The Wall Street Journal - 26.11.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Tuesday, November 26, 2019 |A8A

BYPAULBERGER

the commission, including

state Democratic Chairman

Jay Jacobs, were exacting re-

venge after the WFP backed

Cynthia Nixon’s unsuccessful

challenge to Mr. Cuomo in last

year’s Democratic primary.

“This is a power grab by

the governor and his allies to

consolidate power and weaken

independent progressive polit-

ical organizing. The result is

that New York will be the most

hostile state in America to mi-

nor parties,” Mr. Lipton said.

Rich Azzopardi, a senior ad-

viser to the Democratic gover-

nor, said Mr. Cuomo would re-

view the commission’s report,

and he dismissed Mr. Lipton’s

attack as a “paranoid rant.”

The commission’s overall re-

port was approved 7-2, with

the two Republicans citing the

cost of the system as they

voted no. Democratic members

of the commission said their

effort, developed after months

of deliberations and hearings,

is a compromise. “I think we’ve

got a system that will be effec-

tive,” said Henry Berger, an

election lawyer appointed to

the commission by Mr. Cuomo

and leaders of the Legislature.

The commission recom-

mended donations to state-

wide candidates of up to $

would be matched 6 to 1. Do-

nations of up to $250 to legis-

lative candidates from people

residing within their districts

would be matched on a sliding

scale, with smaller amounts

receiving a higher multiplier.

Overall donation limits to

candidates would fall. Candi-

dates for statewide office

could accept general-election

contributions of $18,000 from

a single individual, down from

more than $60,000 for major-

party candidates.

Messrs. Jacobs, Berger and

Cuomo all have expressed con-

cern that a larger number of

minor parties would increase

the cost of the system, and Mr.

Jacobs proposed nearly tri-

pling the thresholds for estab-

lishing parties.

Under the current law, a

party automatically appears in

all state elections if the guber-

natorial candidate gets more

than 50,000 votes in the previ-

ous election. Some parties, in-

cluding the WFP, meet this

threshold by cross-endorsing

major-party candidates, who

can combine their tallies under

the system of fusion voting.

A resolution approved by the

commission in a separate 6-

vote on Monday would require

minor parties to qualify every

two years instead of every four.

They would need to get 130,

votes or 2% of the ballots cast

for either governor or presi-

dent, whichever is higher. Only

the Democratic, Republican and

Conservative parties met that

threshold in 2018.

The commission also voted

to increase from 15,000 to

45,000 the number of petition

signatures required to place a

candidate on the ballot. Green

Party leaders said the small

parties “will face an almost

impossible treadmill.”

The recommendations will

become law unless the Assem-

bly and Senate convene to

modify or reject them.

A New York state commission

on public campaign-finance re-

form voted Monday to establish

a statewide system that matches

small political donations with

taxpayer funds and makes it

more difficult for minor parties

to appear on the ballot.

The Public Finance Reform

Commission recommended re-

ducing the allowed contribu-

tion limits to statewide candi-

dates by more than half and

matching donations of $250 or

less. The changes are set to

become law next month.

The findings were denounced

by leaders of minor parties, who

said they would restrict voter

choice. Advocates of public

campaign finance said the pa-

rameters approved by the com-

mission wouldn’t accomplish its

stated goal of reducing the in-

fluence of big money in politics.

The sharpest critic was

New York Working Families

Party Executive Director Bill

Lipton, who said Gov. Andrew

Cuomo and his appointees to

BYJIMMYVIELKIND

Election-Finance Revamp Hits Minor Parties

A group representing thou-
sands of contractors sued New
York state and the state-con-
trolled Metropolitan Transpor-
tation Authority on Monday
over rules that punish firms
for delays and cost overruns
on infrastructure projects.
The lawsuits were filed in
state and federal courts in
Manhattan by Alliance for Fair
and Equitable Contracting To-
day Inc., a nonprofit formed
by five trade associations that
represent construction and en-
gineering firms.
Rules instituted this year by
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
and the MTA prohibit compa-
nies from doing business with
the state, if they fail to reach
certain criteria. One regulation
debars firms for five years if

budget document. The funding

includes millions for the New

York Police Department, dis-

trict attorneys, defense law-

yers and other entities.

Elizabeth Glazer, director of

the Mayor’s Office of Criminal

Justice in New York City, said

the money would help prose-

cutors, police and defenders

meet new legal obligations.

“No one has a full under-

standing of exactly how the

changes to discovery will play

out,” she said. “But it’s going

to require a tremendous

amount of work.”

The new city funding in-

cludes nearly $25 million for

the NYPD to produce material

required by the new law, in-

cluding crime-lab reports and

footage from body-worn cam-

eras, city officials said.

The new laws require a

“massive retooling of NYPD

practices,” several important

technology upgrades and the

hiring of hundreds of addi-

tional personnel across several

areas of the department, said

Devora Kaye, an NYPD spokes-

woman.

“These new funds will help

pay for such things as new

portals to better share infor-

mation with district attorneys

and the hiring of criminalists

and others to handle increased

burden of paperwork and pro-

duce case materials more

quickly,” she said.

New York City officials also

set aside nearly $36 million

for the city’s five district at-

torneys to comply with obliga-

tions under the new laws, city

officials said.

Manhattan District Attor-

ney Cyrus Vance Jr. welcomed

the increased funding for

prosecutors. “I think the

Mayor really stepped up here,”

he said. “He recognized that

new funding is necessary to

make these new laws work.”

