We've talked extensively about the draft legislation that would have one of New York's public authorities borrow a $billion and then give it away, primarily to hospitals. Take a look here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The original draft was developed by the Greater New York Hospital Association and walked around by it and its partner union, District 1199/SEIU. HANYS, the NYS Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals throughout the State supports such a proposal itself.
The hospital folks got feedback when they walked the draft around. And, of course, others got wind of it and wanted their share too. So the bill was re-drafted. Many expected emergence of a new draft and its introduction to be a sign that Legislative quitting time was nearing. (Please don't beat us up for our liberal use of "quitting time." As everyone in Albany knows, they are going into recess with relatively little done - including the budget.)
As so now we have a new draft. Except this one's been introduced formally (A. 11705) by the Committee on Rules with the Speaker as the primary sponsor in the Assembly. Bills introduced with the Speaker's name first are a big deal so this one is rocketing through the Assembly. As of yesterday afternoon, the bill had already been reported by the Committees on Health and Ways & Means and was on the floor.
When I analyzed the first draft, several folks asked why I had interpreted it in the manner I did. Others asked for a copy. So here's what we're going to do.
I'm going to post the bill itself online section by section. Then when I analyze each section, I'll link back to the actual text. Using the comment function, you can offer your own interpretation or other comment.
This is pure wonkery. But remember that all this has consequences. In this case, it looks like we're on track to give away a billion bucks. I don't expect my analysis or your comment will have any effect on this bill. But at least those folks who care about these sorts of issues will be able to read more than a headline.
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