In his first year as senator, James Skoufis served as chairman of the Investigations and Government Operations Committee. The seven-member group conducted three investigations and introduced a number of legislative bills last year. Skoufis aims for more of the same in his second year as chair.
“We sunk our teeth into some real serious issues that have already led to legislative solutions and shined a spotlight on problems that were existing in New York State that maybe people weren’t paying enough attention to,” Skoufis said. “Finally, the Investigations Committee is doing investigative work after a very long dormant period.”
As soon as Skoufis secured a seat in the Senate he began lobbying to chair the Investigations and Government Operations Committee. He met with Senate majority leaders to express his desire to turn the committee around and have it actually conduct investigations again. Senate leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins bought into the idea and named Skoufis as chair.
The committee hired a couple of investigators, something which had never been done before, Skoufis said, and three investigations were conducted during the year.
The committee looked at drug company middle men, also known as pharmacy benefit managers, to uncover what they’re doing to drive up prescription costs, harming pharmacists in the process. The committee looked into code enforcement, as well as IDAs – groups which hand out large corporate welfare checks, or property tax breaks, to enormous business interests.
Besides conducting investigations, the committee also reviews legislation on government operations, alcohol and beverage laws, event ticketing, and anything to do with human rights laws.
“There’s a real disparate set of important issues which come through the legislative end of the this committee,” said Skoufis.
Among the bills the committe approved: one enhanced the Freedom of Information Law and Open Meetings Act to provide further protections and enhancements for citizens looking to hold their governement accountable and get their hands on records.
The first bill passed is called the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act. This provides transgender New Yorkers with the same protections against discrimination that all other residents have. It protects them against housing and workplace discrimination, as well as hate crimes.
Another law now allows alcohol manufacturers to file their taxes electronically. Finally, a bill was passed to protect those citizens with disabilities, who have a therapy dog, from housing discrimination. Residences which don’t allow pets are not allowed to preclude someone with a disability from living with a therapy animal.
By the end of the year, the committee was considered to be among the top three most active legislative committees and had passed the second or third most bills of any Senate committee. Any bill approved by the committee must then be voted on by the full Senate.
Looking ahead to 2020, Skoufis said the committee already has a list of items it would like to investigate and review. While he didn’t share the entire list, he did provide a taste of what’s to come.
A current investigation is looking into event ticketing practices. What has been learned thus far is venues are not making all event tickets available as soon as they go on sale.
Skoufis said it’s common for people seeking to purchase tickets for a show, concert, or sporting event to visit the venue website and pull up a map which shows which seats are available.
“What most people don’t know is many venues do not post and disclose all the seats which are actually available for purchase. If 500 seats are available, the venue might only post 50 seats making it seem like the show is about to sell out and compel people to buy tickets. Once those 50 are sold, they’ll post the next 50. It’s a legal practice, but it’s a very deceitful practice.”
The committee is also looking into the practice of resellers purchasing thousands of tickets to turn around and sell them for more than the cost of the original ticket.
“It prices out many middle class families, average New Yorkers who want to enjoy something with their family. Due to these very intricate operations, they’re no longer able to see Broadway shows or sporting events.”
Skoufis said there are more substantial investigations planned, but to stay tuned to what they are.