Officials with the District

Attorneys Association of New

York said Mr. de Blasio’s fund-

ing of programs in New York

City won’t help many prosecu-

tors in New York’s suburban

and rural areas, who say they

still lack money for compliance.

“Without money for equip-

ment, staff and funding, these

laws will surely fail in many

parts of our state,” said the

association’s president, David

M. Hoovler, Orange County

district attorney.

New York City officials will
spend nearly $75 million to
help police and attorneys com-
ply with sweeping new laws
set to begin in the state next
year that are intended to en-
sure fair hearings for criminal
defendants.
Beginning Jan. 1, new pre-
trial laws will force prosecutors
to hand over evidence to de-
fense lawyers earlier before tri-
als begin. The process, known
as discovery, gives defendants
access to potentially important
information about their cases.
Currently, prosecutors don’t
have to give defense attorneys
some evidence, such as witness
statements, until a trial starts.
The state Legislature and
Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved

the new laws as part of the
state budget earlier this year,
along with other court
changes that prohibit judges
from imposing cash bail on de-
fendants accused of misde-
meanor offenses and nonvio-
lent felonies.
The new discovery laws re-
quire prosecutors to give
search warrants, witness
statements, videos, photos and
other evidence to defense law-
yers within 15 days of defen-
dants’ arraignments. Propo-
nents believe the new policies
will result in fairer criminal
trials by relaxing rules on dis-
covery that state officials had
called among the most restric-
tive in the U.S.
Critics say the new rules
will discourage witnesses and
victims from testifying be-
cause their identities could be
made known to defendants.
They also believe the rules will
create a bureaucratic logjam as
police and prosecutors scram-
ble to assemble and prepare
evidence for defense lawyers.
To address some of these
concerns, New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio included
millions of dollars to support
compliance in an updated city

BYBENCHAPMAN

Lawyers, Police

Prepare for Criminal

Evidence Changes

Guards Accused of Failing to Check on Epstein Appear in Court

HIGH-PROFILE CASE: Tova Noel, in yellow, left federal court in Manhattan on Monday, where a judge set an April 20 trial date for her

and Michael Thomas. The Metropolitan Correctional Center guards have pleaded not guilty to charges that they lied on jail records to

make it seem that they had made required checks on Jeffrey Epstein in the hours before the financier was found dead in his cell.

JUSTIN LANE/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Mr. Cuomo issued an execu-

tive order in January disquali-

fying firms from doing busi-

ness with the state if they are

deemed “non-responsible” for

a variety of reasons, including

their past performance.

This summer, the MTA is-

sued emergency regulations

debarring firms even mid-

GREATER NEW YORK

they are deemed to have gone

over budget or delayed an

MTA project by more than 10%

of a contract’s terms.

The alliance says the rules

don’t allow for mitigating cir-

cumstances and jeopardize

contracts nationwide because

some states won’t work with

companies debarred elsewhere.

“Debarment is like the

death penalty,” Neal Katyal, an

attorney for the alliance, said

in an interview Monday.

“There is nothing more dam-

aging or scary to a contractor

than that threat.”

Representatives for Mr.

Cuomo and the MTA said they

don’t comment on pending lit-

igation. A spokeswoman for

the MTA added that the au-

thority is changing the way it

does business so that it can

deliver for its customers. Dani

Lever, a spokeswoman for Mr.

Cuomo, said: “The law is de-

signed to make sure that proj-

ects happen on time and on

budget and that the taxpayers

aren’t getting ripped off.”

The MTA spends billions of

dollars annually upgrading its

two commuter railroads, nine

bridges and tunnels as well as

subway and bus networks in

New York City.

The debarment rules were

championed by Mr. Cuomo, a

Democrat, who has become

frustrated by delayed projects

and ballooning budgets.

project, if the authority antici-

pates that their work will be

late or overbudget by more

than 10%. Those regulations

have been extended twice, as

the authority considers mak-

ing them permanent.

The debarment process—

which applies retroactively

and can penalize parent com-

panies, subsidiaries and affili-

ates—is run by MTA officials.

The lawsuit filed against

the MTA in federal court says

that the authority’s regula-

tions are unconstitutional,

conflict with federal laws and

are more stringent than debar-

ment requirements nationally.

The lawsuit filed in state

court argues that Mr. Cuomo’s

executive order exceeded his

authority in an area that

should be the domain of the

state Legislature. The suit

claims that the MTA also ex-

ceeded its regulatory authority.

The suits say that the regu-

lations have created a terrible

environment for contractors

who can’t adequately plan or

protect themselves from de-

barment. The plaintiffs include

the General Contractors Asso-

ciation of New York and the

New York Building Congress,

members of which include

subsidiaries of construction

giants Kiewit Corp. and Skan-

ska USA.

The groups say delays and

cost overruns are often caused

by outside factors, such as un-

foreseen difficulties or scope

changes requested by the

MTA. But the rules could force

contractors to absorb addi-

tional costs rather than face

the risk of being debarred.

The suits also claim the de-

barment rules could deter

firms from bidding on con-

tracts at a time when the MTA

is trying to increase competi-

tion.

Mike Elmendorf, president

and chief executive of the As-

sociated General Contractors

of New York State, a plaintiff

in the lawsuits, said the rules

will only drive up costs, as

project bidders price the in-

creased risk into their con-

tracts.

State, MTA Sued Over Contracting Rules

Companies can face

debarment for years if

projects are delayed or

run over budget

MTA personnel working on tracks in Brooklyn in July. The agency

and the state are being sued by a group representing contractors.

KEVIN HAGEN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

$75M

Amount New York City will
spend to comply with new laws

NY