Sally Robinson, sally.s.robinson@gmail.com, and
Jennifer Wilson, jennifer@lwvny.org
Current Legislative Action
At the moment our legislative activity is focusing primarily on voting and ethics. Governor Cuomo once again included early voting in his state budget proposals but without funding. We will be submitting testimony to the Public Protection Budget Committee advocating for funding to support early voting. We will also be submitting testimony to the Local Government Budget Committee urging them to pass the Governor’s proposed Article VII legislation on ethics and campaign finance, including closing the LLC loophole, limiting outside income and more.
Rally on Early Voting
On Tuesday, January 23rd, the League participated in a rally to advocate for including funding for early voting in the state budget. The rally was organized by the coalition LetNYVote. LetNYVote is a coalition of grassroots organizations, unions, and other advocacy groups. The rally was a huge success with over 100 attendees including nearly 30 League members. After the rally, some League members lobbied their Senators and Assembly Members on this issue. We were very happy to see so much energy and enthusiasm surrounding early voting. Look at more photos on the League’s Facebook page!
Weekly Legislative Newsletter
This year the League has launched a new initiative to help keep members up-to-date on what’s going on in Albany. Our weekly legislative newsletter includes what’s happening at the Capitol, upcoming events surrounding advocacy, weekly legislative committee agendas, and weekly League news clips. The newsletter is sent to all members every Friday. If you haven’t been receiving the newsletter, check your Spam or Junk folder or email Jennifer at Jennifer@lwvny.orgto make sure you’re on the list.
Pre Budget Legislative Packet and Meetings: Early Voting
A pre-budget lobby packet is in the mail to the President and one Co-President of each local League; it was also emailed to all Presidents on Wed, Click here to view the packet of info. We are asking local Leagues to schedule lobby visits with their state Assemblymembers and Senators for the February break between February 14th and 26th to urge them to pass early voting and include funding for it in the state budget. The packet includes a support memo that can be given to the legislator, as well as background materials and FAQs on early voting. There will be a conference call on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7:00 pm for any interested in discussing this topic more, answer any questions before you lobby, etc.; email Jennifer@lwvny.org if you’d like to join the call. Please talk with your local League President or Advocacy Chair to join League members for these visits.
Advocacy Training and Lobby Day
The state League’s annual Advocacy Training and Lobby Day has been scheduled for April 24th in the NYS Museum (we’ll make sure you have time to view the special exhibit at the Museum on women’s suffrage history, too). Any member is welcome to attend. Come learn about our advocacy agenda, hear directly from the Issue Specialists about our expected action for the 2018 Legislative Session and lobby your own legislators. Click here to print out and mail a registration form. Click here to register online. The topics on which we will be lobbying will depend on how the budget negotiations turn out.
