THIS WEEK IN ALBANY

Senate Names Committee Assignments

The State Senate announced the chairs and members of Senate legislative committees. A full listing can be found at this link right here.  The Civil Service and Pensions Committee was originally slated to be led by Senator Larkin, however, he declined the appointment shortly after being named. At this point it is not known who will chair this committee.

We are pleased to announce that Senator Joe Robach (R-Rochester), will once again chair the Senate Labor Committee.  You can find information about Senator Robach and the Senate Labor Committee here.

The Assembly has yet to name committee chairs.

DiNapoli Issues Warning on Public-Private Partnerships

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued a report on the use of public-private partnership. He said that these partnerships can be very risky because states many times undervalue an asset that it has and will get far less from a private company than the asset is actually worth. Further, Comptroller DiNapoli stated that many of these partnerships may result in the loss of jobs for public employees and diminished and more expensive service for the public.

The Cuomo administration has indicated that they make look towards public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure projects.

Medicaid Redesign Team Meets

The Medicaid redesign team, established by Governor Cuomo, met publicly for the first time on Thursday. The team is charged with creating both short-term and long-term solutions to help make the Medicaid system more cost efficient. The team contains representatives from the health care industry, government, organized labor, and other advocacy groups.

The team is expected to release an initial report by March 1st but will continue to meet throughout the remainder of the year to develop long-term changes.