Policy Update, September 2020

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Hi All,I hope this email finds everyone well. September has been very busy in New York and below is an update on high-profile state and city-level action. Please let me know if you have any questions.Also, please be on the lookout for a calendar hold for Tuesday, October 6th at 4:00PM for a Zoom policy update. On this video call we’ll discuss the upcoming election, likely post-election legislative priorities in New York, and talk through what’s detailed below. All the best,Ryan

Detailed Below

• NYS’s Contract Tracing App launched yesterday (10/1)

  • The app can be found in iOS and Android app stores.

  • If you’re reading this on your phone, the app can be downloaded here.

• The NYS Senate’s Antitrust Hearing

  • Tech:NYC submitted written testimony. 

• Anticipated Timing of a NYS Budget Update

• Digital Ads Tax & Revenue Raisers

• LGA AirTrain

• What to Expect Post-Election

• Tech Favorability in NYC

• The Mayor’s Highest Priority in Albany: NYC Borrowing

• Outdoor Dining

• The Mayor’s Other Most Recent Actions

• The NYC Council’s Most Recent Actions

• 2021 NYC Races

New York State Updates

NY’s Contact Tracing App

• Yesterday, New York State launched a contact tracing app to help contain COVID-19. You can find links to download it here.

  • Tech:NYC, along with the state Department of Health, convened engineering talent to build the app.

• If possible, please ask your executive leadership team to encourage NY-based employees to download the app. Suggested language:

  • Governor Cuomo is rolling out COVID Alert NY, a new contact tracing app developed with support from Tech:NYC, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Google, Apple, and others. Using privacy-protecting bluetooth technology, the app alerts users who have been in close proximity to someone who reports testing positive for COVID-19, and offers instructions for what to do next to stop the spread. To learn more and download the app on your phone, click here.

• Please help us encourage others to download the app by re-tweeting the Governor’s announcement and/or this tweet about privacy protections.

• If you’d like to go a step further, please see here for the Governor’s Toolkit to assist with promoting the app. Thank you for helping us spread the word!

• Here’s how the app works:

  • Phones that have downloaded the app are assigned a random ID that can be exchanged with other phones via Bluetooth technology.

  • Devices that are within six feet of each other for 10 minutes or longer exchange those random IDs.

  • If a person tests positive and reports it on the app, a notification goes out to those with whom they had close contact alerting them of potential exposure.

  • The app also serves as a resource hub of daily case count numbers and informs users of the steps they can take to prevent further virus spread.

• It’s also designed with privacy in mind: 

  • It uses secure Bluetooth technology, not GPS, that can only detect when two devices are in proximity to each other, not geographic location. It doesn’t collect users’ data on their location or movement.

  • The random ID assigned to your device changes every 15 minutes, and users are not identified to other users, nor is their personal identifiable information shared — not with other users, Google, Apple, or the Department of Health.

NYS Senate Antitrust Hearing

• Introduced in July 2020, S.8700 would broadly expand the state’s antitrust law by including the European dominance standard for civil and criminal liability. The bill would also create a private right of action and enhance penalties far above federal law.

• Chances of passing: This is a continuation of Senator Gianaris’ anti-Amazon crusade. As Deputy Majority Leader, he typically gets what he wants so pushing back on this legislation will be a challenge. However, reasonable Senators understand the negative effects this bill would have on the state’s economy if passed.

• Hearing Summary: 

  • We submitted written testimony but did not testify in person.

  • No tech company or tech organization aside from Yelp and NetChoice testified.

  • AG Tish James herself testified in-person, which is rare and shows her office sees this as a priority. We will be engaging her office on this. 

  • We have already spoken with Senator Giananris about the bill and will continue to work with his office here.

• Next Steps:

  • Senator Gianaris has stated this bill is still in the development phase, he is considering amendments and the bill would be considered in earnest starting in January of 2021.

  • Process-wise, an Assembly hearing could be held but it is unlikely.

  • As this bill is specifically being positioned as an anti-tech bill, Tech:NYC will continue to engage and play an active role in the debate. We see our most important job here as reminding legislators the crucial role the tech sector plays in the broader state’s economy.

Anticipated Timing of a NYS Budget Update

• The Governor has made no budget cuts since March; instead, he’s held back 20% of some state funding.

