Full Episode: Senate Rejects LaSalle (Again), SUNY Chancellor John King, How to Reverse an Overdose
Senate Rejects LaSalle (Again), SUNY Chancellor John King, How to Reverse an Overdose
On This Week's Edition
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On This Week's Edition of New York NOW:
- Gov. Kathy Hochul's nominee for chief judge is rejected by the State Senate for a second time. We'll explain what happened.
- New York City Mayor Eric Adams makes his case to lawmakers in Albany.
- SUNY Chancellor John King joins us to discuss his vision for SUNY, a proposed tuition hike, and more.
- Certain drugs are used to reverse an overdose from using opioids. How do they work? We'll show you.
Full Show Transcript
Dan Clark: It was a busy week in Albany where hearings on Governor Kathy Hochul’s $227 billion budget plan continued, but that was not the big news of the week. Things blew up on Wednesday over Governor Hochul’s nominee for chief judge. You'll remember that a few weeks ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected that nominee, Hector LaSalle. A presiding justice of one of the state's four appellate courts.
The situation changed last week when the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Anthony Palumbo, sued Democrats over their rejection of LaSalle. He's arguing that even though a majority of the Judiciary Committee voted against him, the state constitution still requires a full vote from the full Senate. Then on Wednesday, Senate Democrats announced a surprise floor vote on LaSalle’s nomination just a few hours before it happened.
He was voted down 39 to 20. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said they wanted to end the fight before budget talks ramp up.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins: We are two weeks shorter in time than we would normally have, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. It's really a distraction that’s kind of hanging out there. So, it just seemed this was the appropriate time, since we really do need to focus on making sure we do New Yorkers work with our full attention.
DC: Justice LaSalle, who was in the Senate gallery for the vote, didn't take questions.
Republicans weren't buying that this was about the budget. They argue that Democrats were trying to kill their lawsuit before it moved forward by putting the whole LaSalle situation to bed. While Democrats did not say that, it is a possible outcome of the vote. That will be up to the judge in the case to decide.
Senator Palumbo said he plans to continue the litigation if it's not thrown out.
Anthony Palumbo: However, there are exceptions to mootness and particularly the rare nature of such an issue that it's not likely to be decided, it's not a common situation, is one of those factors. I won’t get too far into the weeds, but we kind of thought something like this might happen along the way. So, we're prepared for it, and we're ready to go forward.
DC: This was all happening on a day that was already filled with news at the Capitol. It's Tin Cup Day, when leaders from local governments across the state come to Albany to ask for funding in this year's state budget. It's a very big deal because it's a rare day that the mayor of New York City visits the state capitol. He's looking for more support from the state for things like education, mass transit and health care in the state budget.
Eric Adams: When you look at many of the initiatives that just are unique to New York, I mean, we're paying into a health care fund that we're not getting $1 for. So, we can't continue to just look towards New York, and I think we have done our share when it comes down to the MTA and everyone should share that cost and I think the state has an obligation to make sure we fill those gaps.
DC: While the MTA primarily serves people in the city and the suburbs, we're expecting it to be a major issue in state budget talks.
For everyone outside New York City, that's the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency that runs the city's subways, buses, and commuter trains into the five boroughs.
The MTA finances are not looking good. The chair of the MTA has said if there's not a major infusion of cash, they'll be running a deficit by 2025, and with help or not, they're still planning to raise fares. Governor Hochul and the legislature are already talking about solutions as part of this year's state budget. Hochul wants to raise a payroll tax for businesses and use casino gambling revenue to close that gap, but progressives don't like that plan. They want to freeze fares, fund trains to run on time and make buses free. They say the state has the money to do it or could raise it through higher taxes on the wealthy.
Senator John Liu, a Democrat from Queens, is a supporter of that plan.
John Liu: We need to fix the MTA. We need to fix their mindset. Keep the fares, improve the subway service so that nobody needs to wait more than 6 minutes and we will then get more people to get out of their cars, into the buses and into the subways and that is the best thing for our economy, for our climate, for the future generation and for all New Yorkers.
DC: We'll be watching that fight.
Dan Clark: More than 360,000 students in New York attend one of the state's 64 public colleges or universities. That's the SUNY system, the State University of New York, and in the past few decades, it's been changing.
For one, enrollment is dropping, and fast. There were about 100,000 fewer students enrolled in SUNY schools in 2022 than a decade earlier. For two, we've gone through three SUNY chancellors over that same period, and the last one resigned as part of former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandals. So now the SUNY system is trying to move forward after that and COVID with a new chancellor.
