Adultery is still a crime in NY. But maybe not for long.

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Friday Mar 08,2024 09:06 pm

Mar 08, 2024

New York State Senate members are seen inside the state Capitol.

New York still has a law on the books that makes adultery a crime. Some lawmakers said it's time to repeal the 1907 law. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo

One of the oldest pieces of legislation in Albany showed signs of life for the first time in decades this week.

The bill would remove the crime of adultery from the books. And there’s certainly some irony to the fact that this bill has stalled for 60 years in a state government where the Seventh Commandment has historically not always been held in the highest esteem.

Members of the Assembly Codes Committee facetiously made remarks like “That’s a crime?” and “Uh-oh” when the bill came up for a vote Tuesday. “Sorry to disappoint,” Chair Jeff Dinowitz replied.

But it’s not a laughing matter to bill sponsor Chuck Lavine.

“Anybody who’s charged with adultery, because it’s only a B misdemeanor, isn’t entitled to a jury trial,” he said. “So they’re left to a judge to make the determination.” A conviction can lead to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

“It doesn’t serve as a deterrent,” Lavine said. “It’s a celebration of someone’s concept of their own morality.”

The law has been on the books since 1907, and it appears to have been written as an attempt to reduce the number of divorces back when adultery was the only path to a legal separation.

The first person to face charges under the law was a Coney Island investor who abandoned his wife to abscond with “a salesgirl in the millinery department of a department store.” But it has since become one of the most arbitrarily applied laws on the books: Only about a dozen New Yorkers have been charged over the past half century.

Batavia attorney Brian Degnan says it was the type of outdated statute his law school professor “joked around about.”

But he wound up becoming the only lawyer in recent New York history with direct experience in this section of statute: A client was an international punchline in 2010 after she was charged with the crime following a tryst with a coworker.

“It’s an issue of privacy between spouses and whoever else is involved,” Degnan said. “The government shouldn’t get involved in that type of business. Somebody could theoretically sit in jail for 90 days for that — that’s kind of like wearing the modern day scarlet letter.”

A legislative commission tasked with modernizing the penal code recommended removing the law from the books in 1964. Its proposal has existed as legislation in most of the sessions since then.

There seems to be no opposition to the bill: “Adultery is a sin. I don’t know if it’s a crime,” said New York State Catholic Conference executive director Dennis Poust.

So why hasn’t there been any movement on the subject? It might just be too obscure to attract too much focus.

But there may also be an unwillingness to appear lax on morality in a state government where sexual misconduct has brought down a long list of elected officials over the years.

“More likely than not, the people who are the most agitated about this kind of a bill are the people who are going to commit the crime in the first place,” Lavine said. “And I think it’s about time we recognize hypocrisy is not needed in our criminal codes.” — Bill Mahoney

From the Capitol

Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention.

A corruption case against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin can continue, a judge ruled today. | Seth Wenig/AP

BAD FOR BENJAMIN: The corruption case against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin is back on.

A three-judge panel on Friday reversed a lower court’s 2022 ruling that dropped the most serious fraud and bribery charges Benjamin faced.

Benjamin, 47, was previously accused of taking part in a bribery scheme when he ran for New York City comptroller in 2021.

Real estate developer Gerald Migdol pleaded guilty in 2022 and testified he donated to the Benjamin campaign in return for a $50,000 grant from the state to a nonprofit.

“We conclude that the indictment sufficiently alleged an explicit quid pro quo,” the federal appeals court found.

Barry Berke, an attorney for Benjamin, said in a statement the allegations against the former LG are false.

“The facts are clear that Mr. Benjamin did nothing other than engage in routine fundraising and support a non-profit providing needed resources to Harlem public schools,” Berke said. “We remain confident that Mr. Benjamin will be vindicated in this case, which never should have been brought.”

Federal prosecutors will still have a high bar to clear in the Benjamin case.

Migdol died in February and was set to be a key witness in the case. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court has raised the threshold in similar public corruption cases. Prior rulings have made the definition of honest services fraud hard to land a conviction.

Benjamin was selected from the state Senate by Gov. Kathy Hochul to become the state’s No. 2 official in 2021. Benjamin resigned less than a year later following his indictment and was replaced by Antonio Delgado. — Nick Reisman

CONSUMER PROTECTION: The Department of Financial Services got $182 million in recoveries and restitutions for health care providers and consumers.

Hochul made the announcement today on the last day of consumer protection week. Last year, the department recovered $158 million.

“During National Consumer Protection Week, my administration is doubling down on our commitment by helping New Yorkers hold onto their hard-earned money, holding dishonest businesses accountable and doing everything in our power to reduce costs,” Hochul said in a statement.

In 2023, roughly $7 million was recovered from nearly 25,000 Department of Public Service investigations, as well as $2.7 million by the Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection. — Shawn Ness

FROM CITY HALL

Lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are negotiating a potential deal over tenant rights. | AP

HOUSING FIGHT: Tenant activists behind a controversial proposal to effectively limit rent hikes on market-rate apartments in New York City are pushing back against a potential scaled-down version of the measure.

The current legislation, known as “good cause” eviction, would apply to unregulated renters across the state. But a more limited version of the bill that would apply only to New York City has been floated in housing negotiations, with an opt-in provision for the rest of the state.

The Housing Justice for All coalition released an analysis today arguing that such a provision would “decimate the effectiveness of the bill.” The analysis found that even if every major city outside of the five boroughs opted-in to the protections — “a highly unlikely, best case scenario” — 67 percent of non-New York City renters would remain excluded.