  • The legislature has answered by threatening to come back to Albany to raise taxes.

    • Several legislators have told us that this is largely for show since the election is so soon and raising taxes is a tough vote for some incumbents.

• Despite these threats, the state legislature is not expected to come back to Albany until after the election.

  • The one exception is if the state needs to approve borrowing authority for NYC. More on that below.

• The Governor continues to maintain that he’s hoping for federal aid, and lobbies in support of federal aid for state and local governments through his position as Chair of the National Governors Association. The US House passed a bill this week that included $436B in local aid, although a deal with the Senate and White House is unknown. The Governor historically is strictly anti new-taxes, although it is expected that COVID-19 may be an exception due to the state’s massive deficit.

• We should expect a serious conversation on new taxes to happen in earnest after November or in January, both because the Governor wants to wait as long as possible before cutting services or raising taxes, and because it could damage the reelection chances of several Dems in the Senate who give the Senate their majority.    

Digital Ads Tax & Revenue Raisers

• Individual Senators have told us that a digital ads tax is not being seriously considered by their conference. Instead, these four proposals are being seriously considered, which the Senate believes will rise $5B in revenue:

  • Income tax increases on those making $3M or more with a potential sunset

  • Expedite casino placements in NYC

  • Increase corporate income taxes (taking back last year’s decrease)

  • Increase LLC fees

• Senators have acknowledged that they will only of course be able to get done what the Governor agrees to because he can veto whatever they pass. So this will be an ongoing negotiation. We continue to talk to legislators and the Governor’s office on this issue.

LaGuardia Airport AirTrain Project

• On September 23, we testified in support of the project at an FAA regulatory hearing.

• If you support the LGA AirTrain project, please click here to submit a pre-filled letter.

• Support for the Project: Some transit advocates and community groups wanted dedicated bus lanes instead of a train and for this reason, two in-district elected officials for the area oppose the project - State Senator Jessica Ramos and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But in-district Assemblyman Jeffron Aubrey is supportive, as is the Governor, and all other Queens elected officials and business organizations.  

What to Expect Post-Election

• Senate Democrats are expected to grow their majority.

  • They currently have a 40 to 23 majority.

  • With 10 Senate Republicans retiring, Democrats are the heavy favorites to win four seats although three Democratic incumbents are in close reelection fights.

    • All four Democratic pick-up opportunities are seats from outside NYC.

  • Senate Democrats need 42 seats for a veto-proof majority and are expected to achieve this number. The Assembly already has a veto-proof majority with 103 Democratic members compared to only 42 Republicans. A veto-proof majority could lead to more policy and budgetary battles between the Legislature and the Executive.

• If President Trump is re-elected, expect:

  • The legislature to come back into session before January to pass revenue raisers.

  • For legislation, e.g. privacy, antitrust, employment classification, and other bills that affect the tech industry to pass next session which begins in January.

  • The most progressive activists to set the agenda.

  • For the Governor to meet the moment and move more to the left than where he currently is politically.

• If Vice President Biden is elected, expect:

  • The legislature to expect federal financial assistance and not return to Albany to pass revenue raisers before the next session in January.

  • A more deliberate approach to passing legislation that affects the tech industry.

  • The Governor to maintain his middle of the road positions.

New York City Updates

Tech Favorability in NYC 

• In August, we commissioned a poll to gauge the favorability of the tech industry in NYC. Crain’s NY wrote about it here.

• The results were largely positive for the industry and individual companies.

  • A 58% majority believe that technology companies are having a positive effect compared with just 16% who believe it's a negative effect and 26% are neutral.

  • 36% believe startups have a positive effect to 7% negative and these compare favorably to large corporations who are 29% positive to 41% negative effect. 

  • 65% believe that technology has made their life better during the coronavirus compared with 5% who believe it's made it worse. 81% believe that technology helps them live the life that they want to. 

  • The tech industry and its leaders are remarkably favorable. Entrepreneurs are + 45 net favorable (55% favorable to 10% unfavorable), startups are + 42, and technology companies are + 27 net favorable. 

  • 55% believe that tech companies bring jobs and economic opportunity compared with 45% who feel that they increase the cost of housing and living. 

  • There is an opportunity to make the tech industry feel more inclusive, however. 63% feel that startups are usually not interested in hiring local people; 56% believe that tech companies feel like an elite club; and 53% feel that learning tech skills is often expensive and intimidating. 