John King was the US Secretary of Education under President Obama, and before that he was state education commissioner right here in New York. Now he's back as the state's new SUNY chancellor. We sat down to chat about his vision for SUNY, Governor Hochul proposed tuition hikes and more.
SUNY Chancellor John King, thank you so much for being here.
John King: Thanks for the opportunity.
DC: Of course, any time.
So, the SUNY system is such a big, complicated system. I'm really interested in how you view the SUNY system right now. Coming in as chancellor, you came in and in December and January, and where do you want to take it? So, let's start with your view of SUNY.
JK: Well you know, SUNY is an incredible community of institutions. 64 campuses that provide a range of opportunities for students from community colleges, to our four-year comprehensive institutions, technology colleges, our university centers that are doing cutting edge research, we have three medical centers, so it's really a broad range of opportunities. I like to say there's a place for every New York student at SUNY.
DC: I really think that, and before we were recording this interview, we were talking about how there are certain campuses that are more specialized, and people really find their home on these campuses. I think that's really special.
JK: That's exactly right, it's inspiring. You know, when you spend time on a campus and you see that students have found the thing that they're passionate about, it's really an amazing opportunity to be a part of this community. As we look ahead today, SUNY is arguably the most affordable, high quality, public higher education available in the country. But the governor has said, as has our board, that we really want to be the best public higher education system in the country. The best. And that means there are some things we need to do.
We need to make sure that more New York students know about the opportunities at SUNY. We have to make sure that when students get to our campuses, they don't just start but finish, so, student success is critical. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical. We don't right now have a student body that fully reflects the diversity of our state. Our faculty doesn't fully reflect the diversity of our state, our campus leadership teams don’t, so, we have work to do to make sure that that we reflect the rich diversity of New York. We've got to make sure that we're growing research and scholarship. Our campuses can be a part of solving the biggest problems we face as a society, whether it's climate change or protecting the health of our democracy here and abroad.
The fourth priority for me is around economic development and upward mobility. In many parts of the state SUNY is one of the largest employers. Our campuses are going to be critical to preparing the workforce for the semiconductor industry as Micron comes to central New York. We've got great nanotech work happening at Albany that's going to help spur the growth of that sector here. We've got battery research happening at Binghamton that's going to help us get to net zero. Lots of good jobs to be created and in green renewable energy technologies. So, I'm very excited about what we can build on a base that is incredibly strong. It's really an asset for the state.
DC: How do we get there? These are, you know, very expansive ideas, and the campuses obviously need guidance and funding, I would assume to make them happen. So, is that what it comes down to? Would you seek better financial infusion from the state to make this plan a reality, or do you see another strategy?
JK: Resources and partnership I would say. Resources are critical. We need the state to invest. The governor and legislature last year made some big commitments, for example, the tuition assistance program, reaching part time students, that was a big deal, we appreciated that.
The governor has made a number of proposals going into this year's budget process, $500 million endowment matching fund that would galvanize $1,000,000,000 in philanthropy to support research at our university centers. The trustees have asked for an increase in operating aid so that we can continue to provide student support across all of our campuses and attract the best faculty.
The resources are critical, but so are partnerships with employers, with communities, with community-based organizations. As Micron to Syracuse area, we want them to know Onondaga Community College is going to be a key partner in providing the workforce that they need. For our health care providers around the state, we want them to know we need their partnership to develop the health care workforce that we need. So, if we can get more resources and build those partnerships, we can fulfill that vision of SUNY as the best public higher education system in the country.
DC: Speaking of all of this, there's a proposal from the governor this year in her state of the state to allow SUNY to raise tuition at most campuses 3%, for flagship campuses 6%. How do you feel about that as SUNY chancellor?
JK: Well, we've got to make sure that there's operating aid to support the campuses, and I'm going to make the case with the legislature that that we need to see an increase in operating aid. That said, it is very helpful to campuses to be able to plan and know reliably how tuition will change over time. So, what the governor's proposed is a very modest increase that will keep SUNY as the most affordable, high quality, public higher education in the country, but allow campuses to do planning.
It's important to note that 53% of our students at our four-year institutions now don't pay tuition because of Pell, the Tuition Assistance Program and Excelsior, which is available to families making up to $125,000. So, we're talking about a modest increase for a portion of our students in order to provide that reliable, sustainable, predictable path for our campuses.
The governor's also proposed flexibility for our 4 university centers because they are investing a lot of resources in research, they're trying to attract world class faculty to lead that research, and so they need to have that flexibility. Other states provide their flagship institutions with that kind of flexibility.
