New York Voters to Decide Four Propositions on Election Day
by Matis Glenn – Hamodia
In addition to the many names New York voters will see on election day, four propositions will be voted on directly by New York residents. Typically, state and city lawmakers draft and pass bills on their own, without voters’ direct input. Some laws, however, require voters to weigh in on the issue themselves before they can be signed into law.
The first proposal is statewide, and would allow the state to create $4.2 billion in new debt, in an effort to address climate and environmental issues. The latter three are specific to New York City, and were recommended by the Racial Justice Commission, created in 2021 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. Those proposals seek to add a preamble to the city’s charter regarding racism and equity, create racial equity committees, and examine the “true cost of living” of city residents alongside poverty definitions and government benefit eligibility requirements.
State Senator Simcha Felder(D) says that ballot proposals usually cause more harm than good. “As a general rule…I vote no on any of the of the proposals, because overwhelmingly, they are not helpful, and they’re hurtful,” Felder told Hamodia. “And in those rare instances where something sounds good, they really can take care of it without a proposal.”
City Councilman Kalman Yeger(D) says that ballot proposals in general are a government overreach. “When government has to ask you to do something, there’s usually a good reason not to do it,” Yeger told Hamodia. “Don’t give government any more permission than they already have.”
In 2021, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the statewide Clean Air, Clean Water, and Green Jobs Bond Act, which the State Senate and Assembly voted to leave up to the voters, but the bill was delayed due to the pandemic. Governor Kathy Hochul amended the proposal this year, adding $1.2 billion in debt allowance, and once again state lawmakers voted to put the issue on the ballot.
The text of the proposal, the first on the ballot, says that the debt and spending are necessary to build projects which are “intended to mitigate flood damage, protect natural resources, conserve land and natural spaces, and improve water quality and infrastructure.”
Yeger says that the proposals will increase an already high state debt. “Our state already owes $160 billion, and they want to borrow more?”
Progressives say that the proposed debt increase isn’t enough.
“Done right, this is the seed of a transformation,” Rebecca Bratspies, a professor of environmental law at the CUNY School of Law told NY1 News. “It’s not the transformation, but it could be the driving force for it.”
Elizabeth Moran, an Albany-based policy advocate at EarthJustice, told The City that the move is a good start, but the state needs to “invest far more when it comes to addressing the climate crisis.”
Proposal two is to add a preamble to the city’s charter, stating a “vision toward…a just and equitable city for all New Yorkers” and a commitment to fix “past and continuing harms and to reconstruct, revise, and reimagine our foundations, structures, institutions, and laws to promote justice and equity for all New Yorkers.”
Proposal three is to create an Office of Racial Equity, a Commission on Racial Equity, and to require a citywide Racial Equity Plan every two years.
Proposal four is to create a “true cost of living” measure to track how much it costs for people to live in New York City, taking into account housing, food, childcare, transportation, and other costs, “in order to inform programmatic and policy decisions.”
Currently, the state recognizes regional economic variations from the federal baseline of poverty, but it includes government assistance as income relating to the poverty status; this proposal would change that.
Andrew Rein, at the Citizens Budget Commission told The City that there’s “logic for the measure” and it “might very well be useful,” but said it lacks specificity.
He points to not taking housing assistance into account. “Are you saying that you should figure out what the housing market would be in New York without NYCHA supporting it? Or rent-stabilized apartments?” He asked.
“There’s really a lot of complexity…What is outlined here is a good start, but really, it would probably be much better if it were refined.”
Though it might sound as if the proposal might pave the way to take into account expenses such as Yeshiva tuition, the cost of kosher food, and other things that are essential to the Orthodox community, Yeger says this isn’t so, and that the wording is misleading. “That’s what they want you to think,” Yeger said. He pointed out that the text of the proposal says that the findings would be “reported alongside metrics used to measure poverty or set eligibility for public benefits,” not that the metrics would directly determine eligibility for government assistance.
Felder says that if the government doesn’t want to approve something, a ballot proposal won’t usually make a difference. On the issue of taking the Orthodox community’s unique needs into consideration, he says that he’s run into roadblocks. State senators are given funding for public relations, to be used on various platforms, including the internet. “A lot of that material won’t really work in this district,” Felder said. “I’m still doing mailings and newsletters, because I believe the majority of this district needs to get things in the mail, and they’re not going to get it from social media.” Felder has asked the Senate for several years to reallocate those funds to something he can make use of, but they have refused.
Felder agrees that ballot proposals often contain misleading terms.
“It’s a no unless they[voters] understand them thoroughly,” Felder said of ballot proposals. “The language is very often intended…to be unclear, to mask what they really want to accomplish.”
“The most important thing they can do is go out and vote,” Felder added. “One person’s not registered. One person says it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to tell you if this community…came out and voted, that would be the greatest message about what has to get done.”
The deadline to submit an application for absentee voting is Monday. Early voting begins October 29, and will be open until November 6. Election day is November 8.
