July 7, 2017. This article discusses Governor Cuomo’s use of a “message of necessity,” which bypasses the three day waiting period between the introduction of a bill and when it can be voted on, in order to rename the Tappan Zee bridge after his father. The assembly previously voted not to pass this proposal. Some, including FPI’s executive director Ron Deutsch, do not view renaming the bridge as a necessity.
Messages are supposed to be reserved for emergencies but are often misused for routine purposes, said Ron Deutsch with the watchdog group Fiscal Policy Institute.
“As a rule, we don’t like messages of necessity,” Deutsch said.
Deutsch said while it’s “wonderful” that lawmakers want to honor Mario Cuomo, the renaming of a bridge does not meet the criteria for an emergency message.
“I think that’s something that could obviously wait,” he said. “I don’t see any sense of urgency in renaming a bridge.”
Here is the link to WXXI News.