Blog

Last week, Gov. Cuomo released his 2018-19 Executive Budget proposal, which totals $168.2 billion.  (Read the Governor’s budget press release and watch the Governor’s budget presentation.)  The proposed budget would raise total spending by 2.3 percent, including a 3 percent increase in school aid, a $769-million bump. It also includes numerous policy initiatives, including the […]

According to a Siena Poll released on Monday, Gov. Cuomo has a favorability rate among likely voters of 62 percent to 30 percent, the highest in his eight years as governor.  The poll was released shortly before the Governor released his eighth state budget plan. The poll also found that Cuomo’s job performance rating is […]

On Wednesday, the Business Council of New York State (BCNYS) released its 2018 Legislative and Regulatory Agenda, Blueprint for a Better New York.  The report “urges the Governor and the Legislature to respond to the state’s growing budget deficit and federal actions by examining and reassessing our state’s competitiveness in relation to the rest of […]

On Tuesday, the New York Farm Bureau announced that a State Supreme Court justice has dismissed the lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) that sought to create collective bargaining rights for farmworkers.  The court granted the New York Farm Bureau intervenor status in the lawsuit after the Governor and Attorney General […]

New York City Councilman Exploring Run for Lt. Governor New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) said this week that he has formed an exploratory committee to consider the possibility of challenging Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul in September’s Democratic primary. The governor and lieutenant governor run separately in a primary in New York but the […]

On Tuesday, the Senate Republican Conference announced the release of its ‘Affordability Agenda,’ which is “designed to help individuals, families, and seniors continue to live, work, and succeed in New York” and is the first part of their broader “Blueprint for a Stronger New York.” [Watch the Senate Republican press conference here.] Their agenda recognizes […]

Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) opened the 2018 Legislative Session last Monday by announcing the Assembly Majority’s legislative priorities, which include criminal justice reform; state support for education; the DREAM Act; and gun control.  (Read the text of Speaker Heastie’s floor statement here.) Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R-Canandaigua) laid out the Assembly Minority’s legislative priorities, […]

Last week, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP) released its advocacy agenda for 2018, which highlights the many challenges that employers in Western New York face. They include too much red tape, mandates that drive up labor costs, and the need for more skilled workers, among others. The report also notes that progress was made in […]

A former Senate staff member told the Huffington Post that State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) forcibly kissed her outside of an Albany bar in 2015. The article was published shortly after Senator Klein held a conference call with reporters in which he pre-emptively denied the accusation, and released a memorandum from a law firm that […]