From the Morning Memo:
The elements are there for a mega deal in three weeks.
With rent control due to be renewed at the end of June, lawmakers could — and likely will — cram the re-approval measure into a broader omnibus bill.
This, in Albany parlance, has come to be called the big ugly, a package of disparate issues put together often at the last minute as deals are struck with a clicking tock in the background. Albany is a deadline driven place and deadlines often help cast final deals into stone.
This year, lawmakers are also debating measures to legalize gestational surrogacy and commercial marijuana, as well as mobile sports betting and whether to allow access to driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants.
So far this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sought to prod the Legislature along — signaling out the Democrats in the state Senate in particular — to take action.
Cuomo argues the accomplishments gotten done so far — gun control, protections for transgender New Yorkers, strengthening the state’s abortion laws — are essentially low-hanging fruit for a Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Wednesday brushed off Cuomo’s criticism, suggesting he gets “stressed” as the session draws to a close.
And she’s hopeful large-scale deals can be reached — whether or not they are ultimately included in one giant bill.
“I never say no, but our hope is that we’ll be able to come to a consensus on a lot of things so that the big ugly as they say will neither be big nor ugly,” she said. “Our eye is focused on getting things done.”