ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - In New York state government news, Republicans push back against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pessimistic assessment for the rest of the session.
A look at stories making news:
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MUCH ADO ABOUT DOING MUCH
Republican lawmakers in the state Senate are pushing back against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lackluster forecast for the rest of the legislative session.
The Senate’s GOP leaders pointed to bills cutting taxes, toughening penalties for drug dealers and making it harder for convicted violent offenders to get parole as evidence there’s still a lot to do before the session wraps up in June.
Last month, Cuomo said “no significant legislation currently has the chance of moving” before the session ends. The comment was prompted by the ongoing fight for control of the state Senate. Democrats recently picked up two seats in special elections, giving them a numeric majority in the 63-seat chamber.
But Republicans will stay in charge for the session thanks to the support of a single rogue Democrat, Sen. Simcha Felder, of Brooklyn, who has long allied himself with the Senate’s GOP leadership.
Now the Senate’s Republican leaders appear determined to prove Cuomo wrong. On Monday, the Senate passed tougher penalties for drug dealers who target recovering addicts near treatment facilities. Tuesday, it endorsed a series of parole reform measures intended to make it harder for convicted murderers and other violent felons from winning parole. And on Wednesday, the Senate voted to expand various tax credits and cut some regulations that Republicans say are a burden to business.
While the bills have little chance in the Democratic-controlled Assembly, Senate Republicans say they show there’s still work to do.
“Gov. Cuomo has thrown in the towel,” Senate Leader John Flanagan of Long Island said. “That’s unfair to the hardworking people of this state, and I vehemently disagree with his posture. The members of the New York State Senate are going to work right up until the final minute of the session.”
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UPCOMING
Republican Sen. Pam Helming will host a closed-door roundtable with representatives from the state’s wine industry Tuesday in Albany. … The Senate health and insurance committees will hold a joint meeting with the Senate’s Heroin Task Force on May 22 in Albany to examine access to heroin overdose treatments. … On May 24, the Assembly’s health and judiciary committees meet in Manhattan for a public hearing on gestational surrogacy in light of the state’s ban on paid surrogacy.
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