Senate Proposes to Spread Service Fee

The New York Senate is poised to address a proposal on Monday that would ease the burden of custodial parents by spreading the burden of service fees between custodial and nocustodial parents.
The bill (SB 816) from Republican Senator Ken LaValle argues that the $25 fee imposed on child support payments represents a significant burden in these economic times, so it is only fair to share the cost. His memorandum suggests that this change would be especially meaningful for single parents across the state that rely on child support payments to live.
One concern raised by Democratic Senator Liz Krueger during the committee process was that this proposal represents an unfunded mandate on local municipalities, who would now have to secure fees from two people instead of one. Counsel for the majority said that this change would actually make the collection process easier, because fees are already collected from both parents.
This bill has an Assembly companion and has been proposed in both chambers in the past, but to no avail. After being unanimously passed in committee, LaValle's bill will likely fly through the Senate, especially since Republicans are unlikely to schedule a vote they could lose.

Learn from Smart Spending

The Joint Budget Conference Subcommittee on Higher Education closed on Monday after discussing the future of SUNY and CUNY and a sole no vote from Republican Assemblyman William Barclay.
One of the key issues avoided by the committee was the potential sweeping of SUNY tuition money, which Republican Chair Ken LaValle said would be addressed after the budget. This wait-and-see approach has also been seized by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who recently refused to commit to a "lock box" for SUNY tuition.
Upon questioning from Democratic Sen. Toby Stavisky, Democratic Chair Deb Glick said that the governor could still sweep funds as part of a mid-year budget reduction effort, but argued that the budget was crafted to avoid this possibility.
Highlights from the final report:
- $100 million reduction to SUNY system
- Restores $13 million in community college base aid
- Accepted the governor's proposal for capital appropriations
- Accepted $70 million in reductions to CUNY senior college
- Elimintated TAP for grad students
- Cut $6 million from the NY Higher Education Loan Program
- Authorizes SUNY and CUNY to purchase goods and execute certain contracts without prior approval of the comptroller and attorney general
Link to the full report.

The next big fight for the SUNY will be the implementation of its five-year-tuition plan, which hasn't been crafted, but will presumably include increases and some sort of provision against sweeping away their funds.

(Reporting by the StateWatch up-and-comer Corina Simonelli)

LaValle Wants Nuclear Disaster Plan

In the wake of recent concerns about nuclear safety, both abroad and in New York, Republican Senator Ken LaValle has introduced a bill (SB 4258) that would authorize the state Emergency Management Office to undertake a review of existing disaster plans for nuclear power plants in New York and then develop site specific disaster preparedness plans.
LaValle's bill argues that the threat to the nuclear power plants is greater than ever before, with a clear probability that nuclear power plants could be subject to a terrorist attack or damage from natural disaster. His memo alleges that existing disaster plans are not adequate, as they fail to prepare for a terrorist attack.
Strangely enough, though, this bill doesn't seem to focus on seismic risk, which was the danger that Cuomo's stressed during a recent press conference.
This proposal has been floated by LaValle in the past, but with no progress. The same is true in the Assembly, where the bill has been carried by Assembly Member Fred Thiele.

Subcommittee's SUNY Hike

On Monday the issue of SUNY tuition increases were addressed by the budget subcommittee on higher education, which basically agreed to continue behind doors negotiations.
One positive sign for SUNY was the emergence of a consensus that the state should not continue the practice of sweeping money away from higher education into other areas, as the state has recently done to cover insufficient areas. There was a certain level of disagreement about the tuition increases, though, as Republican Chair Ken LaValle endorsed a rational progressive tuition hike, while Democratic Chair Deborah Glick was more hesitant about proceeding with increases. She said that it would be important to get an idea of what SUNY officials consider a "rational" increase.
SUNY Chair Nancy Zimpher previously addressed the need to reconsider tuition rates at a previous budget hearing, when she expressed the need for a five-year tuition plan.
Additionally, she noted that over the last 48 years SUNY has only raised its tuition 13 times, to the point where it is $4,970 now.
Zimpher has never really addressed what kind of plan she would want to see, but at Monday's meeting, Glick said she heard that SUNY officials want a 75% increase over the next five year. Glick supported increases to ensure a premier education system and though that a tuition plan needs to be addressed in the future.
(Editor's Note: Reporting by Sean Ewart of StateWatch)