cuomo

Press release from Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

“(Jan. 11) During the State of the State the governor talked a lot about his solutions, his ideas, and how he knew better than anybody else the pain New Yorkers have endured," Hawley said.

"The response was characteristic of the governor’s handling of this pandemic, as he’s now for months clung onto his emergency powers while everyday New Yorkers have been left voiceless as their communities wither.

"This pandemic is too great a challenge for one man to take on alone, and the people of our state deserve to have their concerns brought to light by the representatives they elected to do so.”

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley joined in a letter with his Assembly Republican colleagues to call on Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to demand the Legislature pass legislation to curb Gov. Cuomo’s emergency powers, which have persisted since March.

The governor has used his emergency powers to implement several directives unilaterally, and Hawley believes his emergency authority has been too expansive and lasted too long.

“New Yorkers deserve a return to representative government,” Hawley said. “The problems that have emerged during this pandemic are too complex for one man to handle, and our constituents deserve to have their concerns voiced by the representatives they elected to speak on behalf of their unique districts.

"The Governor failed the people of our state in 2020 with mismanagement of this pandemic which left businesses in countless industries closed and without income for far too long, and we owe it to them to do better and take local factors more strongly into consideration before shutting down local businesses that people rely on to feed their families.”

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Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley voted "yes" on an amendment, introduced by the Minority Conference that would have taken large steps to ensure that the governor’s executive powers wouldn’t continue.

Since the start of the statewide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Cuomo has issued 36 executive orders that impose a range of rules and regulations, from business closings to election process overhauls.

Hawley believes steps to curb that power will return the state to the more familiar democratic republic that New Yorkers expect.

However, despite the clear need for curtailing of executive privilege and overreaching of authority, the Downstate politicians voted down this amendment, keeping the governor’s power absolute. Despite this setback, Hawley is just as determined to fight and hold the Majority and the governor accountable.

“In the early stages of a pandemic, getting all of your ducks in a row is incredibly important, and the use of executive privilege in handling a crisis early on was important,” Hawley said. “However, with the decline in positive cases and the return of the legislature, it’s high time that clearer boundaries be made for what is and is not acceptable for the governor to do.

"This amendment would have restored the checks and balances system that is so crucial to our democracy. It’s a shame that my colleagues in the majority couldn’t recognize this, because it leaves the door open for power abuse and manipulation in the future. That’s no future I want to see in this state, so I will be fighting diligently to return the checks and balances.”

Specific provisions of the proposed legislation included:

• County-by-County Declaration – All state of emergency declarations would be done on a county-by-county basis rather than statewide, with a detailed explanation for each county based on the specific facts and circumstances of such county justifying the emergency declaration.
• Limited Duration – All emergency declarations would automatically end within 30 days, and could be extended by the governor for an additional 15 days. No other extension could occur without being authorized by the state Legislature.
• Local Authority – The county executive, chairperson of a county legislature would be able to request that the governor terminate any state of emergency that applies to their respective county. If the governor does not grant the request, he must provide the specific reasons why the request was denied.
• Due Process – Any Executive Order that impairs freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, the equal protection of the law, the loss of liberty or property, or other fundamental constitutional rights would be subject to due process review, in a manner specified in the Executive Order and subject to independent judicial review.

Press release:

Deputy Minority Leader Steve Hawley today called for a return to established state government operations, processes and legislative powers.

In partnership with Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, Hawley has said the time has come for Gov. Cuomo’s emergency powers are to come to an end. This is a response to the declining number of positive cases of COVID-19 throughout the state, as well as with the reopening of the state on the horizon.

“The emergency powers Gov. Cuomo gave himself were helpful at the time, when mitigating the spread of the virus was needed most,” Hawley said. “As we see positive cases of COVID-19 on the decline, and the reopening process begins to commence, it’s also time for the representative government to reassert itself as the voice of the people and resume its regular duties.

“The important decisions made moving forward could very well decide the fate of the state for the foreseeable future. With questions like the reopening process and the budget hole needing to be dealt with, it’s the right of the people to have their voices heard through their representation.”

Through state actions including mandating social distancing and requiring of nonessential workers to stay at home in order to mitigate the spread of the virus, hospitalizations, infection rates, and deaths have seen a steady decline.

On April 20, in partnership with the Assembly Minority, Hawley called on the governor to consider their plan of reopening the state on a region-by-region basis. Gov. Cuomo has presented his own framework for reopening the state region by region, but by his criteria, no part of the state is yet ready to do so.

The issue of emergency powers was exacerbated when, on May 9, Gov. Cuomo pushed the deadline of emergency powers to June 6 through yet another executive order. In partnership with the minority party, Hawley is again calling for Gov. Cuomo to relinquish his emergency power as the state continues to move forward with its reopening plans unabated.

Photo: A garbage bin outside a parole office filled with discarded voter registration forms that were given to parolees by parole officers.

Submitted photo and information from Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

According to information obtained by Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia), a memo has been issued directing all department parole officers to begin presenting newly pardoned felons with voter registration forms, help them complete the process of registering to vote, and help them locate the local Board of Elections during the course of their taxpayer-funded duties.

It is from Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci of New York State Corrections and Community Supervision, a department under Gov. Cuomo.

The three-page memo, dated May 22, was circulated to all bureau chiefs, all chiefs of the Parole Violation Unit, all senior parole officers, and all parole revocation specialists. CC'd on the memo were executive, associate and assistant commissioners, the director of Internal Operations, regional directors, assistant regional directors, the director of Executive Clemency and the deputy chief of the Parole Violation Unit.

Executive Order 181 "Restoring the Right to Vote for Parolees" states in part “…the Parole Officer must also provide the recipient (of the pardon certificate) with the NYS Voter Registration Form and the NYS Voting Rights form…The Parole Officer must be prepared to assist the parolee with filling out the registration form and the Parole Officer is responsible for providing information regarding the location of the local Board of Elections.”

It says this "requires high priority attention..." and at the bottom of the memo is this: "PLEASE NOTE: This is a priority initiative and needs to be completed as soon as possible."

“This is the most outlandish abuse of power and taxpayer-funded resources I’ve witnessed in my time as a legislator,” Hawley said. “Gov. Cuomo is using state employees as campaign workers to register recently paroled felons to vote. Absolutely outrageous.”

The memo dictates detailed instructions for corrections employees on how to execute pardons and help parolees register to vote and does not specify that this be done outside the purview of their official, taxpayer-funded duties.

“This governor continues to use our money as his money and there seems to be no bound to how autocratic his tenure has become,” Hawley continued. “It’s very possible that there is added pressure on Parole Officers to hit some sort of ‘quota’ on registrations ahead of the governor’s upcoming gubernatorial primary.”