New York Law News Vol VII
-Term limit law issues keep rising up again and again. Former presidential candidate and New York senator Hillary Clinton has weighed in on the potential vote to extend term limits from eight years to 12.
The former first lady told NY1, "It is disturbing that voters voted twice, so I think that the City Council and the mayor have to first go through the hearings they’re holding and try to figure out what they will do."
"They have the legal authority to make the change… but I really am going to watch from the sidelines now because this is a very intense, local debate and the people of New York City should be heard," she added.
-The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece by Jason L. Riley regarding the term limits and how he believes they shouldn’t be extended:
But the argument for extending the two-term limit for Mr. Bloomberg — a self-made billionaire who got his start on Wall Street — is that the city needs someone with his financial acumen to help weather the fallout from the banking crisis. The biggest problem with that argument is that Mr. Bloomberg hasn’t been very adept at managing the city’s finances, even though he’s had record revenues to work with.
There is something deeply undemocratic about legislatively overturning the will of the people without giving voters a say in the matter. And there’s something deeply disturbing about a local press corps that lets the political class get away with it.
-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced amendments to state law regarding recycling to offset operation expenses. The changes are to be implemented within the next 120 days.
New York State law requires all municipalities to separate recyclables from trash before collection and processing. This "source separation" is intended to decrease waste, save waste disposal costs and increase revenues from the sale of recycled materials, according to officials with Cuomo’s office.
-Members of congress are questioning the legality of the planned auction of several flight slots out of New York City’s three main airports. An investigation into the auction noted that the FAA does not have the authorization to sell the inbound and outbound flight plans.
"Your office has the statutory responsibility and duty to investigate potential unlawful behavior and report violations,” Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, and Representative James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a letter to Inspector General Calvin Scovel.
The letter may add to pressure on the FAA to scrap the first auctions, planned for Jan. 12. Airlines yesterday asked an appeals court to halt the sales.
