During the past legislative session in Albany, 33 bills sponsored by state Sen. James Skoufis were approved by both houses, placing him among the most productive lawmakers in the upper chamber.
He ranked third among 62 state senators—behind only Sens. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Michelle Hinchey—in terms of the number of bills passed by the Legislature this year, according to an analysis of data from the state Senate’s Open Legislation portal.
A Cornwall-based Democrat and a third-term state senator, Mr. Skoufis represents most Orange County municipalities except for the Newburgh and Montgomery areas.
About one-third of these bills are local in nature and don’t affect other parts of the state, such as allowing the Town of Wawayanda to levy a hotel tax and designating a portion of state highway in the Town of Wallkill to a deceased wartime veteran.
Bills with statewide effects include one that removes a regulatory burden for small distilleries and cideries by allowing direct intrastate and interstate shipment, one that establishes a maximum temperature in public school classrooms, and another that requires every municipality in the state to maintain a basic website that is accessible to the public.
Mr. Skoufis recently told The Epoch Times that several of his statewide bills have been in the works for many sessions and only got past the finish line this year with persistence and focus.
“People think, ‘Oh, well, as long as you are in the majority, you are fine,’” he said. “[But] within my own party, our ideologies, our geography, our backgrounds, and our interests are quite diverse—I’d say I’m on the center-left, pragmatic side of the Democratic conference—and sometimes it takes one or two vocal colleagues to cause issues for a bill.
Bill S2852A
One such demanding bill is S2852A, which amends the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law to allow direct shipment for craft beverage makers. As the bill moved along in the state Legislature, especially in the Assembly, it invited strong opposition from two major distributors.The bill or part of it had passed the Senate several times before but died in the lower house.
Within the last several days of the legislative session, the Assembly leadership indicated to Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, the prime sponsor of the bill in the lower house, that if she could secure 85 votes in the majority, the bill could be brought to the floor for a vote.
“I spent hours over on the Assembly side working with [Ms. Lupardo], going through the list of all the members and calling them one by one,” said Mr. Skoufis, who had served in the Assembly for six years before being elected senator. “We got exactly 85 Democratic yes votes.”
He said he immediately requested the Senate leadership to move it to the floor, with about 24 hours remaining in the session, but was told there was just not enough time left.
“I rallied a dozen colleagues and made an emotional pitch that we should add this bill,” Mr. Skoufis said. “It was literally the final bill that we voted on before gaveling out for the session.
“This is an example of ... how much effort is put into getting some of these larger or meaningful bills across the finish line.”
Other statewide bills of his include extending the effective duration of temporary permits for retail liquor sales, requiring that candidates appear on the ballots in descending order based on the size of the electorate, and clarifying standards for prompt investigations and settlements of insurance claims arising out of states of emergency and disasters.
Unfinished Business of Congestion Toll
Toward the end of the six-month legislative session, Ms. Hochul moved to halt the years-in-the-making congestion toll program originally set to take effect in June.Enacted by a 2019 state law, the first-in-the-nation congestion toll program charges most drivers $15 for entering the busiest part of Manhattan. The program aims to ease traffic and raise money for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA).
Mr. Skoufis, who has opposed the toll because it would place extra burdens on Hudson Valley commuters, said he welcomed the suspension while acknowledging the remaining challenge of finding money elsewhere to fill an MTA budget hole as large as $1 billion.
“We operate an over $230 billion state budget, and there is plenty of spending in that budget that I think warrants reevaluation and that we can then redirect, if we so choose, to fill this budget hole,” he said, suggesting that the state’s film tax credit program could be a starting point.
Under the program, funded at about $700 million annually through 2034, qualified companies can receive tax credits for up to 30 percent of their production costs.
“I am hypersensitive to establishing any new taxes on my constituents to fill this [MTA budget] hole,” he said.
A special session can be called anytime to address the unfinished MTA business. When that happens, Mr. Skoufis hopes the Assembly will find time to pick up a few more of his bills, such as one that allows for the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, and another that gets New York to join a multi-state voter list maintenance organization.
