April 12, 2020- Albany, NY- Governor Andrew Cuomo holds daily Coronavirus press briefing in the Red Room. (Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said he will issue a new COVID-19 Executive Order that requires employers to provide essential workers with cloth or surgical masks – free of charge – to wear when directly interacting with the public.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently issued a similar order.

The governor also announced he will issue an Executive Order to expand eligibility of individuals to conduct antibody tests to help ensure as many New Yorkers as possible have access to antibody testing.

Cuomo also joined National Governors Association Chair, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan in a bipartisan effort calling for $500 billion in aid to states in the next round of COVID-19 federal funding. The federal CARES Act approved last month contained zero funding to offset drastic state revenue shortfalls.

The Governor also reiterated his call for the Federal government once again allow resident to claim State And Local Tax (SALT) deductions on their federal tax filings.  The SALT provision in the 2017 federal tax reform measures eliminated all but $10,000 of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known commonly as the SALT deduction, costing New Yorkers millions of dollars annually in federal taxes.

ALBANY – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced Monday morning a regional approach to combatting the novel coronavirus – or COVID-19 – throughout the tri-state area. The group said their approach is due to a lack of federal direction and nationwide standards.

The standards announced by the governors will limit crowd capacity for social and recreational gatherings to 50 people, effective 8 p.m. Monday night. This follows updated guidance that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Sunday recommending the cancellation or postponement of in-person events consisting of 50 people or more.

The three governors also announced restaurants and bars will close for on premise service and move to take-out and delivery services only. These establishments will be provided a waiver for carry-out alcohol. These measures will take effect at 8 p.m. Monday.

Finally, the three governors said they will temporarily close movie theaters, gyms and casinos, effective at 8 p.m. Monday.

This uniform approach to social distancing is meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

“Our primary goal right now is to slow the spread of this virus so that the wave of new infections doesn’t crash our healthcare system, and everyone agrees social distancing is the best way to do that,” Governor Cuomo said. “This is not a war that can be won alone, which is why New York is partnering with our neighboring states to implement a uniform standard that not only keeps our people safe but also prevents ‘state shopping’ where residents of one state travel to another and vice versa. I have called on the federal government to implement nationwide protocols but in their absence we are taking this on ourselves.”

Governor Murphy said, “With all we are seeing in our state – and across our nation and around the world – the time for us to take our strongest, and most direct, actions to date to slow the spread of coronavirus is now. I’ve said many times over the past several days that, in our state, we are going to get through this as one New Jersey family. But if we’re all in this together, we must work with our neighboring states to act together. The work against coronavirus isn’t just up to some of us, it’s up to all of us.”

Governor Lamont said, “The only way to effectively fight the spread of COVID-19 is by working together as states. We have shared interests, and a patchwork of closures and restrictions is not the best way forward. I know that because of this collaboration, we will save lives.”

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

ALBANY – The governors of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island are forming a coalition of like-minded states on gun control, hoping to make progress where they see the federal government has faltered.

The four Democrats, who include Gov. Andrew Cuomo, announced the formation of “States for Gun Safety” on Thursday, about a week after the mass shooting at a Florida high school.

The group is creating a cross-state task force that will trace and intercept illegal guns, step up intelligence and information sharing among the participating states and create a regional gun violence research consortium.

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo joined Cuomo in the announcement.

They’ll be urging others to join the coalition at this weekend’s National Governors Association meeting.