Good morning,
I hope and trust you had a nice weekend and continue to remain safe and healthy.
Late last week, Governor Cuomo’s office posted Executive Order 202.89, his ninety-second Executive Order during the COVID-19 state of emergency. Executive Order 202.89 dated January 7, 2021, continues the suspensions and modifications of law, and any directives, not superseded by a subsequent directive contained in Executive Orders 202.22 through 202.26 (see here), 202.32 (here), 202.33 (here), 202.34 (here), 202.35 (here), 202.44 (here), 202.45 (here) 202.53 (here), 202.57 (here), 202.64 (found here), and 202.69 (found here), 202.74 (found here), and 202.75 (found here), as continued and contained in Executive Orders 202.80 (found here) and 202.81 (found here) for another thirty days through February 6, 2021. In addition, Executive Order 202.89 issues modifications or suspensions of certain statutes, laws, as well as new directives, all of which are designed to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Order 202.89 is effective from January 7, 2021 through February 6, 2021. A copy of Executive Order 202.89 can be found here.
NEW DIRECTIVES
Modification to deadline on administering COVID-19 vaccine deadline
- The directive contained in Executive Order 202.88 that required any healthcare facility, provider, or entity who has been allocated and has received COVID-19 vaccine, or who has received redistributed COVID-19 vaccine, to administer all such vaccine within one week of its receipt by such facility is modified by Executive Order 202.89 only insofar as to apply for any vaccine currently on hand at any healthcare facility, provider or entity as of January 4, 2021, and such remaining doses must be administered no later than January 8, 2021, provided, however, that a facility may request an extension of such deadline which may be granted by the Commissioner for good cause.
Number of required signatures on certain election petitions is reduced
- For any election in the City of New York for which petitions are required to be filed before February 6, 2021, and which as of January 7, 2021 have not been so filed, then the number of signatures shall be 315.
- For a town or village election, occurring before July, 1, 2021 the signature requirements on an independent nominating petition for an independent nomination for the general election for any office that is not determined by a statewide election shall be whichever is less: (i) three and three tenths percentum of the total number of votes cast for governor at the last gubernatorial election in such unit, excluding blank and void votes, or (ii) a number equal to seventy percentum of the statutory minimum number provided for by subdivision 2 of section 6-142 of the election law, or for a village election, seventy percentum of the statutory minimum provided for in subdivision 6 of section 15-108 or subdivision 4 of section 6-206 of the election law.
SUSPENSION AND MODIFICATION OF LAWS
As with many previously issued executive orders, Executive Order 202.89 also suspends or modifies certain previously issued directives as well as certain laws, codes, rules and regulations to aid in New York’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis, this time through February 6, 2021. Executive Order 202.89 provides as follows:
- Any suspension of law or directives contained in the foregoing Executive Orders 202.23, 202.24, 202.26, relating to the conduct of an election which occurred in the calendar year 2020 is no longer suspended, and such suspensions or modifications are no longer in effect. Provided however, that the suspension of labor law section 522 relative to the collection of unemployment insurance for a worker who is hired for purposes of early voting or voting for a special election to occur in 2021 is continued, and provided further that the suspension contained in Executive Order 202.81 modifying the Education law related to absentee ballots is continued;
- Subdivision (f) of section 405.3 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to extend the terms of such subdivision to COVID-positive only facilities, thereby enabling such a facility to engage a facility manager, provided that such facility manager is an established operator of a general hospital, and subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Health;
- Article 6 and 15 of the Election Law in relation to conducting any village election all party nominations made by party caucus may be conducted remotely in whole or in part as set forth by the chair of such party;
- Sections 15-120 and 15-122 of the Election Law, and Section 84-a of the Town Law, as well as any provision of law related to a special district election and not administered by the County Board of Elections to the extent necessary to include the potential for contraction of the COVID-19 virus as an illness for purposes of request or receipt of an absentee ballot;
- Election Law § 8-407, to allow that election inspectors shall not attend or visit facilities to provide absentee ballots physically, and will send them by mail or by personal delivery;
- The modification in Executive Orders 202.82 and 202.88 of Section 2168 of the Public Health Law and section 66-1.2 of Title 10 of the NYCRR is continued and modified only insofar as to require all influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations for any individual (child or adult) to be reported to NYSIIS or CIR, as applicable, within 24 hours of administration of such vaccine; and
- The due dates for paying, without interest or penalty, property taxes due in the Village of Bayville and the City of Troy have been extended by twenty-one days at the request of each municipality.