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State Legislature

State Legislature

  • Max Politics Podcast: Senator Liz Krueger on Her Bill to Reform the Board of Elections

    Seantor Liz Krueger, center (photo: New York State Senate)


    June 30, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Senator Liz Krueger on Reforming the Board of Elections

    State Senator Liz Krueger has a bill to professionalize the New York City Board of Elections and joined the show in the wake of another BOE debacle to discuss its provisions and its chances of passage.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below

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  • What's The [Data] Point? $209 Billion, Examining The New York State Budget

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 108 -- $209 Billion, Examining The New York State Budget [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    $209 billion is the total amount to be spent this state fiscal year according to New York State's Enacted Budget for Fiscal Year 2022. That massive budget, adopted in early April, was bolstered by immense federal aid and higher than expected tax revenues as New York comes out of the devastation of the covid

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  • It’s Time for a Full-Year Legislative Calendar in Albany

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    In the State Senate (photo: NY Senate Media Services)


    While Joe Manchin and Mitch McConnell compete to see who can block the most policy down in Washington DC, here in New York State our Democratic majorities in the State Senate and Assembly are proving that the government can be good. And that governing can actually solve problems.

    Earlier this month, Albany’s 2021 legislative session came to a close and legislators should be proud for having made progress on a host of fundamental issues impacting millions of New Yorkers. The legislature raised

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  • After Cuomo Veto and Pledge to Revisit, No New York Movement on Wage Theft Bill

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    Gov. Cuomo with workers (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    *This story was published in partnership with New York Focus.*

    Since 2014, Jin Gou Ke, an immigrant from China's Fujian Province, has worked as a delivery worker for Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Paid a pre-tip salary of just $3 per order, far short of the city’s minimum direct cash wage of

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  • For CUNY Students to Thrive, Mental Health Services Must Be Expanded

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    The CUNY Chancellor and students (photo: @CUNY)


    Graduating when the pandemic first hit New York City was hard for many students. To say that having access to a counselor during a time of increasing uncertainty and hopelessness was beneficial is an understatement - it was many students' lifeline. However, for countless students and peers, they are not so fortunate.

    The effect of the last year on CUNY students can not be overstated. In a recent ...

  • New York’s Chance to Take on the Crisis of Child Poverty

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    Time to focus on children (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Children live in poverty at higher rates than any other age group in the United States. Children make up 22% of the United States population and 31% of those living in poverty. Racial inequities are deep and persistent: 71% of America’s children in poverty ...

  • The State Should Restart the City’s Clock on Shrinking Class Sizes

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    School in session (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In 1980, Robert Jackson enrolled his daughter in Kindergarten at P.S./I.S. 187 on Cabrini Boulevard in Washington Heights. He soon noticed that her class sizes were huge, sometimes more than 30 or 35 children. There were no science or art rooms left because the school had been forced to convert them to classrooms. He decided to run for president of the school’s parents association, was elected, and soon thereafter became the head of the Community School Board in District

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  • Getting Back to Our Roots: End the Influence of Multinational Corporations in New York Elections

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    Wall Street (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    For the framers of our Constitution, the desire to free themselves from corruption by foreign powers was central to their debates at the hot summer in Philadelphia that gave structure to what became the oldest surviving democracy. But the threat of foreign influence, and corruption--the struggle for self-determination, self-representation, and freedom from outside influence--continues. 

    That struggle is epitomized by unlimited campaign spending by corporations and wealthy

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  • To Build Back Better, New York Should Build Public Renewables

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    (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    A state with the nation’s most ambitious climate justice goals and a White House and Congress promising historic investment in green infrastructure should be a match made in heaven. If we act quickly and pass the New York Build Public Renewables Act, we can make the most of this historic opportunity to rebuild our energy system and economy, and ensure the historic targets we set in 2019 on eradicating carbon emissions and environmental racism become reality.

    The New York Build Public

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  • NYCHA’s Latest Rescue Plan Needs State Approval But That Won't Be Coming Anytime Soon

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    NYCHA Chair Greg Russ (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    *This story was published in partnership with New York Focus.*

    With a week left in the legislative session, New York lawmakers shelved a city-backed plan that aimed to revamp 25,000 NYCHA apartments.

    On May 21, with just ten working days to go in this year’s session, New York lawmakers added a major item to their docket: a ...

  • As Latest Reforms Head to Voters for Approval, Advocates Celebrate Passage of Extensive Election Package

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    Voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The New York State Assembly on Tuesday approved two bills that would amend the state constitution to make significant changes to voting laws, and the proposals will now go to voters on this fall’s ballot.

    One would allow voters to request “no excuse” absentee ballots, opening up voting by mail to all. The other would allow voters to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. The bills had been previously approved by the Senate, and passed by both houses of the State Legislature

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  • A Year Later, Few Essential Workers Have Received Restitution for Getting Covid on the Job

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    Workers at work (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    When state and city health officials closed down non-essential activities last spring to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, they acknowledged the heroics of people who had to continue to report to work, to operate the hospitals, food counters, and buses that kept New York vital. Yet while the vast majority of the likely hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who contracted COVID-19 on the job are eligible for workers' compensation, most have not applied and only a

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  • New York’s Congressional Redistricting Could Be Tipping Point in Midterm Battle for Control of the House

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    State Senate chambers (photo: Philip Kamrass/Governor's Office)


    The Census Bureau released its population counts for the nation and the states on April 26, including changes for the states in the apportionment of 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives. New York State will drop one House seat, going from 27 seats to 26, even though it actually gained more than 800,000 people, from 19.4 to 20.2 million, since 2010. Extraordinarily, the Census reported that New York would have held its 27th seat if  89

