Covering the politics, policies and people of New York State government.
Advocates for expanded access to medical marijuana are pushing a slate of bills that would give more patients access to the drug, reduce the cost of prescriptions and create more dispensaries across the state. It’s been nearly two years since Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed the Compassionate Care Act. As of […]
Months after the death of the contentious 421-a tax abatement, lawmakers in Albany can’t agree on how to replace it. The 421-a property tax exemption program, which gives New York City developers tax exemption for building a multi-unit residential project on vacant land, expired in January. It was created […]
The New York State Bar Association is asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to create a commission that would prepare for the upcoming 2017 voter referendum on whether or not the state should go through with a constitutional convention. Although Cuomo proposed a preparatory commission for the 2016-2017 budget, it was […]
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law Monday a plan that would raise the minimum wage in New York to $15 an hour and provide paid family leave, as a part of the 2016-2017 enacted budget. The plan, which is being hailed as a model for the nation among leaders […]
Over 350 student groups at New York’s public colleges are voicing their opposition to an extension of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “rational tuition” legislation, and are calling for a freeze on SUNY and CUNY tuition rates to keep it at the 2016 academic year’s rate. The SUNY 2020 legislation, signed […]
For the first time since former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos were found guilty on corruption charges, ethics reform legislation has passed in the Assembly. The bill (A.09535), which passed in the Assembly by a 138-4 vote on March15, would limit outside income […]
The controversial aid-in-dying legislation is facing opposition from an alliance of groups that oppose the bill for both moral and pragmatic reasons, arguing that the legislation would put elderly and disabled people at risk of being abused. The bill, titled the “Patient Self-Determination Act” (S.5814-a/A.5261-c) would allow people with terminal […]
Reform groups are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers to create a commission that would develop a plan to properly run a constitutional convention. They are also urging lawmakers to consider reforming the convention process. That is, of course, if New Yorkers actually decide they want a constitutional […]