Battle brews on exec powers

ALBANY — State Democrats are slated to vote Friday on a measure scaling back Gov. Cuomo’s expansive emergency pandemic powers.

The move, which comes as the governor faces mounting sexual harassment allegations and criticism over his handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic, is being painted as a toothless response by Republicans.

“I’d rather have an expiration date on all of this nonsense and go back to living in a democracy rather than a dictatorship,” state GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy said during an event outside the state Capitol.

Dems, however, argue that the bill prevents Cuomo from issuing any new COVID directives and forces him to allow lawmakers to weigh in on any extensions of current measures, such as mask-wearing mandates or restaurant capacities. The legislature can also repeal any order with a majority vote, a power they’ve had since last year but have not utilized.

The governor also won’t be able to extend actions beyond 30 days unless they explicitly relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuomo insinuated during a press briefing Wednesday that his embattled administration reached an “agreement” with top Dems to amend and “extend” his sweeping powers.

That prompted a terse bullet-point style statement from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) countering Cuomo’s claim.

“We did not negotiate this bill with the governor,” a Heastie spokesman said in a statement.

Republicans have introduced measures that would fully strip the governor of his ability to override state law.