Dear Friends:

We are less than two weeks away from when the state budget is due, and my colleagues and I are working hard toward an on-time and balanced state budget. On Monday, March 15th, the State Senate adopted its One-House Budget Resolution. The One-House Resolution is the Senate's budget proposal in response to the Governor's proposal released in January. The Senate, Assembly, and the Governor's office have until April 1st to come to an agreement on the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Sadly, the past year has seen a nearly 150% increase in hate crimes against Asian-Americans according to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism. Hate crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and bigotry will not be tolerated in our communities. I urge you to stand with our Asian-American community members and speak up if you're a witness or a victim of harassment or a hate crime. Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah has launched a new hotline for residents to report hate crimes. More details about this effort are included below.

On Tuesday, March 23rd, I will host my 5th Annual Women's History Month Celebration with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. This year, we are honoring outstanding women who have helped our communities overcome the challenges of the pandemic. The Zoom link to join us on Tuesday at 7:00 PM is available here. Find out more about this event in a section below.

Additional details are being released about the American Rescue Plan, signed by President Joe Biden last week, and it's all great news for New York State, Westchester County and our schools. Click here to see the breakdown of funding for Westchester County and cities & towns included in the American Rescue Plan. This additional funding can be used by municipalities for costs associated with responding to the pandemic, cover revenue losses caused by COVID-19, and support essential workers, among other uses. Thank you, again, to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for his hard work delivering for New Yorkers and New York schools.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended Tax Day for individuals from April 15th to May 17th. The New York State Department of Tax & Finance also extended the income tax deadline to May 17th to align with the federal deadline. 

As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please don't hesitate to email me at smayer@nysenate.gov or call (914) 934-5250.

Warm regards,

As of Saturday, March 20th, 5 million New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose, and 2.6 million have received both doses. Click here to track the status of the state's vaccine distribution.

On Friday, March 12th, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law bill S.2588-A/A.3354-B, granting public employees four hours of paid time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Beginning on Wednesday, March 10th, New Yorkers 60 years of age and older were eligible to receive the vaccine at all vaccine distribution sites. Beginning on the same day, pharmacies were permitted to vaccinate New Yorkers who are 60 years of age and older and teachers. Beginning on Wednesday, March 17th, public facing essential workers from governmental and nonprofit entities were eligible to receive the vaccine. Click here to look through the list of eligible categories for the vaccine including essential workers, those 60 years old and over, and those with comorbidities.

A list of non-state-run vaccine providers in Westchester County is available here. Supply is limited and each site has its own protocols for signing up or registering for a waitlist. Many of these locations already have a long waitlist of eligible residents waiting to get the vaccine. Please continue to be patient and check back as often as possible for any new openings. Click here for the Westchester County COVID-19 Dashboard to track positive COVID-19 cases and vaccine allocations throughout the county. The mobile friendly version of the dashboard is available here.

New Yorkers can use the Am I Eligible website to determine if they are eligible and make an appointment at a New York State-run vaccination site. Please check back daily for new appointments. If you have made an appointment for the vaccine, please fill out the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Form, available here, and bring it with you to your appointment.

The Senate Majority Conference adopted the Senate One-House Budget Resolution on Monday, March 15th. As the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, securing funds for education is my top priority. The Senate One-House proposal puts forth a transformational increase in education funding, including:

As a result of the pandemic, our small businesses suffered and still are facing the economic challenges of survival. Too many of our neighbors lost their jobs, had trouble paying rent or mortgages, and faced food insecurity. I’m pleased that our one-House budget continues the middle class tax cut scheduled for this year, and creates a property tax circuit-breaker to reduce the burden of property tax on many property owners. To learn more about all that is included in the Senate One-House Budget Resolution, click here.

The Senate, Assembly, and Executive Chambers will continue negotiating a final state budget based on the One-House proposals from the Senate & Assembly, and the Governor's Budget proposal. The deadline for an on-time budget is April 1st.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) are third party administrators that negotiate and manage prescription drug prices & plans on behalf of health plans & providers. In theory, the advantage of using a PBM to procure prescription drugs is that PBMs represent multiple health plans & providers at once and thus can negotiate lower drug prices due to their outsized aggregate demand. Unfortunately, opaque practices surrounding the discounts & rebates PBMs receive from pharmaceutical companies, in addition to a lack of transparency surrounding what PBMs pay for prescription drugs and what they charge pharmacies for those prescription drugs, all necessitate greater transparency in order to secure the lowest possible drug prices for consumers and protect small neighborhood pharmacies.

On Wednesday, March 17th, the State Senate passed, S.3762, to open the so called “black box” of PBMs to require accountability, transparency and fair dealing of all PBMs serving New York residents. S.3762 will require PBMs to disclose to health plans & providers any contracts or agreements that could present a conflict of interest with the PBM’s relationship with the health plan or provider. Additionally, the bill requires all PBMs to register with the NYS Superintendent of Insurance and provides the Superintendent, in consultation with the NYS Department of Health Commissioner, with the authority to establish regulations to eliminate conflicts of interest, deceptive practices, anti-competitive practice, “spread pricing” (charging pharmacies more than PBMs pay for prescription drugs), and unfair claims practices. 

I am pleased to vote for S.3762 to begin to address the role Pharmacy Benefit Managers have in the rising costs of prescription drugs and to ensure our neighborhood pharmacies survive.

On Thursday, March 18th, I joined the Senate Majority Conference in approving the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, S.2836, to limit the use of segregated confinement, also known as solitary confinement, for all incarcerated individuals to 15 days; implement alternative rehabilitative measures, including the creation of Residential Rehabilitation Units (RRU); and prohibit the use of segregated confinement for vulnerable incarcerated populations including pregnant women, individuals under the age of 22, people with disabilities, and those over 55 years old. 

These reforms are an important step toward a more humane and effective corrections system statewide. I am committed to continuing to work with advocates and stakeholders, including Westchester County and its corrections officers, to align prison practices with intended outcomes and invest in tested solutions. Click here to learn more about the HALT Act. 

On Tuesday, March 23rd, I am pleased to co-host a Women's History Month Celebration with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. At this year's event, we will honor women who have helped our communities overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

Zoom Link: bit.ly/CelebratingWHM2021

Click here for the Zoom link to the Webinar. The event will also be live streamed to my Facebook page: facebook.com/ShelleyMayerSD37 and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins Facebook page: facebook.com/Andrea.StewartCousins (a Facebook account is not required to watch).

On Monday, March 15th, I was honored to preside over the Senate Chamber. The duties of the Senate member presiding over the Chamber are to ensure a smooth legislative session, including bill debate, voting, and introduction of honorary guests. Presiding members are selected by Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. 

On Thursday, March 18th, I was pleased to meet with the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) during its Spring Leadership Summit. At the event, we discussed education funding in the One-House Budget Resolution and how we can support school districts and officials through the challenges imposed by the pandemic and beyond. 

In response to increasing incidents of hate crimes occurring in our local communities, Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah launched a new hotline to report crime or bias incidents. Victims or witnesses can report incidents at 914-995-TIPS (914-995-8477) or through the D.A.'s website at www.WestchesterDA.net. While incidents may not always violate the law, they should always be reported. District Attorney Rocah and County Executive George Latimer encourage residents to speak up.

We must confront all incidents of hate and open avenues of dialogue to foster tolerance and acceptance. A major part of a community's healing from a hate crime includes full prosecution of the perpetrator, and I commend District Attorney Rocah for her efforts to ensure justice for victims & communities.