IRC Approves New Congressional Maps

New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) voted to approve new congressional lines. Small changes have been made to a few upstate districts, but the congressional districts have remained largely the same. The Legislature will now need to determine whether they will accept the IRC’s maps or attempt to draw their own. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have not offered opinions on the new map. A supermajority is needed to approve the new congressional maps, and the Assembly and Senate will return to session next week.

Comptroller Releases Annual M/WBE Report

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander released his annual report on Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses. The report indicates that city agencies registered only 9.8% of eligible contracts to M/WBE vendors in Fiscal Year 2023. Black, Hispanic, and women-of-color owned businesses each received around 1% of contract value for FY23. The City Council also recently held a hearing focused on the City’s M/WBE procurement goals. In FY23, NYC had about 11,000 registered M/WBEs, but only 2,200 were awarded a city contact. The Adams administration has a goal of awarding at least $25B in city contracts to M/WBEs by 2026, and $60B by 2030.

Governor Hochul’s 30-Day Budget Amendments

Governor Hochul has released amendments to her Executive Budget, which are due 30 days after the release of the Governor’s budget. Most of the amendments were technical or clarifying, with no major changes to her bigger agenda items. The Governor did add a new policy about deceptive AI practices, and included a provision making to-go drinks from restaurants permanent. Despite critique from the legislature and Mayor Adams, the Governor did not alter her recommended funding for education or asylum seekers. These are the final edits that the Governor can make before budget negotiations begin with the Legislature. Both the Assembly and Senate are expected to release their one-house budgets in the coming weeks.