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  • As Cuomo Says He's Not Stepping Down, Legislative Leaders Point Him Toward Resignation

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    Gov. Cuomo, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins & Speaker Heastie (photo: June 2020/Governor's Office)


    Shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday gave a defiant press briefing in which he reiterated he has no plans to resign from his position, two major shoes dropped in the scandals engulfing the third-term Democratic governor: State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called on Cuomo to resign and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he supports Stewart-Cousins' questions about Cuomo's ability to govern and that the governor

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Jessica Ramos Calls for Governor Cuomo's Resignation

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    State Senator Jessica Ramos (photo: NY Senate)


    March 3, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Jessica Ramos Call s for Governor Cuomo's Resignation

    State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens joined the show to discuss her call for Governor Cuomo's resignation over a series of sexual harassment allegations, how the Legislature is

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  • New York’s Next Shot to Strengthen Our Democracy

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    The State Senate chamber (photo: Edwin J. Torres/ Mayoral Photo Office)


    American democracy is suffering a crisis of confidence. In too many states, the very mechanics of elections has become a partisan and polarizing issue, with deeply damaging results. This year New York has the chance to model a path forward, with a bipartisan commitment to strengthening democracy and providing the best possible systems for our citizens to be heard. 

    As appointees to the state’s new Public Campaign Finance Board, that commitment is

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  • State Legislators Eye Revenue from Inheritances and Gifts with New ‘Heirs Tax’

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    The State Capitol in Albany (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    As New York State faces a severe budget shortfall and awaits federal aid, some lawmakers and activists are advocating for a package of legislation that would increase taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to avoid cuts to services for the most vulnerable. Among those proposals is a bill that would tax inheritances for multi-millionaires and raise as much as $8 billion for the state every year, according to supporters’ calculations. 

    State Senator Jabari

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  • Legislators and CUNY Chancellor Discuss University Funding, Recovery Plans Amid Massive Covid Disruption

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    Queens College (photo: CUNY)


    At the State Legislature’s recent budget hearing on higher education, held virtually on February 4, City University of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Félix Matos Rodriguez discussed his asks for CUNY funding and answered questions about the university’s spending, programs, and operational plans.

    The hearing was the sixth in a series of 13 on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s fiscal year 2021-2022

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  • De Blasio Pledges Last Gasp Property Tax Reform Effort

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    New York City (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    After getting "derailed" by the pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio is reviving one of his earliest and most delayed mayoral commitments: to reform an out-of-date and unequal property tax system. The city's Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform will begin holding public hearings, originally scheduled for last March, on its preliminary recommendations and will produce a final report by the time de Blasio leaves office at the end of the year, he said Thursday

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  • De Blasio Warns of Cuomo Budget Moves, Outlines Albany Agenda in Final State Legislative Hearing

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    Mayor de Blasio testifying remotely (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded to state legislators on Thursday to protect New York City from hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts and cost shifts in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget for the next fiscal year, warning that the damage could be worse if federal stimulus aid is not delivered on time.  

    In his annual, and final, appearance before the state Legislature to testify about the governor’s budget plan and the

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  • Democratic Mayoral Candidates Offer Albany Agendas, Strategies for Accomplishing Them

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    The Governor & Legislative leaders (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    Eight of the top Democratic mayoral candidates appeared at a virtual forum on Monday to outline their legislative and budget priorities at the state level, and their strategies for achieving those goals. To varying degrees, they laid out tactics for partnering with, even opposing, Governor Andrew Cuomo and corralling the state Legislature to their side. But there were clear differences among the candidates, informed by their own background and experiences,

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  • WATCH: Democratic Mayoral Candidates Outline Their Albany Agendas

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     l-r (top): Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, Carlos Menchaca; bottom: Shaun Donovan, Dianne Morales, Loree Sutton, Eric Adams


    Eight leading Democratic mayoral candidates appeared in two sessions at the "Albany Agenda" forum hosted by Empire State Indivisible and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. The candidates — Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, Carlos Menchaca, Shaun Donovan, Eric Adams, Dianne Morales, and Loree Sutton — discussed their state policy agendas and how they would navigate the processes, politics, and

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  • State Legislators, Advocacy Coalition Launch Push for ‘New Deal for CUNY’

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    CUNY graduates (photo: CUNY)


    Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes, Bronx Assemblymember Karines Reyes, the CUNY Rising Alliance, and others are holding a virtual press conference Friday to promote the proposed “New Deal for CUNY.”

    The New Deal for CUNY includes three main goals that deal with the university’s funding, spending, staffing, and campuses, would be implemented over the course of five years, and would make CUNY tuition- and fee-free for New

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  • It's Time to Stop Tolerating Wrongful Convictions and How They Undermine Our Legal System

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    State Senator Myrie, a co-author, with other electeds and advocates


    2020 was a year of tragedy and despair, hope and resilience. In 2021 we must take long overdue steps to address the myriad injustices laid bare by the pandemic, and others plainly evident well before COVID-19.

    We must shore up our medical system and our schools. We must rebuild our social safety net. And we must once and for all, decidedly and without hesitation, address the long-standing harms perpetrated by the criminal legal system against

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Liz Krueger on New York’s Finances

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    Senator Liz Krueger (photo: NY Senate)


    January 20, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Liz Krueger on New York’s Finances

    State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat who chairs the Senate's finance committee, joined the show to discuss the state's fiscal picture, the governor's new executive budget plan, aid from Washginton, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMaxand @JarrettMurphy. You

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