May 12, 2025 - We explore the state's investment in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library with Jenn O'Connor, director of partnerships in early childhood policy for Education Trust-New York, and Peter Gannon, president and CEO at the United Way of the Greater Capital Region. The guests also weigh in on other elements of the state budget affecting kids.
May 9, 2025 - Patrick Wildes, director of Albany Law School's Government Law Center, discusses language in the state budget making it easier for New Yorkers to be involuntarily committed and considers what the implementation will look like.
May 9, 2025 - Rockefeller Institute of Government President Bob Megna, a former state budget director, talks about the power governors have to unilaterally control spending and addresses Gov. Kathy Hochul's expanded authority over budget cuts.
May 9, 2025 - We check in on the state of New York's marijuana landscape, including special showcase events, language in the state budget, and a backlog of license applications, with Joe Belluck, chair of the state's Cannabis Advisory Board.
May 8, 2025 - Rose Duhan, president and CEO of the Community Healthcare Association of New York State, discusses how funding in the state budget and cuts to Americorps will impact the services provided by community healthcare centers. She also makes the case for expanding the scope of practice for health care professionals.
May 8, 2025 - Former Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy, now the president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, discusses changes to the selection process of future lieutenant governors that was included in the state budget at the behest of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who had a public break with her number two. The Rochester Democrat also talks about a healthy relationship between a lieutenant governor and the governor.
May 7, 2025 - State Sen. Dean Murray, a Long Island Republican, and Ken Pokalsky, a vice president of The Business Council of New York State, express their objections to an evolving plan to fund the state's share of a $68 billion capital plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which would include cutting the payroll tax for small New York City area businesses and raising it for large employers.
May 7, 2025 - Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat, discusses some of her priorities in Albany, including getting harmful chemicals out of everyday products and limiting plastic packaging waste.
May 7, 2025 - Assemblymember Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, discusses legislation designed to limit sports gambling advertising and restrict how much can be bet in one day.
May 6, 2025 - A quiet campaign by an organized labor and a prolonged advocacy effort by the business community appears to have been successful in convincing state policymakers to pay off New York's multi-billion dollar unemployment insurance debt to the federal government. We consider the ramifications of the deal that is taking shape, including what it means for unemployment benefits in the future, with Zach Williams, a Capitol reporter for Bloomberg Government.
May 6, 2025 - In order to foster climate-resilient communities, the state is promoting the planting of trees and shrubs along tributaries in New York. We explore what this effort looks like in the Hudson Valley with Beth Roessler, stream buffer coordinator for the Hudson River Estuary Program with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
May 5, 2025 - After years of objections from governors and state budget officials, Democratic state lawmakers and housing stakeholders appear to have advanced their campaign for a state housing voucher program. We consider the pilot program that could be included in the state budget with Christine Quinn, president and CEO of WIN.
May 5, 2025 - A new survey from the Siena College Research Institute examined how New Yorkers feel about the risk of climate change and some of the key environmental and energy questions being debated by the state policymakers. We break down the polling results with Travis Brodbeck, the organization's associate director of data management.
May 5, 2025 - Biosolids are billed as a cheap alternative that farmers can use instead of fertilizer, but environmentalists and public health officials are now warning that these treated materials could be dangerous. We discuss legislation pausing the use of biosolids in New York with Claire Walsh Winsler, director of food agriculture and land use policy for Environmental Advocates New York.
May 2, 2025 - The process of selecting a firm to manage the Long Island power grid took a dramatic twist this week, so we're unpacking the drama with Mark Harrington, a reporter with Newsday.
May 2, 2025 - The medical cannabis industry is leery of language they claim Gov. Kathy Hochul is advancing in the budget that would effectively limit the market for medical marijuana patients. We discuss the potential fallout from the governor's plan with Katie Neer, who is of counsel for Dickinson & Avella and represents the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association.
May 2, 2025 - Assembly Insurance Committee Chair David Weprin, a Queens Democrat, considers what can be done to restrain New York's constantly increasing car insurance costs.
May 2, 2025 - Three decades ago the Health Care Reform Act was adopted to create new efficiencies at hospitals, but it has evolved (or devolved?) into basically a multi-billion dollar tax that funds the status quo in health care. We consider removing this tax and changing how health care is funded with John O'Malley, of CWA Local 1180, and Richard Winston, a lobbyist with State & Broadway.
May 1, 2025 - Environmental Advocates NY Senior Director of Clean Water Rob Hayes explains why not all discharge to waste water treatment plants can be completely processed and calls for closer monitoring of industrial activities.
May 1, 2025 - State health officials have launched an online dashboard that makes it easy to track and analyze data on sexually transmitted diseases in New York. We explore this public facing tool with Wilson Miranda, surveillance director for the Office of Sexual Health and Epidemiology at the State Department of Health, and John Lake, evaluation specialist for the Office of Sexual Health and Epidemiology at the State Department of Health.
May 1, 2025 - Dr. Robert Zayas, executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, addresses the concerns about public and private schools competing in high school sports playoffs against each other.
April 30, 2025 - Frederick Kowal, president of United University Professions, argues that SUNY and CUNY leaders should be part of a vocal, coordinated rebuttal to President Donald Trump's effort to disrupt the status quo on college campuses, including stifling academic freedom.
April 30, 2025 - The state's paid medical leave benefit has been stagnant for more than three decades, which hinders the ability of cancer patients to access care, according to Michael Davoli, senior New York State government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and Stacy Betler, a cancer survivor.
April 30, 2025 - New York State Troopers PBA President Charles Murphy makes the case for a state law ensuing troopers have up to 30 days of paid leave to process their direct involvement with a use-of-force incident that leads the death or serious injury of another person.
April 30, 2025 - New York is poised to become the latest state to restrict access to smartphones during the school day, based on a state budget deal announced Monday. The Capitol Pressroom's J.T. Stone examined the policy scheduled to take effect for the 2025-2026 school year and talked with education stakeholders from around New York.
April 29, 2025 - On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a budget deal was reached with the Democratic majorities in the state legislature. And while the bills still need to be printed and final details agreed upon, we review the broad strokes of the agreement with Dan Clark, author of the Capitol Confidential newsletter for the Times Union.
April 29, 2025 - Sen. Monica Martinez, a Long Island Democrat, talks about why she is pushing plastic packaging waste legislation that is an alternative to a proposal with waste reduction mandates that has been under consideration for years.
April 29, 2025 - New Yorkers are used to high insurance costs, for everything from property coverage to a foster care program, and now the cost of car insurance has prompted the ride sharing industry to push for change. We talked with Josh Gold, senior director of public policy and communications at Uber, about the ramifications of costly insurance coverage and how state policymakers could address the problem.
April 29, 2025 - Stephanie Miner, who served as mayor of Syracuse from 2010 until 2018, discusses her new memoir, including why her political relationship with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo fizzled and what it was like working with the state legislature.
April 28, 2025 - Monica Billger, director of state government affairs at the American Diabetes Association, discusses legislation intended to make obesity treatments, including popular weight loss drugs, more accessible by mandating insurance coverage.
