The 2022 New York state legislative session is getting underway and we’ve been checking in with area lawmakers to discuss their priorities. WAMC's Jim Levulis spoke with Assemblyman Jake Ashby, a Rensselaer County Republican from the 107th District, about his goals for the session.
Ashby: Well our top priorities legislatively, is that there's a couple bills that we had been pushing last session that gained some traction, passed the Assembly. And we weren't able to get them over the line in the Senate. But I think we may be successful this time. And then another bill that we've been pushing for and my colleague, Didi Barrett has recently written legislation kind of mimicking our bill. And actually taking it a step further that I'm excited about. So the first bill that I was referencing, was a Catalina Cruz bill that she and I had been working on together, it's the Staff Sergeant Alex Jimenez Parole in Place bill, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for family members of service members. And this bill passed the Assembly last year. And we're looking forward to pushing it again this year and getting it over the line. There's federal legislation or federal policy in place that supports this, and this bill would provide state resources helping those who qualify for it to gain citizenship. And then the other bill, the Didi Barrett bill is off of a bill that we had written last year that would elevate the Division of Veterans Services to a state agency. And, you know, I was really pleased to hear over the summer that Didi had written legislation based off of what we were looking at. And, actually, to her credit, my bill was a study aimed at doing this, and her bill cuts out the study and just elevates the division to a state agency. So really happy to see that she's taken the time and consideration to do this. And we've gained a lot of support on this. The VFW, the American Legion, other veterans advocacy groups around the state that we've been hearing from have really come out strongly in favor of this.
Levulis: And what in your mind are the benefits of elevating that entity to an agency status?
Ashby: So right now, many of the programming that our veterans are eligible for and their families are eligible for goes through different state agencies. So the very popular and well known Joseph P. Dwyer Peer to Peer Program is funded through the Office of Mental Health. This bill would, I think, not only enhance and provide counties that are currently being excluded from receiving funding for the Dwyer program, but it would also put it under a fully resourced and funded state agency rather than the Office of Mental Health. It would be an agency or department under their auspices. Educational benefits that go through the state education department would now go under a state agency. It would provide the commissioner of this agency a seat at the budget table during negotiations. It would give them a line in the budget rather than having to piecemeal funding through different agencies for this so it would solidify a lot of programs that are in place, and then also increase their eligibility for federal funding. So many other states that have gone through this process within the last decade and even before have been able to increase their funding levels and increase the quality of their programs because of their eligibility for federal funding.
Levulis: We've been talking about some veterans issues, you are the ranking minority member of the Assembly's Veterans Affairs Committee and an Army veteran. What's your assessment of how New York has handled the COVID 19 pandemic when it comes to the veteran community?
Ashby: Well, again I think if we had a state agency in place that was more robust and fully funded and had better resources, that we would have a better idea of this. Right now it's fractured. Because much of the program that we see throughout New York State is done through the Department of Veterans Affairs, it's done at the federal level. And down in New York City, they have their own kind of separate veterans entity down there that's funded through the city and it's very well resourced. And so that leaves the remainder of veterans throughout the state really to fend for themselves in ways. There's gaps in these areas. There's gaps between the federal and the state area where I feel like a better resourced and fully funded agency could make up for that. And there's a lot of opportunity there. There's a lot of possibility and I think support to go for this. So, for instance, when we have a veteran that's in the North Country, depending on their problem, they have to travel down to the Stratton VA [in Albany], or to Syracuse. You know, there are ways that the state can help bridge that gap and because of the pandemic, I mean, there's short staffing going on. There's decreases in supply, you know, how are we at the state, able to bridge these gaps. There are community based outpatient centers that are located in the North Country that aren't really communicating very well to whatever VA or VISN [Veterans Integrated Service Network] that they are attached to. Can the state help out with that? I think they can. And I think it's incumbent upon us to look at ways that we can do that.
Levulis: You've also been advocating with Capital Region Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, a Democrat, for New York to do more in regards to resettling those fleeing Afghanistan. What in your mind should the state be doing?
Ashby: I think the state should be putting more pressure on our federal representatives to get involved. And I know that some of our federal representatives are asserting themselves and are really trying to push the administration into becoming more involved and helping, you know, these people that have risked their lives for us for the last 20 years and their families. You know, not to mention that we still have US citizens over there. We need to be taking more of an active role in pushing for their extraction, and their resettlement and whatever way that may look like. We have fantastic agencies across the Capitol District and across the state that helps immigrants and their families. And you know, New York could really I think, set a good example here by pushing harder for this.
Levulis: Turning to the new legislative session, Governor Kathy Hochul is set to deliver her first State of the State Address. What do you expect to hear from it? What would you like to hear from her?
Ashby: I would like to hear a plan for how to attract people to come to New York State. I think the population loss that our state has seen over the last couple years in particular, is very disturbing. And you know, I don't think there's a single piece of legislation out there that's going to solve this issue. I think it needs to have bipartisan and a balanced support. I'm hopeful that our governor will take an honest look at this, and consider that. Not a partisan approach, but a balanced approach to attracting people back to our state and discourage them from leaving.
Levulis: In regard to COVID protocols, do you think that state lawmakers should be meeting in-person? There's the ability to start off virtually for the first few days of session.
Ashby: I think we should be meeting in-person. I think there are ways that we can mitigate risk. We have agency over this disease. You know, we've proved that through vaccination efforts. We need to be taking a step forward into this. I know that case numbers are very high right now. Our healthcare professionals are under a lot of pressure. But I think we need to be I think we need to be stepping into this and being smart about it. You know, if we start to see hospitals being, you know, overwhelmed, you know, census levels increasing to the point where they're very high in our ICUs then obviously, we can we can reassess. But right now the case numbers are alarmingly high, but also the severity of illness is not what it had been.
Levulis: And as part of her state of the state address, Governor Hochul has already said that she plans to institute term limits for New York's for statewide elected offices – that’s governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller – limiting them to two consecutive terms. The governor also says she will propose legislation to ban earned outside income for people in those positions. Would you support those moves?
Ashby: I believe I would. I mean, I'd have to take a further look into you know, how they're written. But you know, based on what I'm hearing, you know, I think term limits are a good idea for those offices. And, you know, the proposal for outside income, you know, again, have to take a look at it, but on its face, yes, I would support them.
Levulis: Overall, what's been your impression of working with the Hochul administration, in office since August?
Ashby: I haven't had much of an opportunity, you know, to sit down face to face or anything like that. But, the time that we have had, in terms of listening to briefings and communicating, you know, at different levels has been good. I think that the governor could have handled things a little bit differently in terms of mask mandates and the enforceability with that, and maybe looking to them how other states including Massachusetts, how they've gone about it. You know, but that's, that's not new, you know, New York, we like to be different, for better for worse than a lot of ways. But I'm hopeful that, you know, being a new governor, she'll want to come in and build good relationships and take a more balanced approach.
Levulis: And your district does border Western Massachusetts, where retail sales of recreational marijuana have been underway for years. Now New York is in the process of finalizing how the retail side of things will work here. And communities, meanwhile, have been deciding whether to allow dispensaries and/or on-site consumption. What are your thoughts on recreational marijuana retail stores opening in your district, the 107th?
Ashby: Well I support the idea of the municipalities making the decision for themselves. I think they should have the autonomy to do that. And it's interesting to see how it's playing out. You know, I've heard from a lot of municipalities that they are going to permit stores to sell but I haven't seen very many that have gone forward with the notion of having a lounge for consumption. So, you know, I support their, their own decision making with that, and it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out because we share, you know, that border with Massachusetts.
