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In today’s CapCon:
Data centers have been a hot topic in Albany this year but aren’t expected to be part of the state budget. Lawmakers are now prepping their next move.
With lawmakers facing a shorter post-budget stretch, here’s how many bills have already passed both chambers compared to this same point in recent years.
Here are two full lists of the bills already approved by both chambers and those that have yet to be considered by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Spending on lobbying was up early this year compared to the same period last year. Here are the top subjects and targets of that lobbying.
New York’s “Epstein loophole” for sex traffickers would be closed by a new standalone bill split from a larger bill that previously included the provision.
The TEXAS Act seeks to target life insurance costs by preventing companies from factoring in the poor health of residents in other states.
Names in today’s CapCon: Kristen Gonzalez, Anna Kelles, Didi Barrett, Kathy Hochul, Sanford N. Berland, Jeremy Cooney, Jamaal T. Bailey, Pete Harckham, Michaelle Solages, James Skoufis, Jeffrey Epstein, Liz Krueger, Pam Hunter
Spring at the state Capitol (Will Waldron/Times Union)
🗓️ Lawmakers have kept pace with passing bills despite the budget delay
Democrats in the state Legislature have grown increasingly frustrated in recent weeks about the tight timeframe they’ll have to consider legislation after the state budget is done.
With the remaining nine budget bills expected to pass next week, lawmakers will have just two weeks to consider individual bills without the budget looming over those conversations. They’ve already started to discuss what could make the cut.
As you know if you’re a regular reader, this year’s state budget will be the latest spending plan approved by the state Legislature since 2010.
But lawmakers are in a tough spot. They don’t intend to extend this year’s legislative session beyond its final day on June 4, partly because of next month’s primary elections. Several members in both chambers are facing challengers this year.
The implication of that tightened timeframe is that lawmakers could depart Albany without moving as many bills through both chambers as they have in recent years.
Last year, 856 bills passed both chambers before the end of session. In 2024, it was 805.
As of Tuesday of this week, 165 bills had passed through both chambers of the state Legislature. That means lawmakers will have to approve hundreds of bills in the next three weeks to match what they’ve done in the past two years.
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