",
Casey Seiler
September
28,
2013: "Cuomo
votes M/C pay bill; OMCE is upset", Casey Seiler
September 28, 2013: "Cuomo's
Friday Night Massacre: Cuomo's signings, vetos", Casey
Seiler
January 22, 2013: "OMCE
seeks relief in 30 days", Rick Karlin
December 17, 2014: "Deja
veto: M/C/ pay commission rejected by Cuomo",
Rick
Karlin
Schenectady Gazette
April 23,
2013: "Some
non-unionized state workers getting raises" , Schenectady Gazette,
David Lombardo
New York World-Columbia University
The New York World -- "Track the action in Albany"
CJA's May 9, 2013 e-mail to The New York World -- "Subject:
Your Invitation for Suggestions of Bills for Inclusion in Your
'New York Legislative Bill Tracker"
CJA's
June 19, 2013 e-mail to The New York World
-- "What kind of 'accountability journalism' -- indeed, ethical
responsibility -- do they teach at Columbia University Graduate
School of Journalism?"
CJA's June 21, 2013 e-mail to The New York World -- "Yes!
Absolutely!"
CJA's attached May 7, 2013 e-mail
New York Daily News
June 4, 2013: "CIVIL
SERVICE: State managers seek raises to bring their salaries
higher than those of subordinates", Reuven Blau
CJA's June 20, 2013 e-mail to Reuven Blau - "Subject: Your
June 4th article: CIVIL SERVICE: State Managers seek raises to
bring their salaries higher than those of subordinates"
Reuven Blau's June 20, 2013 e-mail -- "Subject: RE: Your
June 4th article: CIVIL SERVICE: State
Managers seek raises to bring their salaries higher than those
of subordinates" "
CJA's
June 21, 2013 e-mail to Reuven Blau -- "Subject: Taking
the Lead: The Scandal that Will End William Thompson's Mayoral
Campaign -- & Bring Down a 'Who's Who' -- Beginning with
Governor Cuomo..."
July 1, 2013 article: "Civil
Service: State managers want Gov. Cuomo to sign bill that could
end five-year wait for pay raises", Reuven Blau
September 30, 2013 article: "Civil
Service: Gov. Cuomo vetoes bill to raise pay for 8,000 state
managers and confidential secretaries", Reuven Blau
Syracuse Post Standard
September 18, 2013 article "DeFrancisco
bill could give pay raises to $9,000 New Yorkers", Teri
Weaver
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CJA's Rules Reform webpages
Rules Reform
Resource Page -- including 2004, 2006, 2008 Brennan Center Reports
Senate Rules
Reform Resource Page -- including transcripts, videos, & reports of
the 2009 Temporary Senate Committee on Rules & Administration Reform
Assembly
Rules Reform Resource Page
Championing appropriate rules &
leadership for the New York State Legislature
The People Lead -- Securing Passage of The Public Trust Act
& a Properly-Functioning Legislature
Fighting Off Progeny of the Judicial
Compensation Statute (S-2953: A-246) & Securing a Functioning Legislative
Process
click here for: MENU OF CJA's JUDICIAL COMPENSATION WEBPAGES
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