Governor’s Emergency Powers focus of third 2023 Anderson Program

The third program of the 2023 Warren M. Anderson Legislative Series will focus on constitutional and legal issues surrounding the powers of New York’s Governor in times of emergency.

The Government Law Center at Albany Law School will host the virtual program, “The Powers of the Governor in Times of Emergency,” on Tuesday, April 25, from noon to 1 p.m. 

The series is free of charge and open to the public, but registration is required.

Continuing legal education (CLE) professional practice credit is available for attorneys who attend.

The GLC has also released its latest explainer – a series where the center concisely map out the law that applies to important questions of public policy and guide policymakers on key government topics – about the emergency powers of the governor, which can be seen here.

The discussion will be moderated by Leonard M. Cutler, Director of the Center for the Study of Government and Politics and Professor of Political Science at Siena College, with panelists:

• Mylan L. Denerstein, Esq. - Partner at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, LLP, and former Counsel to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
• Peter J. Kiernan, Esq. - Venable LLP, Chair of the New York Law Revision Commission, and former Counsel to Governor David A. Paterson
• Professor Robert F. Williams - Former Director of the Center for State Constitutional Studies and Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus at Rutgers Law School

This event follows previous programs on Environmentally Affordable Sustainable Housing and the Lieutenant Governor’s role in New York. The latter featured, among others, former New York State Governor David A. Paterson. There will be a final 2023 program in May.

Previous programs can be viewed at albanylaw.edu/government-law-center/warren-m-anderson-series.

The series is named in honor of Warren M. Anderson ’40 who served in the New York State Senate for 36 years, working with six governors. He was the longest-serving majority leader of the Senate, holding that position from 1973 to 1988.

Anderson was best known for working to bail out New York City from its fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s. He was also responsible for establishing the state’s Tuition Assistance Program, which helped fund the education of thousands of New York college students.