Annexation and the Stalled Senate

Dear Nieces and Nephews,

The potential annexation of 507 acres from the Town of Monroe into the Village of Kiryas Joel has been in the forefront in Orange County. Amid all the buzz, one member of the NYS Assembly has sponsored bills that address the gaps in the current state statutes.

In the NYS Assembly, the annexation bills sponsored by Assemblyman James Skoufis have the following actions: 

BILL NO    A07639

05/20/2015 referred to local governments

05/28/2015 reported referred to ways and means

06/02/2015 reported referred to rules

BILL NO    A07629

05/20/2015 referred to environmental conservation

05/27/2015 reported

05/29/2015 advanced to third reading cal.517

“These bills will enact real and effective oversight to the proposed Kiryas Joel annexation and other controversial annexation bids throughout New York,” said Assemblyman Skoufis. “When you have incredibly contentious annexation proposals such as the ones being initiated by Kiryas Joel, there should be a higher threshold for approval - these bills do just that.”

In the Senate, where the bills are exactly the same as the bills introduced by Mr. Skoufis, there seems to be a lag.

BILL NO    S05643

05/21/2015 REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

BILL NO    S05603

05/18/2015 REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

The clock is ticking and with the legislative session coming to a close, it looks like these bills do not have a chance to be passed into law this session. 

The sponsor of the bills in the Senate does not seem to be pursuing these bills in the robust manner of Assemblyman Skoufis. We find this interesting for a long time senator whose nickname is Lion Larkin.

Maybe the sponsoring Senator will ask for a special legislative session or an extension.

Or maybe not.

  and we should have learned this from Stevie