ALBANY, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday that he is signing a bill passed by the state legislature on Friday that will limit his emergency powers.
This follows the state legislature agreeing to a deal on limiting the governor's emergency powers on Tuesday.
The Senate Democratic Majority said Friday "this system restores the pre-existing balance of power, ensures genuine checks and balances even during a state of emergency, and mandates a better flow of information between the Governor, the Legislature, and the State’s localities for the remainder of the pandemic."
Senate Republicans said Friday the bill was a "sham" and they voted in unison against it.
The legislation impacts the following
- Revoking the Governor’s authority to issue any new directives.
- Authorizing the Governor to extend or modify directives that are currently in effect to respond to the ongoing pandemic, but requires five days’ notice to the Legislature or to local elected officials before that extension or modification goes into effect.
- Requiring the Governor to respond publicly to any comments they received from the Legislature or from local leaders if a directive is extended.
- Requiring the Governor to create a searchable database of all executive actions that remain in force to inform lawmakers and the public of the current state of the law.
- Allowing the Legislature to terminate a state disaster emergency by concurrent resolution.
The governor reiterated on Sunday that he does not plan on resigning following allegations of sexual harassment from several aides.
