On April 24, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the opening of a state facility in the Capital Region for the purpose of storing unreported sexual assault evidence kits, giving victims more time to prioritize recovering from the incident and plan their next move. This secure, climate controlled storage facility began accepting […]
Policy
Hochul Signs Legislation Expanding Access to Reproductive Health Care
ALBANY, NY — On the first anniversary of the leak of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft that inevitably overturned the precedent set in Roe v. Wade, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed a pair of bills into law earlier today that fulfill her previous promises of protecting reproductive […]
Bill Would Prohibit Auto Insurers From Setting Rates Based on Credit Scores
On Wednesday April 26, New York lawmakers and consumer advocates called for legislation to end auto insurance pricing discrimination. According to a report released by the Consumer Federation of America, New York drivers pay substantial insurance premium penalties if they have fair or poor credit scores. Bill A.00843, introduced by […]
New Bail Laws, Higher Minimum Wage Included In ‘Conceptual’ Budget Agreement
After a month-long delay, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced a “conceptual agreement” on a $229 billion state budget for the 2024 fiscal year. The budget would hold State Operating Funds spending to under 3 percent in the coming fiscal year and would increase the state’s reserves to 15 percent, […]
SUNY Lifts COVID Vaccine Requirement for Students
State University of New York Chancellor John King announced on Tuesday, April 11 that the mandate for student COVID-19 vaccine requirements will be lifted in tandem with President Joe Biden’s announcement the previous day that the country is no longer in a state of national emergency. Though the vaccine is […]
Video: A Living Wage Fight
On March 8 — International Women’s Day — the group One Fair Wage held a flash mob and rally to increase tipped workers’ wages in the state Capitol. Restaurant workers and their supporters orchestrated a 75-person flash mob as part of a rally on wages at the Million Dollar Staircase […]
Lawmakers Propose TikTok Ban on State Devices
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Sen. James Sanders have introduced a bill to prevent the use of the app TikTok on state-owned devices. The bills (S.508/A.03317) would prevent anyone — employee or contractor — from using or accessing TikTok on any government issued device that can connect to the internet, whether […]
State Payroll Rose to $18.2B Last Year, According to Empire Center’s New Data
The SeeThroughNY database — the largest single depository for information on New York state salaries and spending — published new 2022 payroll details for employees that worked for the state’s executive, legislative and judicial branches. The database is published by the Empire Center, an Albany-based think tank focused on making sure […]