DC: It would be a modest increase, but I can see families, if this happens this year, being upset that during a time of great inflation, a time of cost of living going up, that tuition is going to go up as well, even though it's a small amount. What would you say to those families?
JK: Our commitment is to make sure that if the governor's proposal goes through, that those dollars translate into better opportunities for students, recruiting great faculty members, providing student supports, mental health services are a key investment that we need to make across our campuses. We had challenges before COVID, but COVID in many ways exacerbated the mental health needs across our system. So, our commitment is that extra 200 some odd dollars a year, we're going to turn that into better supports and opportunities for students.
DC: In terms of the state funding side of it, I'm not familiar with how much more money you are seeking this year, the board of trustees is seeking this year. Can you kind of give us a snapshot of what you would like to see in the state budget?
JK: We asked for a modest increase, about $133 million, which is really to make sure that our campuses are able to keep up with salary increases and rising energy costs. So that's modest. We also asked for a $60 million investment in initiatives to better align our programs with current market demands. Last year, the legislature and governor committed $60 million to those sorts of initiatives, and it's allowed us to expand programs in nursing, cybersecurity, and green jobs. We want to continue to be able to do that, and that extra $60 million would help us move forward.
Then we've got capital investments. You know, as SUNY alum, we have fantastic campuses, but many of the buildings are somewhat older.
DC: They are.
JK: And we certainly need funding to do maintenance and upkeep, but we also need funding to have great lab space so that students can get the best, most up to date learning in the STEM fields. We need capital support for our hospitals that are somewhat outdated in some of their facilities and could use upgrades. So, we're hopeful that the governor and legislature will make some real capital investments in our campuses this year.
DC: I want to talk to you about something that you brought up earlier that I found really interesting and really on point, is this diversity issue in the SUNY system in terms of, as you said, the student body, the leadership teams, everything like that. How do you get to a more diverse SUNY system? This is something that we've dealt with for many years.
JK: You know, there are a couple pieces. One is you have to make sure that campuses are a place where students feel a sense of belonging, a sense of safety, a sense of being seen. You've got to make sure that students know about the opportunities. There are a lot of students, for example, in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and diverse communities. They may know about Stony Brook or Buffalo, maybe Binghamton and Albany, but they don't necessarily know about Fredonia or Brockport.
DC: Or the community colleges.
JK: Or the community colleges. And we are fortunate that many of our community colleges actually have dorm space. So, students who want to go away to school could actually do that coming to one of our community colleges very affordably. So, we've got to do work to make sure that folks know about the opportunities at SUNY.
We're seeing good progress, we've seen a big increase in applications this year. We're hoping that turns into enrollment gains across campuses. We also are building what we call a cascading admissions model where, because you might only know about Stony Brook and Buffalo, you apply there, and if you don't get in we're going to tell you, you didn't get into those institutions, but it turns out there is a program that matches your interests at Fredonia, at Brockport, and you could go there instead. So we're reducing kind of the friction of the application process and making it easier for students to find their place at SUNY.
DC: That’s really interesting. There is a sense among some people that college is not for them, and college is not for everybody, but there's also this barrier as we kind of talk about this, of people who just don't think that they can. And I think a big part of the SUNY system is showing people that they can do that, and I think that's a big benefit to the SUNY system.
JK: Absolutely. When I was a kid growing up, both my parents passed away when I was little. My mom when I was 8 and my dad when I was 12. And, teachers saved my life, school saved my life, but in high school, I struggled the way a lot of kids who've experienced trauma struggle and actually got kicked out of high school.
I always point out to people, that I'm the first United States Secretary of Education to have been kicked out of high school, but I was lucky that people gave me a second chance. That there were teachers and mentors who saw more potential in me than I saw in myself. But when I got to college, I still felt out of place. You know, I worried that somebody was going to tap me on the shoulder and say the admissions office made a mistake, you don't belong here. That sense of imposter syndrome. And so that that's a real challenge, making sure that students know college can be for them. And that could be for the 18-year-old who's just coming from high school, but it can also be for the 35-year-old who wants to get more skills that will allow them to move up at the workplace college is for them, too. We've got to do a better job getting that message out.
DC: It's really important, but we are out of time. SUNY Chancellor John King, thank you so much.
JK: Thank you, appreciate it.
DC: The chancellor will testify later this month on funding for SUNY at the higher education budget hearing on the 27th.
Dan Clark: Turning now to a new edition of On the Bill, where we tell you about a bill out of Albany that you might not hear about otherwise.
