“Since Tuesday, Majority lawmakers have proudly promoted their agreed upon bill (A.5967) that they believe ‘immediately repeals the governor’s expanded emergency powers.’ However, calling this a ‘repeal’ is unquestionably false advertising.

“Under this legislation the governor is no longer able to issue any new directives, he can however continue to expand and amend the nearly 100 existing Executive Orders that will continue to impact our day-to-day lives such as restrictions placed on restaurants, schools, places of worship, bowling alleys and gatherings of any kind. The list goes on-and-on. The only clear repeal is that of the original expiration date of April 30, 2021, leaving the powers unchecked indefinitely and the legislature with the mere ability to provide “comment” on any proposed changes to an order.

“I know that over the next several days my office, as well as every other office in the Assembly and Senate, will be bombarded with questions as to how the passage of this legislation will change the current status quo for their businesses, their children’s graduations, their wedding plans. The answer is it won’t. The only way to take steps toward getting back to a more normal way of life is a full repeal of these emergency powers, a proposal which I put forward today only to be defeated by the Majority. A full repeal would allow for us as a legislature to establish directives that ensure a safe and steady reopening, while eliminating those which will now simply continue to impede on the lives of New Yorkers regardless of necessity.

“I cannot in good conscience allow the residents of my district and New York state to believe that his powers have been rescinded because the reality is, they have not been.”