New York state legislators and members of the Labor Religion Coalition held a rally in the Capitol building’s War Room on March 4 to push for investments prioritizing low-income New Yorkers as the Legislature begins to turn their attention to finalizing the budget. Speakers at the event included Assembly members, […]
Featured-Policy
Legislative Package Aims To Reduce ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found In Many Household Products
On Tuesday Feb. 6 legislators and the PFAS-free New York coalition held a press conference at the Million Dollar Staircase advocating for a package of bills that work to eliminate and regulate the use and discharge of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in common consumer products and waterways. The package […]
Bill That Would Ban New Fracking Method Advances in Assembly
A new bill (S.8357/A.8866) that would ban the use of carbon dioxide for fracking and gas extraction has been introduced in the Legislature following reports that homeowners in New York’s Southern Tier are being asked to lease their land by a fracking company. Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions, or […]
Governor Hochul Signs Bill Expanding the Legal Definition of Rape
On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law expanding the legal definition of rape to include a number of different types of nonconsensual sexual contact in New York state. Prior to the signing of Legislation S.3161/A.3340, the law described rape as only vaginal penetration by a […]
Company Exploring A Fracking Alternative In New York’s Southern Tier Is Raising Alarms
Despite a statewide ban on fracking, energy companies have not given up the pursuit of fossil fuels in New York. Now, a company called Southern Tier Solutions, a newly formed company that is seeking leases in New York’s Southern Tier to try an alternate method of extracting natural gas. In […]
Senate Hears Nine Hours of Testimony About Cannabis Retail Market
The New York State Senate Subcommittee on Cannabis held its first public hearing in Albany on Monday to shed light on the issues that have been preventing the legal cannabis market from becoming fully operational. During the hearing — which bore witness to many problems that have plagued New York’s […]
Senate Hearing to Examine Flawed Rollout of NY’s Recreational Cannabis Market
On Monday, October 30, the New York State Senate Subcommittee on Cannabis will hold a public hearing in Albany to discuss the cannabis market of New York, the first of the subcommittee’s history. Since its inception back in 2021, the legal market for cannabis in New York has met a […]
Attorney General, NYCLU Reach Agreement With New York City Police Over Protest Responses
A landmark settlement was reached on September 5 in which the New York City Police Department agreed to overhaul its policing tactics regarding public protests. The settlement marks the resolution of a years-long case in which the department was accused of aggressive policing during the 2020 George Floyd protests, leading […]