GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING, Saturday, 4/18

Cuomo Allows Clerks

To Wed Us From Afar

ALBANY – At today’s briefing, Governor Cuomo said he will issue an Executive Order allowing town and village clerks to perform wedding ceremonies via video conference, a practice banned under current law.

He will also allow engaged couples to obtain marriage licenses remotely.

Many marriage bureaus have temporarily closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing New Yorkers from getting a marriage license during the current health emergency; the Executive Order will temporarily suspend a provision of law that requires in-person visits.

The governor also:

• called for federal coordination of the supply chain to bring testing to scale so states can performing begin reopening functions. Tests are currently produced by private laboratory equipment manufacturers – there are 30 large manufacturers in the U.S. – and these manufacturers sell the tests to smaller labs, who then sell the tests to hospitals and the public.

• reiterated the bipartisan call from the National Governors Association for the federal government to provide $500 billion in unrestricted aid to the states to help stabilize the economy and allow the states to perform reopening functions. The federal government has passed three bills to address this crisis, including the federal CARES Act, all of which contained zero funding to offset drastic state revenue shortfalls.

• confirmed 7,090 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 236,732 confirmed cases in New York State.