SWA #1 Masani Francis

In New York’s state legislature, the Democrats are in control.  Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, is the Governor of New York.  The Speaker of the House and Senate Leader, both Democrats, are Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, respectively.  The minority party leaders, obviously Republicans, are John Flanagan of the Senate and Brian Koll of the House.  Seeing that Democrats have control in Albany, it is fair to say that New York does not have a divided government.  “On Election Day, Democrats won an impressive majority in the chamber, putting them in control of both houses for the first time in years” (City & State).  In the 2018 elections, Democrats expanded their majority for the New York Senate and gained control of the chamber.  As all the 63 Senate seats were up for grabs, the Democrats won 40 seats, while the Republicans won 23 seats.  “At the time of the election, Democrats held 32 seats to Republicans’ 31.  However, Republicans controlled the chamber, as one Democratic state senator caucused with the Republican Party” (Ballotpedia).  The legislative process will be considerably different, and there are several bills on the table to possibly reach the governor, and maybe even get signed.  Some of the top bills that will be discussed in 2019 include issues such as, housing, criminal justice/ gun violence, education, health care, infrastructure, energy and environment, and several bills could return to the table.  These returning bills include issues and bills on sports betting, DREAM Act, voting reforms, LLC loopholes, and speed cameras, all of which if passed would have serious effects on the state (City & State).  One bill has been reviewed so far in 2019.  The Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act is “an act to amend the insurance law and the social services law, in relation to requiring health insurance policies to include coverage of all FDA approved contraceptive drugs, devices, and products” (Program Bill #1).  My state house representative is Jack Rader, a Republican, and my state senate representative is Mario Scavello, also Republican.  They are the representatives of the 176th and 40th Districts of Pennsylvania, respectively.  Scavello pushes for support and action on several issues, such as school property tax reform, transportation infrastructure investment, economic development, and tourism promotion.  He mainly would like to shift school funding away from the burdensome school property tax (senatorscavello.com).  Jack Rader focuses on similar issues.  He would like to eliminate the property tax and reduce government involvement in everyday life.  He also promotes economic growth and job creation and supports a balanced budget (jackrader.com).  Generally, their position on most of the issues facing Pennsylvania line up with mine.