Covering the politics, policies and people of New York State government.
In one of the busiest weeks for bookmakers and bettors, the Siena College Research Institute released a poll that finds 39 percent of Americans bet on sports, and 19 percent use an online betting app. The poll reveals the vast majority of online sports bettors say it’s fun and exciting […]
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 […]
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 […]
The watchdog groups Reinvent Albany and Scrutinize recently released a report that estimates a meager 6 percent of all New York state criminal court decisions are actually published annually. These findings have prompted Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, D-Queens, to call for legislation that would emphasize judicial transparency. The […]
New York state has joined 11 other states with “clean slate” laws that seal the criminal records of formerly incarcerated people with the goal of making it easier for them to find housing and jobs. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed the Clean Slate Act (S.7551A/A.1029C), which allows certain criminal […]
New York state’s small city school districts earned a win on Tuesday as voters approved an increase in their debt limits, giving them the same borrowing power as larger school districts. Situated as ballot proposals in this year’s election, the two statewide ballot questions of debt limits were both passed […]
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 […]
More than eight in ten New York state voters say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem for the state, with 57 percent calling the situation “very serious,” up slightly from 54 percent in August. In a new Siena poll released October 24, nearly […]
