Josefa Velasquez

January 24, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Acting Albany Supreme Court Justice Roger D. McDonough issued a decision Monday denying five of six objections raised by the New York Public Service Commission and the nuclear power plant owners who sought to dismiss a lawsuit by environmentalist and consumer groups over subsidies for aging nuclear plants in western New York.

By Josefa Velasquez |

3 minute read

January 23, 2018 | New York Law Journal

A coalition of labor unions and good government groups rallied at the state Capitol on Tuesday to generate support for early voting.

By Josefa Velasquez |

3 minute read

January 22, 2018 | New York Law Journal

State Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, sent a letter to each of New York's four U.S. attorneys asking them to allow New York's program to continue despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions' rollback earlier this month of the Obama-era Cole memo.

By Josefa Velasquez |

4 minute read

January 22, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants the state comptroller to audit the judiciary as part of his budgetary proposal to certify that judges work eight hours a day.

By Josefa Velasquez |

3 minute read

January 18, 2018 | New York Law Journal

State Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, told the New York Law Journal on Wednesday afternoon that negotiations on a bill that would extend the time misdiagnosed cancer patients have to sue doctors and hospitals for the error have not been progressing with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.

By Josefa Velasquez |

4 minute read

January 18, 2018 | New York Law Journal

PhRMA, the powerful Washington-based advocacy group that represents pharmaceutical companies, blasted a proposal by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to levy a 2-cents-per-milligram surtax on opioid prescription medication sold in the state to help fund measures against the drug epidemic.

By Josefa Velasquez |

4 minute read

January 17, 2018 | New York Law Journal

The New York State Department of Tax and Finance issued a report Wednesday afternoon on possible ways to overhaul the state's tax structure. One of the proposals in the report would keep the state's current income tax and levy a payroll tax on employers based on each employee's tax withholdings.

By Josefa Velasquez |

3 minute read

January 17, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Gov. Cuomo's proposal during his budget address Tuesday to tie additional funding for courts above the 2 percent cap to judges certifying that courts are open from 9 to 5 each day received a mixed reception from the state's judiciary.

By Josefa Velasquez |

5 minute read

January 16, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants New York to fund a study of the possible impact of legalizing recreational marijuana in the state, the Democratic governor said at his annual budget address in Albany on Tuesday afternoon. He also introduced several other proposals including a possible surtax on pharmaceutical company sales of opioid medications, and a tax on companies that sell over the internet.

By Josefa Velasquez |

8 minute read

January 11, 2018 | New York Law Journal

An investigation into an accusation that a state senator forcibly kissed a former staffer won't be conducted by the chamber because the matter does not fall under its jurisdiction, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan said on Thursday.

By Josefa Velasquez |

4 minute read