COLUMBIA FACULTY VS. SHAFIK: Faculty members at Columbia University’s Arts and Sciences passed a vote of no confidence in the school’s president, Minouche Shafik. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who sponsored the bill, said it is crucial for New York to take action to combat deforestation and protect the environment. The bill now heads to the Assembly for consideration.
If signed into law, businesses would need to provide documentation showing that their products are not contributing to deforestation in order to sell them in New York. Supporters of the bill believe it is necessary to hold businesses accountable for their environmental impact. — Madina Touré
Liz Krueger, the bill’s sponsor, and others reintroduced the legislation this year with several changes.
“We have addressed the governor’s concerns as they were expressed to us,” Krueger, a Democrat representing parts of New York City, said in a statement, calling Hochul’s prior veto “a step in the wrong direction.”
She added: “I hope that the governor — who this very day is speaking at the Vatican on the issue of climate leadership — will see this bill for what it is: an achievable, affordable, and necessary piece of critical climate legislation.”
This year’s bill included several revisions.
State agencies are now allowed to be exempt from complying if they make a solicitation for covered products and don’t get any offers. The bill also now exempts the MTA and Staten Island Ferry from complying with the tropical hardwood ban for five years and allows that exemption to be extended. — Allison Prang
TURN DOWN THE HEAT: The New York State United Teachers union brought in saunas to the state Capitol today to show lawmakers what it feels like for a student sitting in a hot classroom trying to learn. The demonstration is part of their push to pass legislation that would cap classroom temperatures at 88 degrees.
The bill sponsored by state Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblymember Chris Eackus would require schools to create a plan to lower the heat in classrooms that reach 82 degrees and evacuate the space if it exceeds 88 degrees.
Skoufis said the demonstration today was helpful to get constituents to understand the need for a cap on temperature, and several signed on to co-sponsor the legislation.
Skoufis said some pushback is due to the added costs that cooling buildings could incur, but he said districts should be able to foot the bill with the large foundation aid increases in recent years.
“This is not a nicety, this is not something where, ‘If we find the money, it would be great if we can do this’,” Skoufis told Playbook. “This is something they should have had all along; this is a safety issue, and this is certainly an education issue.”
Skoufis and Eackus are both prioritizing the legislation and speaking with leadership to find a way to pass it before session ends June 6. Skoufis noted that leadership in the Senate has been receptive to his calls to streamline the process and move the bill to the floor. — Katelyn Cordero
— The state’s offices of Temporary and Disability Assistance and Children and Families Services have new commissioners. (State of Politics)
— Long Island communities are taking unique approaches to prepare for rising sea levels. (Newsday)
— Environmental advocates are pushing for restrictions of “forever chemicals” as the Legislative session comes to a close in June. (Times Union)
