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Last Wednesday, the Assembly’s Democratic Majority re-elected Assemblymember Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) as their leader for the 2019-20 legislative session; he will be officially elected Assembly speaker for the upcoming session when the Assembly convenes in early January. Heastie was first elected to the Assembly in 2000, and as Speaker in 2015. Heastie said that the […]

The New York State Compensation Committee, which was tasked with making recommendations with respect to adequate levels of compensation, non-salary benefits, and allowances for state legislators, statewide elected officials, and state agency heads, released its full report last week. On December 6, Committee members said on that they would recommend that state legislators’ salaries increase […]

The Legislature has released its calendar for the 2019 legislative session. Lawmakers will begin the session on Wednesday, January 9th, and are scheduled to end session on Wednesday, June 19.

Last week, the Washington D.C.-based Tax Foundation released its annual report on wireless taxes and fees.  As in prior years, New York imposes some of the highest wires taxes in the nation – taxes make up 25.2% of the average New York resident’s wireless bill. High wireless taxes limit the ability of wireless consumers – […]

Gov. Cuomo, state legislative leaders and the state’s District Attorney’s Association have agreed to delay the establishment of a commission that was enacted to investigate misconduct by prosecutors and would otherwise become effective on January 1, 2019. The District Attorneys Association of the State of New York (DAASNY) filed lawsuit in October challenging the law, […]

Each week, City & State New York publishes a list of the week’s political “winners” and “losers.”  Read last week’s list here.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) holds its next meeting on December 18. On December 18, the annual award ceremony for the state’s Regional Economic Development Councils will be held in Albany. On January 1, Gov. Cuomo will deliver his third inaugural address on Ellis Island. New York State’s 2019 legislative session begins on […]

On Monday, Gov. Cuomo announced that he has signed into law a 10-year extension of the state law that exempts agricultural producers from paying real property tax on buildings that are essential to the production of agricultural or horticultural products, including temporary greenhouses, dairy barns and exercise arenas for horse-boarding operations. Gov. Cuomo said: “New […]

A report released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that the Upstate New York economy that continues to lag the state and nation in job growth. And the report highlights the challenges that employers who are hiring are having in finding qualified employees to fill their vacancies. Read the report […]

On Thursday, the New York State Compensation Committee voted in favor of pay raises for the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, the 213 members of the state Assembly and Senate as well as cabinet-level officials. The pay raises will go into effect unless the Legislature rejects them.  The pay increase for these officials […]