The Mayor’s Highest Priority in Albany: NYC Borrowing

• The Mayor continues to maintain that he needs billions in borrowing authority to avoid laying off 22,000 city workers. The Mayor has already announced furloughs which reduce workdays and do not furlough entire positions.

• While he has requested this authority from the state, he has yet to provide concrete evidence of these calculations to the state legislature. Without state approval, the city cannot borrow funds.

• He has been criticized for failing to provide a plan of how he would use the money.

• The Assembly has said they’re supportive of granting the Mayor borrowing authority but the Senate and the Governor have not.

Outdoor Dining:

• The Mayor announced on September 25th that outdoor dining would be allowed year-round. Outdoor dining was slated to end on September 30th.

• The Mayor’s announcement came three days after the NYC Council announced a bill and a hearing to make outdoor dining permanent. The hearing was held yesterday.

  • The legislature is still expected to pass their bill.

• Indoor dining began this week at 25% restaurant capacity

The Mayor’s Other Most Recent Actions

• NYC Schools

  • For now, the chaotic start of school has overshadowed the discussion about the digital divide because of the Mayor’s abrupt and unpopular decisions on when and how instruction would begin in NYC.

  • However, with 46% of NYC public school students attending remotely, we expect this conversation to begin again in earnest.

  • City schools reopened online on September 16th and moved to a hybrid approach with in-person instruction on September 21st.

    • In-person hybrid school was supposed to begin on September 1st.

    • A threatened teachers strike motivated the Mayor to make these decisions. 

  • The Mayor continues to triage additional issues related to the return to school.

• Mayoral Criticism:

  • Criticism of the Mayor’s performance during the pandemic has intensified over the past month. In addition to the teachers union, principal’s union, and public school parents criticizing his handling reopening school, he has been frequently criticized by elected officials from his own party, activists, and the business community for failing to announce new ideas on racial justice reforms, transportation issues, aka Carmageddon, and saving small businesses like restaurants.  

The NYC Council’s Most Recent Actions

• Delivery Network Companies (DNCs) Delivery Fees

  • In late August, the Mayor enacted two laws extending both the April laws limiting delivery fees to 15% and a ban on fees for telephone orders that did not result in an actual order until 100% indoor dining is allowed.

    • The City Council will likely push for a permanent cap of some sort after the pandemic.

    • DNCs will legally challenge any remaining cap after the pandemic.

  • A hearing was held in August on the bill and we submitted written testimony.

• Transportation Network Companies (TNCs)

  • Also in late August, a bill was passed creating a temporary task force to examine to assist the livery cab industry. The Mayor’s signature is expected.

  • A bill introduced this month bans TNCs from charging more for a ride in a car with a child’s car seat.

• NYC Cybersecurity

  • Another bill was passed in late August that adds the NYC Cyber Command to the city charter - making it a permanent part of city government. The Mayor signed the bill this month.

  • A bill that was also introduced last month will add a Special Investigator for all security breaches.

• Revel/Mopeds

  • Last month after the Mayor granted approval for Revel to restart operations based on their new safety precautions and training, this bill was introduced to require NYC DOT create a set of formalized procedures for approving shared moped organizations. 

• Industry City

  • On September 23rd, developers rescinded the proposed $2B redevelopment proposal which would have added retail and academic space to the 35-acre property, one day after four members of Congress penned a letter in opposition to the letter. 

    • We’ve supported the project and engaged Councilmembers directly.

  • Industry City’s home Councilmember Carlos Menchaca opposed the project even though several of his colleagues publicly supported it.

  • The City Council held a hearing on September 15th.

    • Opponents claimed the project’s new jobs were not good enough and that it would have increased gentrification and community displacement.

2021 NYC Races 

• Candidates for Mayor, Comptroller, and City Council are already running in earnest ahead of the 2021 NYC primaries.

• City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced he would not be running for Mayor citing a public battle with depression. He was widely criticized by activists after a bruising battle over the city’s budget in June for not doing enough to defund the police.

• NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer is considered the favorite candidate of the left at this early point in the race and as such the front runner. While a white, straight, man, he has received endorsements from important progressive female elected officials of color who are closely aligned with the city’s most important progressive organizations.