This week we're talking about S776, which would lower the state's blood alcohol limit for driving while intoxicated. Right now in New York, as you probably know, the legal blood alcohol content level (BAC) is 0.08. Anything above that will get you arrested for driving while intoxicated. That can come with a fine of up to $1,000 and possible jail time.
That brings us to S776. It's a bill that would lower New York's BAC limit to 0.05, and the bill's sponsors say it's based on research showing a lower limit would save lives. Like how a new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that the same change in Utah in 2019 led to fewer crashes and fewer deaths. The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that all states lower the limit as well. So far, Utah is the only state to do so meaning New York would be the second.
Senator Luis Sepulveda, a Democrat from the Bronx, is a co-sponsor of the bill.
Luis Sepulveda: We as policymakers, as legislators, we look at data, we look at research, and the data here, the research is pretty clear. This is a no brainer. If you lower the drug alcohol level when you're driving, naturally it saves lives.
DC: We'll let you know if that bill moves this session.
Dan Clark: Beginning this week, New York's public media stations are launching a statewide effort to share information about overdose prevention, harm reduction and other resources for those struggling with drug use. Before the pandemic, the number of people who died from an overdose was starting to go down, or at least stayed flat for a few years, but when COVID hit that changed. Fentanyl, a painkiller, entered the illicit drug market and because it's so strong and because sometimes people don't even know it's mixed in with their drugs it started to be a top contributor to overdose deaths, according to the state. That's why everyday people like you and like me are now getting trained on how to use naloxone, also called Narcan.
Those are drugs that can actually reverse an overdose from painkiller drugs like heroin or fentanyl and save someone's life. That's why a lot of pharmacies now carry Narcan for you to buy without a prescription, but there are also community programs that work to prevent overdoses and respond if they happen. One of those programs is Project Safe Point in Albany, which actually holds trainings on how to use Narcan.
We show you more in this piece from WMHT’s Will Pedigo.
Ed Fox: Project Safe Point is a public health program that provides harm reduction services to the capital district. Our service area is 12 counties surrounding the capital region. It's a big area to serve with a lot of different needs and a lot of different ways to deliver services.
We do Narcan trainings in the community and we will do a Narcan training in the middle of the street, in a jailhouse, in a treatment center, in someone's home. Anywhere there are opiates, there also needs to be Narcan. I don't want to walk out that door until everyone in the room is comfortable using Narcan. That's like the number one point.
I like to say that when you're doing a Narcan training, it's a conversation as much as anything else because we're always wanting to hear your feedback and people's questions.
When we talk about just your overdose crisis, we've seen over the years, I think everyone has been impacted in some way. Everyone knows someone who's been affected by this.
We see how communities are impacted and how individuals are impacted, how families are impacted. Fentanyl is in everything. Being such a powerful opiate itself, it’s super, super dangerous. It's 15 to 20 times strong and heroin is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine. It's out there, it's cheap, it's available, it's everywhere.
Our approach as a harm reduction agency, a harm reduction program, is to actually have you tell me what you need today, what will work for you today, and taking that approach for whatever service is needed, when the service is needed. No judgment ever.
Our syringe exchange program is a really, really important program. It's a baseline program for us and it's very important that people are safe because we are about disease prevention, HIV and Hepatitis C prevention.
We have low access, buprenorphine. That's a very important service for individuals because when someone's ready for change and being able to do that quickly is extremely important because the moment may not last, but when the moment comes, being able to react to that is really important. We are making sure that they're in a safe place and that when they're ready for that change, then we're there to support that.
Alexis Weeks: Eight years ago, was the last time I used heroin.
Sometimes it takes addicts, multiple rehabs, and multiple tries for them to actually get it, for the recovery to stick. A lot of addicts don't even get that chance.
Narcan has saved my life, I've saved two boyfriends lives with Narcan, I've saved a few other people's lives.
I've been doing this for ten years, since before I was even old enough to drink. I was 19 when I started this process. I'm 29 now, and I think, and I hope, and I pray, and thank god that I have had this many tries because a lot of people haven't, but that because I get up and try again and try again, that it will stick.
Where I am in my journey, even sober, it's safe to always have Narcan in my car because I think it's safe to say that everybody's been affected by this opiate epidemic. Instead of turning a blind eye to what's going on, let's get together and be safe. Go to the Narcan trainings and carry the Narcan in our glove box because what if you pull up in a parking lot and you see somebody passed out? Chances are these days they're not sleeping anymore. Chances are they're probably overdose in that car and if you knock on that window and they don't wake up, you need to open that door and you need to give them Narcan and call 911, because chances are you could save their life.
DC: If you or someone you know is struggling with drug use, resources are available.