Good afternoon — It’s Thursday and Tea Day.
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In today’s CapCon:
Lawmakers brought up a second state budget bill (Public Protection and General Government) Thursday and approved a spending extender through next week.
We combed through the entire bill so you don’t have to. Here are the 17 most significant parts of the bill you’ll want to read about.
They include new immigrant protections, changes to how auto insurance premiums are set, new state procurement rules, changes for lobbyists and more.
Names in today’s CapCon: Phil Palmesano, Kathy Hochul, Thomas P. DiNapoli, Jennifer Freeman, James Skoufis, Catalina Cruz, Eric Adams, Zohran Mamdani
Today’s Capitol Confidential is sponsored by the Coalition for Ticket Fairness
The “Ticketmaster Protection Act” is the wrong answer.
While the courts are trying to break up Ticketmaster’s illegal monopoly, Albany would undo that work with a bill that saves their monopoly.
The PPGG bill was up for a vote Thursday (Will Waldron/Times Union)
💰 Lawmakers approve another state budget bill. Here’s what’s in it.
Two down — seven more to go. Lawmakers were set to approve another state budget bill Thursday.
This one was the Public Protection and General Government Bill, which is generally supposed to include measures related to public safety, criminal justice and government operations.
It includes the package of immigrant protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement accountability measures, changes intended to curb the cost of car insurance, a ban on 3D printed guns, restrictions on drones, changes to state procurement laws and much more.
Lawmakers also approved a 14th state budget extender Thursday that runs through next Tuesday, when they’re expected to continue voting on budget bills.
It’s unclear if we’ll see any additional bills printed before lawmakers return to the state Capitol Tuesday.
There are three policy-focused bills left for lawmakers to consider: Revenue; Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation; and Health and Mental Hygiene.
There are several items that we didn’t see in the two bills approved this week by the state Legislature. The most notable are the anticipated changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act and New York’s emissions reduction mandates under the Climate Act.
There are four remaining spending bills: State Operations; Legislature and Judiciary; Aid to Localities; and Capital Projects.
Let’s go through the big stuff that was in the bill set to be approved by lawmakers Thursday.
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano debating a budget bill Thursday (Will Waldron/Times Union)
Part A: Extending the National Guard recruitment incentive
This one isn’t a change but I didn’t know it was set to expire this year. New York offers to pay for someone’s college education if they join the National Guard.
The incentive pays for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities and offers a set amount for private education. It was going to expire in September. That will now be extended through September 2031.
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