Full list: Hochul vetoes 48 bills, signs 37 into law

Among them are bills on utility cost transparency, "sweepstakes" casinos and fracking fluids on roadways.

Good afternoon — It’s Monday and National Brownie Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul signed 37 bills into law, including legislation on police officer candidates, online “sweepstakes casinos,” and financial services loopholes.

• Hochul vetoed 48 bills, including legislation to limit estimated billing by utility companies and ban the use of fracking fluid on roads.

• We have the full list of all the bills Hochul signed and vetoed, along with highlights and why she said she rejected them.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Melissa Fleischut, Beth Finkel, Grace Rauh

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Today’s Capitol Confidential is sponsored by Food & Water Watch.

Tell Gov. Hochul to sign the Legislature’s repeal of the 100-foot rule. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to subsidize new gas hookups. End this outdated giveaway and cut costs for families. — Food & Water Watch

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Capitol Count features updates on bills as they move through the legislative process.

(Susan Watts/New York Governor’s Office)

✒️ Hochul issued a new batch of vetoes and chapters Friday night

Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed more bills than she signed Friday evening in a flurry of actions under the cover of night.

Hochul’s office was so eager to issue the decisions that they didn’t upload the text of the memos explaining the vetoes alongside them until Monday. Her deadline to decide them wasn’t until this Friday, Dec. 12.

I have two full lists of what she vetoed and chaptered at the end of each section. ⬇️

She didn’t completely clear her desk of the batch of bills sent to her office last week. Six remain undecided with the same deadline of this Friday.

After those are done, Hochul will have 159 bills left to decide by the end of the year.

✔️ What’s in the 37 bills Hochul signed into law

A handful of the bills Hochul signed were local measures, like property transfers, but the rest were broader.

I’ve told you about some of them before. Here are five that I haven’t told you about, at least not lately, with a link to the full list at the bottom.

1. Psychological fitness of law enforcement officers (S946/A3295)

New York enacted a law in 2021 that requires police officer candidates to undergo psychological fitness exams. (Many departments already required those.)

The new law resulted in the promulgation of regulations that outlined minimum standards for those assessments.

But, according to the bill’s sponsors, there is nothing in that law or the regulations that technically disqualifies candidates who fail a psychological fitness exam from being eligible for the position.

That means candidates who are deemed psychologically unfit but score high on the separate written examination can still be hired.

This would empower the law enforcement agency to compel the local civil service director to remove them from the list of eligible candidates for police officer positions.

(Tetra Images/Getty Images)

2. Allowing restaurants to buy from liquor stores when they run out (S409A/A7464B)

This was a top priority for groups that represent restaurants and bars this year. It allows them to more easily replenish their liquor stock if they run out.

They usually have to purchase liquor from a wholesaler, meaning they would have to wait until they can receive a shipment. That doesn’t always work for businesses that can’t arrange for that to happen quickly.

This allows operators of bars and restaurants to run out to the liquor store to purchase what they need. They’re limited to six bottles of wine or liquor per week.

“The passing of the retail-to-retail bill represents a meaningful win for hospitality businesses across the state,” said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.

((Photo by Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images))

3. Explicitly banning ‘sweepstakes casinos’ and revenue from illegal markets (S5935A/A6745A)

A “sweepstakes casino” is an online platform that allows users to play casino-style games using virtual currency. That currency can be exchanged by users for a cash prize or award, sort of like trading in chips at a casino.