“Good Cause Eviction protections must be statewide to keep tenants in their homes and communities,” the coalition wrote. — Janaki Chadha

FROM THE DELEGATION

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., talks with reporters.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis joined thre Florida Republicans in criticizing progressive lawmakers for a recent trip to Cuba. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP

CAPITOL TO CUBA: Rep. Nicole Malliotakis joined three Cuban American Florida Republicans in criticizing progressive lawmakers for a recent trip to Cuba — while also re-upping the need to keep Cuba on the state sponsored terrorist list.

Her critiques come after reports of progressive “Squad” members, including Congressional Progressive Caucus leadership members Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar, taking a trip to Cuba. Progressives have long supported taking Cuba off of the State Department’s list of terrorist states.

“Why should Cuba remain on this list of state sponsored terrorism? Why are we offended by members of the socialist squad, who are clear communist sympathizers for making a trip to Cuba, not to meet with the people but to actually meet with the communist regime that destroyed our families?” Malliotakis, a Staten Island Republican who is the daughter of a Cuban refugee, said at the House Triangle Friday.

“Because they harbor terrorists.”

But Malliotakis’ critiques of the squad members had calls of their own: three protestors stood by the lawmakers calling for Cuba to be taken off of the state terrorist list.

Rep. Maria Salazar, a Cuban American Republican from Miami, jumped on using the demonstration as an example for why Cuba should not be trusted.

“This is exactly what we want for Cuba,” Salazar said. “This type of freedom that anyone can bring with a poster stand right in front of the Capitol and be able to talk to elected officials. That is what we want for Cuba.” — Mia McCarthy

On the Beats

A doctor prepares a prescription on a computer screen on September 5, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.

Health insurers will have to take additional steps to ensure continuity of care after a cyberattack last month. | Adam Berry/Getty Images

BREACH RESPONSE: Hochul today directed health insurers to follow new protocols to promote continuity of care amid the fallout from a massive cyberattack in February at Change Healthcare, a payment solutions and claims processing company owned by UnitedHealth Group.

The Department of Financial Services instructed plans to suspend statutory and contractual preauthorization requirements and concurrent or retroactive reviews for providers that rely on Change Healthcare for those tasks. Plans are also being advised to issue periodic interim payments to providers that may be experiencing cash flow issues due to the breach’s impact.

“Health care insurers and providers must work together to guarantee that any digital event doesn’t stop people from receiving appropriate care,” Hochul said in a statement.

The guidance comes after the Greater New York Hospital Association pressed the Hochul administration to make insurers waive prior authorization and review requirements and advance payments to hospitals and other health care organizations.

However, the new protocols announced today are largely suggestions rather than mandates. — Shawn Ness and Maya Kaufman

PROTECT NEW YORK FORESTS: Hochul announced today a new grant program that will deliver $1.4 million for accredited land trusts.

Land trusts will be able to request $350,000 each to purchase conservation easements.

“Investments in forest conservation move New York closer to our bold goal of protecting 30 percent of the state’s lands and water by 2030, which in turn protects wildlife habitat, preserves biodiversity, protects air and water quality, and helps combat the impacts of climate change,” Hochul said in a statement.

The grants are designed to protect ecosystems and to combat climate change. They will be administered by the Land Trust Alliance and the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Only the land trusts that receive an invitation may submit a full application, and groups that will be invited to the program will be notified by June 14. — Shawn Ness

MEDICAID MANDATE: It’s a perennial issue for the last half century: County governments want the state to take up a greater share of the local Medicaid costs.

And there’s now a new effort to address it.

Republican state Sen. Jake Ashby on Friday proposed a measure to have the state take up the municipal share of Medicaid spending. The move would save an estimated $2.6 billion, Ashy said. The state froze Medicaid costs for local governments in 2012.

“This is the time of year when we talk about attacking our state’s biggest problems. I believe our biggest problem is that we lead the nation in population loss,” Ashby said. “The biggest reason for that is affordability, and the best way to address that is cutting property taxes, period.”

The measure has backing from Republicans and Democrats on the local level. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, a Democrat, applauded the proposal.

“By shifting Medicaid costs from municipalities to the state, we can continue to address affordability concerns, while ensuring critical county programs and services are properly funded,” he said. — Nick Reisman

SUMMER SCHOOL AID: A network of after-school program providers and advocates want the state’s top legislative leaders to back the inclusion of a new Office of Summer and After School Programming in this year’s state budget.

“By enhancing the availability and accessibility of afterschool programs, New York could enhance productivity, retaining more adults within the city during their peak working years,” the groups wrote in a letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins today. They also said after-school academic and recreational activities keep young people occupied.

More than 30 groups signed onto the letter, including United Neighborhood Houses and the city’s teachers union. Community organizations committed to youth development and supporting low-income New Yorkers were also among the signatories.

This comes as state Sen. Zellnor Myrie pushes for more after-school programming for children in New York City.

The state currently has a patchwork of summer and after-school programming options that differ widely in terms of funding, quality, structure and affordability. That network has long been plagued by low wages and insufficient coordination between the state and localities, they said.

The new office — which could be a subdivision of the state Office of Children and Family Services or housed elsewhere — would be tasked with tackling concerns brought by providers, community leaders, legislators, parents and students, including regulating wages for the industry and figuring out how to support counties that don’t have many after-school programs. — Madina Touré

AROUND NEW YORK

— Donald Trump posted the $92 million bond in his defamation case against E. Jean Carroll. (State of Politics)

— Rep. Mike Lawler wants to bring back the Tappan Zee bridge and do away with the current name of the “Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.” (LoHud)

— The Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council didn’t weigh in on the budget proposal on achieving New York’s statutory goal of reducing child poverty in half by 2032. (Capitol Pressroom)

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