Alex Reagan of the New York State Association of Counties told the Tompkins Intergovernmental Relations Committee that county sales‑tax extender bills had been delivered to the governor and that Tompkins County’s extender was sent on Aug. 4. Reagan said the governor has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto the bills and that NYSAC has reason to believe the governor may veto the county sales‑tax extenders.
Committee members also raised a locally initiated resolution to increase Industrial Development Agency (IDA) board membership from seven to nine. Yasmin Kennedy, from State Senator Leah Webb’s office, asked for follow‑up after hearing informally that the governor did not sign the change. Alex Reagan later added that the bill had passed the Senate on June 13 and was delivered to the Assembly late in the session; he said the Assembly’s end‑of‑session timing likely prevented final action and that the bill may move next year without needing a new Senate vote.
Reagan also briefed the committee on a Department of Justice update: a revised DOJ “sanctuary jurisdiction” list published recently removed Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca from the federal list. He said NYSAC, the National Association of Counties and New York’s congressional delegation had advocated for removing New York counties that had not declared sanctuary policies and that the Justice Department will continue to revise the list. Reagan cautioned that the DOJ has criteria for adding jurisdictions back to the list and that the federal policy could change.
No formal committee votes were recorded on these state or federal items; members requested that state and governor’s office communications be followed up and that Senator Webb’s office report back on the IDA bill’s status.
Committee members said they would like improved communications from state offices on the disposition of locally requested legislation so that local officials are not surprised when a bill fails to reach final passage.