The state legislature this week is set to delay a city fee on grocery bags that was going to take effect next week. It is a highly unusual for the Democratic-led Assembly to interfere with the also largely-Democratic City Council, and it is leading to tensions between two sets of lawmakers. Zack Fink filed the following report.
The state legislature is ready to swoop in and block a New York City law from taking effect next week.
Technically speaking, a compromise reached between the Senate and Assembly merely delays the five-cent fee on plastic and paper grocery bags by one year. But most observers seem to acknowledge that the action in Albany effectively kills the law.
"We share in the City Council's goal. We would like to eliminate or lessen the use of plastics, things that are not good for the environment. But we were just concerned on how the legislation was crafted. We believe there's flaws in the legislation," said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
In order to revive the fee on bags, a newly elected City Council would have to pass the bill again in 2018.
Some fellow Democrats are wary of the state legislature overturning the will of the largely Democratic City Council.
"Whenever the state considers doing something like that, overturning a local bill, it needs to take pause and realize that there are local actors who have thought about these issues," said Assemblyman Robert Carroll of Brooklyn.
One person who is applauding the new compromise with the Assembly is state Senator Simcha Felder. A Democrat who caucuses with the Republicans, Felder has led the charge against the bag fee, which he calls a "tax."
"We of course would like to get everything we want, but this is certainly a very, very good move in the right direction to protect New Yorkers from Mayor de Blasio's tax and being overburdened with taxes, tickets and fines," Felder said.
Heastie would like to hold hearings before drafting new legislation to replace the Council law.
"I do think that we want to hear from the advocates, we want to from the public and we want to hear from our partners in the City Council," Heastie said. "How many are scheduled, we are not that far. But we don't want to do this in a vacuum."
Because the revenue from bags goes to grocery stores and not the government, it amounts to a fee and not a tax. In addition, the city cannot tax itself without Albany's approval. Ultimately, the city is a creature of the state, and that was on display in this dispute over the bag fee.