Heastie to tap Pretlow for powerful budget committee

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is preparing to name Assembly Member Gary Pretlow as the new chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Pretlow would replace Assembly Member Helene Weinstein, who is retiring at the end of the year.

In an email to members, shared with City & State, Heastie said that he intends to name Pretlow to head the influential committee, which handles the budget and financial issues for the Assembly. The chairmanship would give Pretlow much greater influence in state budget negotiations. New committee assignments won’t officially happen until after Heastie is formally reelected as speaker on Jan. 8, the first scheduled day of the 2025 legislative session. But he alerted members of his intentions following their annual pre-session retreat in Albany given the late start date of the new session. 

“Recognizing the important work we must tackle heading into the new session and budget negotiations, it’s important that the Ways and Means Committee be able to hit the ground running,” Heastie wrote in the email. He added that this would also give Pretlow time to coordinate with Weinstein before she leaves. “I am confident with Gary’s leadership we will not miss a beat as we work to craft a budget that will help move our state forward,” he wrote.

Pretlow was not immediately available for comment.

Pretlow is one of the most senior members of the Assembly, having first been elected to his Westchester seat in 1992. The Legislature has recently bid farewell to several of its long-serving members, including Weinstein, Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry and, in the upper chamber, state Sen. Neil Breslin. 

Pretlow’s expected appointment to the Ways and Means Committee would leave the Racing and Wagering Committee up for grabs. He’s chaired that committee for nearly 20 years. The shakeup comes at a turbulent time for the gambling industry as casino operators and wealthy investors are competing for three new downstate licenses. Pretlow sponsored legislation in the past legislative session that would have sped up the licensing process, which lawmakers passed. But Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed the bill (after it had already become moot), saying that she didn’t want to make changes to the process while it was underway.

Heastie did not give any indication in his email about who he would consider to replace Pretlow. 

Assembly Members Angelo Santabarara and Michaelle Solages are the two most senior Democratic members of the committee, which could tee one of them up to take over. Solages doesn’t currently chair a committee and her Long Island district includes the Belmont Racetrack. But she already has powerful leadership positions, chairing the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, as well as serving as the deputy majority leader in the Assembly. Solages told City & State that she put in a request to chair a standing committee, although she did not elaborate on any specifics.

Santabarbara already chairs the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, but doesn’t share Solage’s current leadership responsibilities. His district is home to a Schenectady casino as well. And he serves on fewer commissions and task forces compared to Solages. However, he also serves on the Mental Health Committee, which is also losing a chair next year. As an avid advocate for people with disabilities, Santabarbara may be more interested in chairing the Mental Health Committee than the Racing and Wagering Committee. A representative for Santabarbara did not immediately return a request for comment on whether he would want to replace Pretlow as chair.