Yonker‘ Free Pre‘‘ MONDAY MARCH 16, 2020 - BRIAN HARROD PUBLISHER Yonkers ’ Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins Orders All Senate District Office In New York To Close State Senate Leader Shuts Down District Offices By BRIAN HARROD State Senate Majority Leader An- drea Stewart-Cousins has told all sen- ators to close their district offices and for district staff and non-essential State Senate central staff to work re- motely. She said the Senate is returning to Albany today (Monday) for its sched- uled session. Plans are being developed for a future schedule and safety protocols while working towards an expedited state budget. The budget must be adopted by April 1. Sources say that today legislators will return to the State Capitol on to approve bills that guarantee paid sick leave for quarantined workers and will ease qualifications for candidates to appear on election ballots in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Provisions are being considered for smaller businesses, with some of the costs covered either by temporary disability insurance programs or paid family leave laws. Typically, self-quarantines are or- dered for 14 days. Legislators need to approve legis- lation to facilitate Governor Andrew Cuomo’s order to end the process for gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot. Lawmakers also must change the deadline for turning in petitions, which currently is April 2. The governor’s order also reduces the number of signatures needed by 70%. For example, a candidate for State Senate would need just 300 signatures rather than 1,000. They may also discuss the pos- sibility of enacting an “accelerated” budget ahead of the state’s April 1 fiscal deadline. Currently, Majority Leader An- drea Stewart-Cousins has talked of a a goal of reaching an ‘accelerated’ fi- nal state budget agreement over the next five days. Legislative and executive branch staff members have been discussing the possibility of working out an ac- celerated budget