5 things to expect from the 2026 legislative session in New York

The new legislative session begins next week. Here are 5 things to expect this year.

Good afternoon — It’s Friday and Science Fiction Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• New York’s new legislative session begins next week. Here are five things you can expect over the next six months.

• Two committees are without a chair in the state Senate. Here’s who could be in the mix for at least one of them.

Names in today’s CapCon: Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Michael Gianaris, Joe Addabbo, Zellnor Myrie, Andrew Gounardes, Brian Kavanagh, Luis Sepulveda, Jamaal Bailey, Shelley Mayer, Jeremy Cooney, Sean Ryan, April Baskin, Zohran Mamdani, Harvey Epstein, Kathy Hochul, Donald J. Trump, Blake Washington, Rory Christian, Carl E. Heastie, Micah Lasher, Brad Lander, Letitia James, Tony Simone, Pat Fahy

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(Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

🏛️ What’s ahead at the state Capitol in 2026

It’s a new year and that means the legislative session is now upon us.

The first day of session is scheduled for next Wednesday, Jan. 7. It will be marked by speeches from the conference leaders in each chamber.

That first day is largely ceremonial and an opportunity for lawmakers to get their bearings before the real work begins. They’ll have the next five months to conduct business until the scheduled end of this year’s session on June 4.

It’s an odd year, which means we’re not expecting to see a major reshuffling of committee leadership in either chamber. But there are two committees now without a chair.

🪑 Two state Senate committees are getting new chairs

The state Senate Judiciary Committee was chaired by Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who took office as the new borough president in Manhattan Thursday after being elected to that post in November.

It’s a particularly powerful committee. Its members review, and sometimes interview, judges that need confirmation by the state Senate, though a state court ruling three years ago said nominees should still get a floor vote regardless of the committee’s opinion.

There’s nothing in the rules of the state Senate that requires the chair of that committee to be an attorney, but that’s traditionally been the case. We can expect the new chair to follow suit.

Nine Democrats in the state Senate are attorneys: Michael Gianaris, Joe Addabbo, Zellnor Myrie, Andrew Gounardes, Brian Kavanagh, Luis Sepulveda, Jamaal Bailey, Shelley Mayer and Jeremy Cooney.