Hochul kills special elections bill after Republican uproar: 'They're full of shit'

And Tuesday's schedule at the Capitol.

Good afternoon — it’s Monday and Football Hangover Day.

• Today’s CapCon Q: We thought it would be fun to ask readers questions and publish some of the answers (anonymously or not.) Today I’m asking: what is something you think the government just doesn’t care enough about?

In today’s CapCon (7-day free trial here):

• A controversial bill to change special elections in New York was killed on Monday hours before Democrats were set to approve it.

• Elections officials said they weren’t involved in crafting the bill and weren’t approached for their opinion on it.

• Extras: State of the Judiciary, DeepSeek, and another lawsuit against the Trump administration.

• New Bills of Note: The definition of consent, mental health clubhouses, and criminal charges for sexually transmitted diseases.

• At The Capitol: What’s happening at the state Capitol Tuesday.

• This Week in New York History: Thomas Cole, Dana Park and the NAACP.

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Republicans from the Senate and Assembly Monday (Will Waldron/Times Union)

☑️ Who asked for special elections to change in New York?

You’ve likely heard by now about the bill introduced late Friday that would allow Gov. Kathy Hochul to delay a special election for state and federal offices until November.

The bill is dead. ☠️ Sources in both chambers told me Hochul decided to pull her support for the bill Monday.

There’s rumor that her position is related to a potential deal on congestion pricing with President Donald J. Trump. Hochul has been speaking with Trump about the controversial $9 toll in Manhattan for the last two weeks. Trump opposes the toll.

Republicans in the state Senate and Assembly had rallied Monday in opposition to the now-dead special elections bill and took it as a win when it was pulled from moving forward.

“It was a terrible piece of legislation in policy and in principle,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said. “Thanks to strong pushback from Republican legislators and North Country residents, the bill has been halted.”

But the legislation’s origins are still unclear. Elections officials in New York didn’t ask for it, I was told Monday, nor were they approached by lawmakers to weigh in on it.