ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - In New York state government news, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has settled on a traditional state of the state address after shaking things up last year.
The Democratic governor plans to deliver his speech before lawmakers in Albany on Jan. 3, the first day of the 2018 legislative session.
Meanwhile, a Democratic lawmaker has introduced legislation to allow young immigrants brought into the country illegally as children to keep their driver’s licenses after the federal program protecting them from deportation ends in 2018.
A look at stories making news:
CONVENTIONAL CUOMO
Last year, following a period of tense relations with lawmakers, Cuomo skipped the traditional state of the state address and hit the road with a series of speeches around the state.
While it gave more New Yorkers a chance to see the speech in person, the change didn’t go over well with some lawmakers who felt spurned.
This year, Cuomo is staying on script and going with a traditional state of the state address in the state Capitol.
The speech is set for Jan. 3, the first day of the legislative session. He’s expected to lay out his agenda for 2018, and will likely touch on themes including efforts to push back on the policies of President Donald Trump, and his proposals for addressing the state’s mounting fiscal problems.
The state faces a projected $4 billion deficit in next year’s budget. Cuts to health care spending are another factor, as is the likelihood of a tax overhaul in Washington that could further destabilize the state’s bottom line.
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LICENSES FOR DREAMERS
Young immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children would be eligible to keep their New York driver’s licenses even after a federal program protecting them ends under legislation introduced recently by Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda.
The Democrat said New York must stand up for these immigrants as the Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, ends.
“It seems we have policies and laws coming out of Washington that seem to want to blame immigrants for everything that’s wrong with this country,” Sepulveda said Thursday when he announced the bill. “It’s time for New York state to walk the talk on protecting DACA recipients when the program ends.”
Sepulveda said driver’s licenses are essential for employment to many immigrants and noted that a large percentage of immigrants living upstate need them to operate farm equipment as part of their jobs.
He’s also pushing legislation that would allow these immigrants to apply for Cuomo’s new Excelsior Scholarship, which covers the cost of in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.
More than 41,000 young immigrants - known as “dreamers” - have applied for permission to stay in New York state through the program. They are all currently eligible for New York state driver’s licenses, but that eligibility will end when the federal program does in March.
The bills are likely to face challenges in the Republican-controlled Senate.
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